JUMBLED
SENTENCES
1. Paragraph anagrams
Rearrangement of sentences or paragraph anagrams is the most commonly seen question in the CAT and in most of other MBA admission tests. It interesting to know that this question doesn’t examine any previously learnt concepts, neither is it based on any particular logic. What it tests is common sense and speed. Extensive practice is the key.
However, we have a few strategies for you. Study them and use them in the exercise that follow and you’ll be comfortable with them.
Paragraph jumbles questions are presented in different forms.
a) Four/ five sentences either numbered 1,2,3,4,5 or lettered a, b, c, d, e are given in a jumbled form. The sentences are followed by choices of four possible combinations of arrangements of these sentences. You have to choose the most logical order of arrangement of these sentences to form a meaningful, coherent paragraph.
E.g. A. The managers are themselves parts of various hierarchies of managerial influence, coupled to one another by explicit and implicit codes of behaviour and information network.
B. Management science and MIS have introduced new elements of complexity into the manager’s world.
C. Management deals with complex social systems joined by physical and informational mechanisms to other social systems that are the responsibility of other managers.
D. If this seems to make the social system appear complex, it is so intended.
1. DCAB 2. ADCB 3. DBAC 4. CADB
b) A set of six sentences is given, in which the first and the sixth sentences are fixed at their respective positions. The four sentences that falls between the first and the sixth sentences are presented in a jumbled form. You are asked to choose the logical order of sentences from the choices.
E.g. 1. If the phenomenon of down gradation is understood and accepted, brands have to continuously seek options that offer better value to consumers.
A. Therefore, given an option, the consumer was willing to be satisfied by greater value from trusted brands rather than downgrade.
B. Tea in polypacks doubled their volume share between 1989 and 1991 in Bombay.
C. Biscuits in family packs witnessed phenomenal growth of such brands even during periods of inflation.
D. The onset of the down gradation phenomenon seems to be a good time to launch new products, or better still, create new sub-categories.
6. For instance, the more expensive gel toothpaste category upped its share in Bombay by six percent at the expense of popular and economy brands.
1. BCAD 2. CDAB 3. ADBC 4. DCBA
Strategies for sentence anagrams Strategy 1
Avoid reading the sentences closely; that is not required and is a waste of time. Inspect the choices; if
each of the choices begins with different letters, identifying the sentence to begin the sequence leads to the correct answer.
1. Small companies that compete effectively tend to grow, and growth brings increasing complexity and specialization in each function.
A. Technologists talk about processes, new materials, and worry about prototype results and technical problems; as regards language and interests, they have little in common with marketing.
B. As the company grows it tends increasingly to fragment into separate functional islands, each trying to solve its own problems, each using its own special language and having its own priorities.
C. Marketing people, for instance, talk about market segmentation, market growth, promotions and product image, and worry about changes in share.
D. Production people talk and worry about industrial relations, people arriving on time, and plant and equipment breakdown and delays.
6. They in their turn have little in common with either marketing or the technologists who, they consider, live in ivory towers.
1. DACB 2. BCAD 3. ACBD 4. CDAB
In the above question, the choices begin with different letters. The best strategy then would be to inspect sentence 1 and to identify the sentence that logically follows 1
Sentence 1 deals with growth of companies and sentence B begins with the continuity phrase, as the
company grows. Consequently, B has to follow 1 and the answer therefore is choice 2. You require minimum steps in arriving at the answer in such questions.
Strategy 2
In choices that are closely related, identify a mandatory pair of sentences (two sentences that should form a sequence).
A. This linking of politics and music is of course ancient and even Aristotle in his book ‘Politics’ said, “We may compare the best form of government to the most harmonious piece of music.”
B. Mixing metaphors, Mr. Clinton referred to the symphony so central to western music and said, “It is time both nations heard the musical compositions of each other and understood each other better.” C. The oligarchic and despotic to the more violent tunes; and the democratic to the soft and gentler airs. D. The US President was confident that if governments and people of the two democracies made a
determined bid to understand each other’s perspectives scripts, they could create new symphonies. E. Such attempts to secure symphony would be so much better than the individual bids for virtuoso
improvisations and adherence to classical compositions.
1. BACDE 2. DCAEB 3. DECAB 4. BDEAC
In the above question, observe that the choices are closely related. Two choices begin with D and the other two with B. In such cases avoid working from the first sentence; instead inspect the sentences quickly and identify a particular pair of sentences that are mandatory. In the above case EA is a mandatory sequence. Only choice 4 satisfies this condition, and therefore the most logical sequence.
Strategy 3
Look out for quick clues such as pronouns, conjunctions etc. in the beginning of sentences to help you establish a sequence.
E.g. 1. As a senior economist associated with the reforms programme used to say, a sure indication that the new economic policy was succeeding would be when foreign investors start trekking to Delhi in the sweltering heat of May and June.
A. If nothing else, India Power ‘94 came as a welcome break to the power ministry; most of the participants had complimentary things to say about government policy.
B. And there were would-be entrants like the Hong Kong-based China Light and Power Company who had turned up armed with a fax from the power ministry listing available projects in India. C. Were that the only yardstick, then judging by the attendance at India Power ‘94, at least the
reforms in the power sector could be declared a success.
6. This was in striking contrast to the adverse comments the ministry had been attracting so far.
1. ADBC 2. BDCA 3. CDBA 4. DBCA
In the above question, a smart test taker will quickly identify the phrase ‘ were that the only yardstick” in sentence C. This is a thought continuity of the idea in sentence 1 “ foreign investors trekking to Delhi… …”. Consequently C has to follow 1; eliminate choices 1, 2, and 4.Choice 3 is the correct answer.
Strategy 4
In six sentences variety, work backward from sentence 6 if there is no obvious clue to work from sentence 1; many a time we overlook the hints that may be valuable
Let’s take a look at such an example.
1. A recent advertisement of Premier Instruments and Controls Ltd., a leading manufacturer of dashboard instruments, in a financial daily, summed it all up.
A. The fact is that executives from companies, ranging from Daimler Benz to General Motors, have been scouring the Indian countryside looking for suppliers of cheap components for products made in their European and American plants.
B. It obviously does not even have the time to make the investments required to set up a new plant. C. Today, most Indian automobile component manufactures cannot produce enough to meet
demand both domestic and international.
D. The company was soliciting spare capacities for the supply of intricate machines and sheet-metal components.
6. While some of them do find good deals, many have had to go back empty-handed.
1. ADCB 2. CBAD 3. BACD 4. DBCA
In the question given above, see that “them’ in sentence 6 refers to ‘executives’ referred to in sentence A. i.e. A precedes 6; choice 4 is the answer.
Now use these strategies and answer the following exercise. Exercise
Questions : 60 Time : 30 minutes
Directions for questions 1–20: Each question has six sentences which when properly sequenced form a
coherent paragraph. While sentences 1 and 6 are fixed in their respective positions, the four sentences in between are jumbled. Choose the most logical order of sentences from among the four given choices to construct a paragraph.
1. 1. The psychological obstacles to the restoration of the international association of scientific workers are still too formidable to overcome.
a. They can do this by keeping in touch with like-minded people all over the world.
b. Men of this kind can aid in the great work of restoring the international societies to health. c. They can also do this by steadfastly championing the international cause in their own
spheres.
d. This is because there is a minority whose ideas and feelings are of a more comprehensive kind.
6. Success on a large scale will take time but it will undoubtedly come.
1. cbad 2. dbac
2. 1. As long as the artist is an employed workman he must compromise. a. At the same time he should not sacrifice his own integrity in doing so. b. It is a dangerous holding of the balance between two sets of forces. c. He must never lose touch with life and its requirements.
d. For compromise of that kind is not a concession to a lower order of things.
6. The artist, like a chisel, serves a master, but in doing so he gives his master something he never bargained for.
1. cadb 2. abcd
3. dcba 4. badc
3. 1. The tragedy of the present struggle is that the ends for which people are striving – food, work, security and freedom – are gifts of science.
a. If people could only understand a little of this possibility in which science offers. b. But instead we have danger and bloodshed, want and misery.
c. These are gifts which science has put within the reach of all.
d. The resources, knowledge and the ability to build a new world are there.
6. People would become more reasonably impatient of their present state and more capable of changing it.
1. cdba 2. bcda
3. dacb 4. dcab
4. 1. The country abounds in the finest natural productions.
a. But the zealous explorer may come upon its gentler beauties in an incredibly short time. b. Its pastures and cattle are admirable.
c. The more majestic parts of it are at a distance.
d. And the deer are to be met with, in the course of a half a day journey.
6. And the traveler is accompanied, whenever he goes, with music of the singing birds.
1. acdb 2. cabd
3. dcba 4. cadb
5. 1. Ideas of beauty are among the noblest, which can be presented to the human mind.
a. And which, to the rightly perceiving mind does not present a greater number of beautiful than of deformed parts.
b. Invariably it exacts and purifies it according to their degree.
c. It would appear that we are intended by the creator to be constantly under their influence. d. Because there is not one single object in nature which is not capable of conveying them. 6. As there is scarcely anything in pure, un-diseased nature, like positive deforming but only
degrees of beauty.
1. abdc 2. dcba
3. cabd 4. bcda
6. 1. Blind courage is an animal virtue.
a. It is indispensable in a world full of dangers and evils.
b. Such animal courage seems therefore beautiful rather than cruel or desperate.
c. And being the lowest and most instinctive of virtues it is the one most widely admired. d. A certain insensibility and dash are requisite to skirt the precipice without vertigo.
6. But it ceases to be when the love of danger begins to lead men into evils, which are unnecessary to face.
1. adbc 2. abcd
7. 1. Great books do not spring from something accidental in the men who wrote them. a. And the expression of the life itself of the authors.
b. It does not succeed until it becomes the vehicle of the vital.
c. And literature cannot be said to have served its true purpose until it has been translated into the actual life of him who reads.
d. They are effervescing of their very core.
6. Progress is the gradual result of the unending battle between reason and instinct in which the former wins with the help of the most powerful engine – literature.
1. cdab 2. dacb
3. bacd 4. adcb
8. 1. Man has so thoroughly eliminated or subdued all serious competitors in the living world. a. Because of this attitude, his indifference to certain matters can be understood.
b. In fact he thinks of himself as the ruler of these forces.
c. He thinks of himself as akin to the mighty forces of the physical world. d. He also thinks that his evolution is a movement toward that end.
6. Yet because of this indifference and despite his triumphs he has become the unhappiest species on earth.
1. cadb 2. adcb
3. bcad 4. cdba
9. 1. Mass murder of men by men is strictly man' s own invention. a. And it has no value for the human species at large.
b. Unlike the inter-specific warfare of all other species, it prevents rather than preserves equilibrium of antagonistic forces.
c. It is a cultured disease rather than a biological necessity.
d. It has however inestimable value for dictators; profiteers and fools.
6. Through them mankind has been able to make its unique contribution to the social economy of the living world.
1. bcad 2. abdc
3. bcda 4. cdab
10. 1. People to day are indifferent to the aesthetic products of the past. a. Few working class people enjoy culture.
b. That is the position of both the industrial magnate, trade unionist or communist.
c. They are suspicious of them; decline to receive them, until they have been disinfected in Russia.
d. In England, still the abode of private enterprises, indifference predominates. 6. As a rule I am afraid to bore them with it lest I lose their acquaintance.
1. abdc 2. dabc
3. bacd 4. bcda
11. 1. In its labor relations, Britain has, on the whole been more democratic than the USA. a. The military power has not been so much used to overcome labour.
b. They have not been turned into miniature civil wars.
c. In UK, the strikes have never been moved by such violence as in US. d. There has been no suffering from illegal and extra legal organizations.
6. Collective bargaining and political trade unionism are among the useful machinery by which British democracy has expressed itself.
1. cbad 2. adbc
12. 1. The share market has been fluctuating with a fairly predictable degree of regularity. a. They tend to fall before the markets close for the weekend.
b. This is unusual for this time of the year.
c. Share prices tend to rise sharply during the beginning of the week. d. The phenomena have become so regular over the past few weeks.
6. It has become, therefore, possible to anticipate the market trend a day in advance.
1. badc 2. bcad
3. bdac 4. dabc
13. 1. One of the basic protections of free speech is the right of free assembly.
a. Hence the constitution guarantee to assemble peacefully and without arms has been provided. b. In fact, freedom of assembly and freedom of speech go hand in hand.
c. The framers of the constitution knew that the right to peacefully assemble for political activities was important.
d. They also knew that this was essential to make the freedom of speech real.
6. The right to assembly can be restricted only in the interest of public order and the restrictions ought to be reasonable.
1. bcda 2. acdb
3. cabd 4. dabc
14. 1. All sources of energy upon which industry depends are wasted when they are employed. a. Already coal had largely been replaced by oil.
b. The industry is expending them at a continually increasing rate. c. And what is true of oil is equally true of other natural resources.
d. And oil is being used up so fast that East and West alike consider it necessary to their own prosperity to destroy the industry of the other.
6. Everyday, miles of forest are turned into newspaper, but there is no known process by which newspaper can be turned into forest.
1. dbca 2. bcad
3. cdab 4. badc
15. 1. Marx was no Faustian, concerned solely with understanding society.
a. He was centrally concerned with the social problems of the lay group and proletariat. b. His diagnosis was that their increasing misery engendered endemic class struggle.
c. And there can be little doubt that his work is motivated by an effort to reduce their suffering as he saw it.
d. He was a Promethean who sought to understand it well enough to influence and change it. 6. His prognosis claimed that this would culminate in revolution.
1. dacb 2. acbd
3. bacd 4. cbda
16. 1. Length and time are relative concepts, if two spaceships pass each other with uniform velocity.
a. Observers on each ship will find that the astronauts on the other ship are thinner and moving more slowly.
b. If the relative speed is great enough. they will move like actors in a slow motion movie. c. All phenomena with periodic movements will seem reduced in speed.
d. This includes tuning forks, watches, heartbeats, vibrating atoms etc.
6. A 6-foot astronaut standing erect in a horizontally moving ship will appear 6 feet tall but will seem thinner in line of travel.
1. dcba 2. abcd
17. 1. The world is very full of people – appallingly full and they are all tumbling over each other. a. There are two solutions to overcome these dislikes.
b. One is the Nazi solution: If you don't like people, kill them, banish them, segregate them and strut up and down proclaiming you're the salt of the earth.
c. One doesn't like the colour of their skins, or perhaps the shapes of their noses or the way they walk and talk.
d. Most of these people one don’t know and some of them one doesn't like.
6. The other way is much less thrilling, but is one the whole the way of the democracies and is much more preferable.
1. adbc 2. acdb
3. bacd 4. dcab
18. 1. Working of democracy imposes certain responsibilities and obligations on people. a. If people give a free play to their activities for realising their wishes.
b. It does not mean liberty sans limits.
c. It also places obligations upon men in power.
d. Then it becomes a serious hindrance in the working of democracy.
6. However sometimes the democratic government takes a lenient view of the popular risings because it fears losing support of the people.
1. cbad 2. adcb
3. badc 4. dcab
19. 1. The most vulnerable section of the society from the point of view is the students. a. Revolutionary and new fledged ideas have a great appeal to them.
b. Agitations may be non-violent methods of protest. c. They cannot resist the charm of persuasion.
d. They are to be taught that without discipline they cannot get proper education.
6. However if these become violent, the antisocial elements get encouraged and undisciplined and put all proper working out of gear.
1. dcab 2. acbd
3. bcad 4. acdb
20. 1. There is no better way to help one to help him than to bring him to knowledge of himself. a. There is nothing that will enable him into an awakened knowledge of the powers in his soul
than to bring him into the realisation of his oneness with infinite power. b. These are the great truths of the spirit of infinite wisdom.
c. There is no better way to bring one to knowledge or him than to lead him to knowledge of powers in his soul.
d. We shall find that these same truths lie at the very bottom of the solution of our social situation.
6. And we shall also find that we shall never have a full and permanent solution of it until they are fully recognised and built upon.
1. abcd 2. cabd
3. adcb 4. badc
Directions for questions 21 – 60: Given below are a number of sentences which when properly sequenced
form a coherent paragraph. Each sentence is identified with a number. Choose the most logical order of sentences to construct the paragraph.
21. 1. However, doctors attending on him told us that it was too early to say he was out of danger. 2. His pulse rate and blood pressure were 'normal' according to a medical bulletin issued this
evening.
3. The condition of Mr. X improved today.
4. He is still on blood transfusion, glucose and saline.
1. 1 3 2 4 2. 3 2 4 1
22. 1. This will ensure that MBA graduates will be more socially committed. 2. Aspirants have to humane, sensitive and caring.
3. Now it takes more than business sense to secure admission to Harvard Business School. 4. The idea is to reshape the MBA experience from admission to job finding.
1. 3412 2. 3241
3. 1324 4. 2134
23. 1. Whether this amendment will achieve these objectives or not remains to be seen.
2. What is relevant is that it makes more sense to become an NRI because in spite of doing so they can spend five months of the year in India.
3. They can have the best of both worlds.
4. The central government is amending the NRI bill.
1. 4123 2. 4231
3. 3124 4. 3214
24. 1. The tyre industry has repeatedly stated that the growers should get adequate price for rubber. 2. This was due to the high release price by the STC.
3. For this purpose a mechanism was evolved by the industry.
4. Unfortunately during 1988 and 1989 this scheme did not work at all.
1. 4 2 1 3 2. 3 2 4 1
3. 1 2 4 3 4. 1 3 4 2
25. 1. It costs Air India more than a million dollars for the new design.
2. But unlike other international carriers, which announced their image, change through advertising. Air India appears to have done it on a scale nothing short of grandiose.
3. The new look is the result of a yearlong effort by Lander Associates.
4. Air India was following the footsteps of more successful predecessors like British Airways and A Italia.
1. 1 3 4 2 2. 3 1 4 2
3. 3 2 1 4 4. 1 2 4 3
26. 1. Kerala's big wigs do not seem to have realised the seriousness of the situation.
2. But quite a few would complain about the ungodly inefficiency and confusion involved in tourist operators.
3. The current high-profile ad campaign touts Kerala as "God's own country". 4. No one who has chanced on Kerala would refute that claim.
1. 3 2 4 1 2. 3 4 2 1
3. 2 3 4 1 4. 1 2 3 4
27. 1. In the others, diagnosis is often made when and if the filaria organism is found in the blood sample.
2. But, as in the case of nearly 17 million people in India, this does not happen.
3. Frightening though it sounds, filaria can be cured quite easily if it is discovered early enough. 4. A majority of them consult a doctor only when the limbs begin to swell up.
1. 2 4 3 1 2. 3 1 2 4
28. 1. Kerala is now poised for take-off.
2. Hoteliers like the Taj group have been sounded out.
3. And a Bangkok based NRI has expressed interest in putting up a hotel near Cochin. 4. To help it along the state government will not hesitate to use private capital.
1. 2 3 4 1 2. 1 4 2 3
3. 4 3 2 1 4. 2 1 4 3
29. 1. This has been the fastest growing area in terms of work for management consultants not only in India but worldwide.
2. The computer has forcefully changed the rules of the game in Indian business in terms of speed and access to information.
3. Managements are only now beginning to accept this tool as crucial in adapting to fast changing market conditions.
4. And has revolutionized the world of business both nationally and internationally.
1. 2 3 1 4 2. 4 3 2 1
3. 1 4 3 2 4. 2 1 4 3
30. 1. The venue is the Pune plant of Telco.
2. In recent months, labour history has been in the making at the unlikeliest of places.
3. This symbolic protest focused national attention on what was until recently a local problem. 4. Last month an estimated 3000 members of Telco Kamghar Sanghatana went on a 10-day
hunger strike.
1. 1 3 4 2 2. 2 3 4 1
3. 2 1 3 4 4. 2 1 4 3
31. 1. Two companies both controlled and owned by Chhabria bought these shares. 2. Old habits die hard, especially so with take over legend Manohar Chhabria.
3. During the last one year, Chhabria has picked up at least five percent shares of the tyre company.
4. After his setback he plans to re-enter the takeover game with a bid on the Mysore-based Vikrant Tyres.
1. 4 2 3 1 2. 2 4 3 1
3. 3 1 4 2 4. 2 4 1 3
32. 1. In the travel trade, this euphemistically referred to as ethnic traffic.
2. Also, every year, thousands of NRIs living overseas in Europe, the US and the Gulf, visit India to meet their relatives and friends.
3. For many Indians working and living overseas, coming back home is a tense, unpleasant and often humiliating experience.
4. In fact, the tourist arrivals of 9000000 include a large number of Indians living overseas.
1. 4 1 2 3 2. 2 4 1 3
3. 3 2 4 1 4. 3 4 1 2
33. 1. The other category is basically workers, mainly returning from the Gulf. 2. Going through customs is a trying experience for both categories.
3. First the professionals and businessmen most of whom are settled in the US, UK and Africa. 4. The returning Indians can be divided into two broad categories.
1. 4 3 1 2 2. 1 3 4 2
34. 1. In any case, if they have any dutiable articles, they can ask for such articles to be entered on their passports.
2. The customs arrival hall is busiest between 11 at night and 7 in the morning. 3. The foreign tourists or businessmen usually sail through the green channel easily. 4. Most of the flights from the Gulf, Far East and the West arrive at this time.
1. 4 2 1 3 2. 3 1 2 4
3. 2 3 1 4 4. 2 4 3 1
35. 1. Children love commercials.
2. Often, one hears them singing jingles verbatim as if they were the latest Hindi pop hits. 3. In India, marketers and advertisers have taken cognizance of this growing segment and are
planning to cash in.
4. Not only, do they enjoy watching them enormously but also and more importantly they remember.
1. 1 3 4 2 2. 1 2 4 3
3. 3 1 4 2 4. 1 4 2 3
36. 1. A rural exploratory study conducted recently suggests that in semi urban and rural environments, this is a more common phenomenon.
2. Significantly, for mothers, children are a source of information about what's happening in the market.
3. They also provide a brand reminder function and reinforcement when they sing heir favorite commercials.
4. But the more elusive urban markets are not effective by the commercial fundas.
1. 3 2 1 4 2. 2 4 1 3
3. 2 3 1 4 4. 1 4 3 2
37. 1. In a study conducted some time ago, children saw commercials as 'fun'.
2. Mothers say that children eagerly await the commercials, and once the programme starts, they lost interest.
3. Adults may watch programmes but children are interested only in the ads. 4. Children’s own perception of advertising reflects the emotional aspect.
1. 4 1 3 2 2. 1 3 4 2
3. 4 2 1 3 4. 2 3 1 4
38. 1. Instead their requests are very specific – either a 'Leo' gun or a 'Frooti'. 2. Unlike adults, children's requests for products are usually not need based. 3. Memorability of brand names for children therefore becomes significant.
4. Research also indicates that children, in some categories, seek brands and not products. 5. Rarely do children ask for 'Toys' or 'Soft drinks.'
1. 5 4 3 1 2 2. 2 4 5 1 3
3. 5 1 4 3 2 4. 2 4 3 1 5
39. 1. The company now spends close to 30% of its turnover on development activity.
2. And not only has the company been successful in adopting technology to suit Indian conditions, but also in improving upon it.
3. After 11 years of innovation and development, R & D has emerged as one of Indchem's main strengths.
4. No wonder then that it has many firsts to its credit.
1. 2 3 1 4 2. 3 4 1 2
40. 1. The heart of the problem is our import-licensing regime.
2. Sadly, by protecting new industries from any foreign competition, they only succeeded in adding to the list of uncompetitive industries.
3. but his government was ultimately misled into believing that competition from foreigners was best avoided.
4. The Rajiv government tried to improve things somewhat by policies of liberalisation.
1. 3 4 2 1 2. 2 3 1 4
3 1 3 2 4 4. 1 4 3 2
41. 1. The revolution in science is, in fact far more significant than that which occurred at the end of the eighteenth century.
2. The difficulty in getting hold of modern science is that it is moving so fast. 3. In the past decade it has achieved an internal revolution.
4. Although 20th century science rests securely on bases laid down in the 19th century, it has a character of its own.
1. 3 4 2 1 2. 1 4 3 2
3. 4 3 1 2 4. 2 3 4 1
42. 1. It comes less frequently from the life stories of isolated groups of people.
2. The most instructive history is that which traces the rise and fall of cities and empires. 3. The story of Chicago's growth has more lessons than the biographies of a dozen great men
would have.
4. The most sensational news often comes from conflicts set up in urban conditions of politics and business.
1. 1 3 2 4 2. 4 2 3 1
3. 4 1 2 3 4. 3 2 4 1
43. 1. Sometimes. local agencies even when they belong to the multinational agency which has a parent account, are resistant to dictation by the parent body.
2. Multinational corporations often use the same advertising campaign throughout the world. 3. Their argument is that it must suit the culture of the local people.
4. But their local subsidiaries do not always accept it.
1. 3 4 1 2 2. 1 3 4 2
3. 2 4 1 3 4. 4 1 2 3
44. 1. Special measures may be undertaken by the government to prevent communal flare up in sensitive areas.
2. Committees may be formed from different ethnic and religious groups to solve differences through peaceful means.
3. Politicians should refrain from giving speeches, which are provocative of religious sentiments of various communities.
4. Special laws and ordinances may be promulgated to punish such politicians.
1. 3 4 2 1 2. 2 1 3 4
3. 3 4 1 2 4. 1 3 4 2
45. 1. But the fiery youth can work wonders only if guided by wisdom and sagacity of elders. 2. This is a responsibility for the youth.
3. The great task of national reconstruction demands the sweat and blood of its citizens. 4. Because they have zeal and vigour to take up challenges.
1. 1 3 4 2 2. 3 2 4 1
46. 1. Through the imposition of religious tests and the diversion of intelligent minds from scholarship to interesting occupations.
2. In the 18th Century these institutions has shrunk very greatly.
3. The aristocratic conception of education through physical education appealed to them strongly and thus revived and expanded sport.
4. The modem expansion of sport followed upon the industrial revolution and is closely associated with the revival of universities.
1. 1 2 3 4 2. 3 4 2 1
3. 4 2 1 3 4. 1 3 4 2
47. 1. It is some vital energy that gives life to a civilization or people.
2. History has numerous instances of old and well established civilizations fading away or ending suddenly.
3. Without this it is a vain attempt of an aged person trying to play the part of a youth. 4. Vigorous new cultures take their places.
1. 2 4 1 3 2. 4 1 2 3
3. 2 4 3 1 4. 3 2 1 4
48. 1. They are continually mixing with others and slowly changing.
2. There may be a definite break between the old and new or vital links of thoughts and ideals may join them.
3. They may appear to almost die and then rise again as a new people or a variation of the old. 4. No people or races remain unchanged.
1. 1 3 4 2 2. 2 1 4 3
3. 2 4 3 1 4. 4 1 3 2
49. 1. The bigness and complexity are apt to overwhelm us, as we try to unravel the thousand threads that go to make it up.
2. Because it is a vast panorama and we are so near, it appears bigger and fuller than the centuries that preceded it.
3. The 19th century is a fascinating period. 4. But the study of it is no easy matter for us.
1. 1 4 2 3 2. 3 4 2 1
3. 2 1 3 4 4. 4 1 3 2
50. 1. Proteins are complex molecules made up chiefly of amino acid residues.
2. Those that are analogous in different organisms may show great similarity in their sequence of amino acids.
3. This is more so if they are related by common descent or if they perform the same function in different organisms or both.
4. These are arranged in a chain and the positions are numbered for convenience of investigation.
1. 1 3 2 4 2. 4 1 3 2
3. 4 3 2 1 4. 1 4 2 3
51. 1. They can also switch tasks among team members to alleviate boredom. 2. Robots handle entirely the repetitious and unpleasant jobs.
3. Workers are now being trained to handle only the ore complicated operations of the manufacturing process.
4. The men can now stop at the assembly line to ensure quality.
1. 3 2 4 1 2. 2 3 1 4
52. 1. It may even be like gas kept confined in containers under great pressure, that reaction will one day, perhaps sweep back with an equal or greater violence of the physical force.
2. As a result, the instinct to possess has been rooted out that it may not reappear. 3. But this was done by and large by the us of physical force.
4. There have been in our times, attempts to achieve a kind of egalitarian society and a picture of it in action after this achievement.
1. 1 3 4 2 2. 2 3 1 4
3. 4 1 2 3 4. 4 3 2 1
53. 1. This is obvious with respect to the bulk of the relevant problems and disappointingly small predictive and controlling power of the available theories.
2. Some of the accident shortcomings of the scientific method are of particular importance at present.
3. There is little doubt that in contrast to the relatively mature state of physics, chemistry and astronomy, the scientific method has yielded, so far comparatively poor results in the social sciences and humanities.
4. The lag in the science is apparent from the largely controversial state of expert opinion.
1. 3 1 2 4 2. 2 3 4 1
3. 1 2 3 4 4. 4 1 2 3
54. 1. Complaints are frequently made of the vanity and shortness of human life. 2. There is no end to the brilliancy on the variety of these.
3. Ask the sum-total of the value of human life and we are puzzled with the length of the account and multiplicity of items in it.
4. If we examine its smallest details, they present a world by themselves.
1. 2 1 3 4 2. 3 2 4 1
3. 1 4 2 3 4. 4 1 2 3
55. 1. He must pay his taxes honourably and keep the laws, which have been made for the general good.
2. It is argued that the poet, painter and musician has a duty to the community. 3. A great deal has been said about the duty of the artist to society.
4. He is a citizen like everyone else; he must pull his weight, not give himself airs or ask for special terms.
1. 3 2 4 1 2. 1 4 2 3
3. 4 2 1 3 4. 2 4 1 3
56. 1. Cultivated people are a drop of ink in the ocean.
2. And they become tongue-tied or terror struck in the presence of anyone whose make up was different from their own.
3. Culture, thank goodness, is no longer a social asset, it can no longer be employed either as a barrier against the mob or as a ladder into the aristocracy.
4. They mix easily and even genially with other drops, for those exclusive days are over when cultivated people made only cultivated friends.
1. 4 3 2 1 2. 1 4 2 3
3. 3 1 4 2 4. 2 1 3 4
57. 1. They are corrupted by too much power and of a larger class of subjects. 2. They are corrupted by too much passive and irresponsible obedience.
3. Participation in a social order of this kind makes it very difficult for individuals to achieve any distinguishing mark of the ideally excellent human being.
4. To a great or less degree all the civilized communities of the modern world are made up of a small class of rulers.
1. 1 3 2 4 2. 4 2 1 3
58. 1. But if religion stands for a road to achieve the highest truth. 2. Then it will bring people closer and make them stronger.
3. It is what generates fanaticism and consequently differences in thinking and behaviour. 4. If religion means the huddle of superstitions and practices associated with a particular belief.
1. 1 3 4 2 2. 4 3 1 2
3. 3 4 1 2 4. 2 1 4 3
59. 1. The economy in India was at one time completely disturbed by the unprincipled sections of society.
2. Hence without a proper economic order there cannot be political stability.
3. This was because there was a connivance of hoarders and black marketers and petty politicians, that it destabilized the economic and political forces in the country.
4. The economy of a country is so closely linked up with its political system.
1. 4 2 1 3 2. 1 4 3 2
3. 2 1 4 3 4. 3 4 2 1
60. 1. Freedom is man's birthright.
2. Freedom implies that we should not encroach upon the freedom of others.
3. But, often, social life is so interdependent that one's freedom could mean another's restrictions.
4. But un chartered freedom endangers social life.
1. 2 1 3 4 2. 1 4 2 3
Answer Key 1–2 2–1 3–1 4–2 5–4 6–1 7–2 8–4 9–1 10–2 11–1 12–2 13–1 14–4 15–1 16–2 17–4 18–1 19–4 20–2 21–2 22–4 23–1 24–4 25–1 26–2 27–3 28–2 29–1 30–4 31–2 32–3 33–1 34–4 35–4 36–3 37–1 38–2 39–3 40–4 41–4 42–3 43–3 44–3 45–2 46–3 47–1 48–4 49–2 50–4 51–1 52–4 53–2 54–3 55–1 56–2 57–4 58–2 59–1 60–2
Explanatory Answers - Paragraph anagram
1. (2) (D) is the appropriate sentence to follow (1). This is because ---- refers to 'too formidable to overcome'. Moreover A, C is a mandatory sequence.
2. (1) The pronoun 'he' in (C) refers to artist in sentence (1) which makes (C) ideal to follow sentence (1); In addition, CA is a mandatory pair.
3. (1) The phrase 'these gifts' in (C) links the sentences to sentence (1). Only choice (1) has such a sequence.
4. (2) (C) is ideal to follow (1). BD is a better sequence than DB. 5. (4) CD is a mandatory sequence. Only choice (4) has this sequence.
6. (1) The pronoun 'it' in sentence (A) refers to blind courage. C6 is a mandatory sequence - --- it ceases to be (sent - 6) implies - - - -'most widely admired' ~(sent. C).
7. (2) (D) is ideal to follow sent (1) and sent (a) is continuation of (d). 8. (4) CD is a mandatory sequence and should follow (1)
9. (1) AD is a mandatory sequence . Only choice (1) has it. 10. (2) (D) has to follow (1); bc is mandatory.
11. (1) (C) ideally follows (1); cb is a mandatory sequence. 12. (2) ca is a mandatory sequence.
13. (1) (b) has to follow (1); cd is mandatory.
14. (4) 'b' has to follow (1); dc is a mandatory sequence. 15. (1) (a) has to follow (1); ab is mandatory pair. 16. (2) c, d is a mandatory sequence.
17. (4) (d) has to follow (1) ab and 6 is a mandatory sequence. 18. (1) Sentence (1) should be followed by (c).
19. (4) (a) should follow (1) and (b) should precede (6).
20. (2) Semantically (c) is a continuation of cd; ab is another mandatory pair.
21. (2) (3) is the best sentence to begin the sequence. (1 ) is the best to conclude the sequence. 22. (4) (2) is the right sentence to begin the paragraph. (1) should follow sentence (1). 23. (1) 1,2,3 is the right sequence semantically.
24. (4) (1) is ideal to begin the sequence. Sentence (3) logically follows (1).
25. (1) (3) is the most general of the statements to begin the sequence. (4) has to follow (3).
26. (2)
27. (3) (3) is the right sentence to begin the paragraph. 28. (2) (1) is ideal to begin the sequence. (4) has to follow (1).
29. (1) (2) should begin the sequence. (3) has to follow (2).
30. (4) The ideal sentence to begin the para is (2) ; moreover, 4,3 is a mandatory pair.
31. (2) (2) is the best sentence to begin the sequence. 3, 1 is mandatory, so choice (2) is more logical than (4).
32. (3) Logically sentence (3) should begin the sequence. Sentence (2) logically follows (3). 33. (1) 4, 3, is a thought continuity.
34. (4) (2) is ideal to begin the para. 2, 4 is a mandatory sequence.
35. (4) (1) is the most independent statement to begin the sequence. (4) logically follows (1).
36. (3) (2) should ideally begin the sequence as (1) and (3) have dependent words. (3) is a thought continuation from (2).
37. (1) (4) should begin the para as the thought continues to (1) and (3) from (4).
38. (2) (2) is the most logical sentence to begin the sequence. 5, 1 is a mandatory sequence as (1) is a thought reverser to (5).
39. (3) (3) is ideal to begin the para. 3, 1 is a mandatory sequence; (2) is a conclusive statement. 40. (4) 4,3 is a mandatory pair; (2) is conclusive.
41. (4) (2) logically begin the para ; (1) is conclusive.
42. (3) From the given choices, (4) is most logical to begin the para. (~1) should follow (4). 43. (3) 2, 4 is a mandatory sequence.
44. (3) 1, 2 sequence is more logical than 2, 1 ; therefore choice (3) is preferred to (1).
45. (2) Sentence (3) is the most general of the sentences to begin the para. (3) should be followed by (2). 2, 4 is mandatory.
46. (3) (4) is the right sentence to begin the para. (2) should follow (4). 47. (1) (2) should begin the para. 1,3 is a mandatory sequence.
48. (4) Only (4) can begin the sequence. (1) must follow (4). 49. (2) Only (3) can begin the para 4,2 is a mandatory pair.
50. (4) (1) is devoid of any dependent phrase unlike other sentence therefore ideal to begin the para. 2,3 is a mandatory sequence.
51. (1) (3) is ideal to begin the para. 4, 1 is a mandatory sequence. 52. (4) 4,3 is a mandatory pair. (1) is conclusive .
53. (2) (2) should begin the para. 4, 1 is mandatory .
54. (3) (1) is the best sentence to begin the sequence. (4) should follow (1).
55. (1) (3) is general enough to begin the para. (2) explains the idea in (1); therefore, should follow (3)
56. (2) (1) can begin the para and (3) is more of a conclusive statement. 57. (4) Only sentence (4) can begin the sequence. 2,3 is mandatory,
58. (2) (4) is the best sentence to start with. (3) follows and (2) is conclusive. 59. (1) (4) is the best sentence to begin the sequence. 1,3 is mandatory.
SENTENCE
COMPLETION
2.1 DESCRIPTION OF A SENTENCE COMPLETION In CAT you are presented with 5-7 sentence completion questions.
A sentence completion question consists of an incomplete sentence. The sentence may have one or two blanks. From the five answer choices given, you are required to choose an appropriate word or words that can serve as the missing word/ words that will best complete the meaning of the given sentence.
DIRECTIONS: Each sentence below has one or two blanks; each blank indicates that some thing has been omitted. Beneath the sentence are five lettered words or set of words. Choose the word or set of words for each blank that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
Q. A thinking man resists the vulgar prosperity that _____ ever to _____ , by preserving and communicating heroic sentiments.
A. disintegrates ... banality B. transforms ... neutrality
C. decays ... luxury D. defers ... poignancy
E. retrogrades ... barbarism
The theory underlying a sentence completion stimulus is that the meaning and the tone of a sentence can be gathered without the missing word/words. If so, it is possible for you to supply word(s) to complete the sentence.
Invariably in every sentence completion question there will be a clue or two that could be used as leads toward identifying the correct choice word(s).
These clues could be structural (grammatical) or semantic (meaning) clues. The word(s) that you choose should agree and merge with the sentence structurally and functionally or semantically.
Every sentence completion question can be analyzed for the negative or positive nature of words to be filled in.
2.2 WHAT IS MEASURED
I. Skill of vocabulary
Sentence completion question is a test of your word power and diction. It is only if you know the meaning of word(s) that you will be able to choose confidently, the appropriate word to fill the incomplete sentence. Moreover the question sentence also may have difficult words in them, knowing the meaning of which is essential for understanding the sentence in totality and to choose the appropriate word(s).
Look at the following question:
Q. The department can use information received from dissatisfied employees and _____ to launch an investigation against the company.
A. pettifoggers B. buccaneers C. ambassadors
D. whistleblowers E. pacifists
The knowledge of the meaning of the words in the choices is essential for you to select the answer to this question with confidence. Let’s analyze the meaning of these words.
A pettifogger is one who practices chicanery or unlawful business. Can this word fit the sentence? No.
A buccaneer is a pirate; again not a word that would go with dissatisfied employees to supply information about a company.
A whistleblower is one who informs about corruption or wrongdoing. Yes, this fits the sentence.
An ambassador is not one to do anything with a company. In fact this is the first choice you could eliminate. ii. Skill of semantics and syntax
A sentence has a semantic dimension (meaning) and a syntactical dimension (word arrangement). Knowledge of these two is a mandatory condition for you to be able to choose the appropriate word. You must understand the meaning of a sentence in order to identify the appropriate choice word that fills the blank and completes the sentence coherently.
You should have a fair understanding of the functions of structural words in a sentence such as unless, rather, yet, while, unfortunately, in contrast, despite.
Look at the following question:
Q. The meaning of words is destroyed if you change them, where as the meaning of a thought _____ whatever word you think proper to use.
A. alters B. transforms C. remains D. settles E. belies
When you read the sentence you must recognize the function of whereas in the sentence. It signals a shift in the meaning of the sentence.
One thing is destroyed whereas the other is not; the answer thus is remains.
The semantic feature of a sentence refers to its meaning, and how meaning of the given words in a sentence help us to identify the word to complete the sentence.
Study the following sentence:
Q. A cult brand _____ the imagination of a small group who spread the word, make converts, help turn a fringe product into a _____ name.
A. ceases ... redoubtable B. elevates ... dynamic C. fires ... dream D. seizes ... mainstream E. pools ... envious
The first clue is the word imagination; hence pools, ceases and seizes can easily be eliminated. You have to work with fires and elevates. Fire one’s imagination is a standard idiomatic usage. Moreover the meaning of the sentence implies turning a fringe (peripheral) product into (opposite of it) a dream product.
iii. Skill of identifying clues
A sentence completion question is not merely a test of your vocabulary. It also tests your ability to analyze the given sentence and to identify the structural and semantic clues that decide on the meaning and nature of the word(s) to be chosen.
You will find one or two clues in a sentence completion question. Common key words such as and or but are all the more valuable for us in sentence completion. These are structural clues. (These are dealt with in detail later)
2.3 SENTENCE COMPLETION STRATEGIES
In order to answer sentence completion questions correctly, you should first read the entire sentence as you see it, without trying to fill in the word or words. Desist from working on each blank separately. The second part of the
sentence may have a bearing on the first part of the sentence. And both words must fit into the meaning of the sentence; therefore read your choice into the sentence supplying and evaluating both words.
Each sentence contains a few crucial clues that determine the answers, and finding these clues will guide you to the correct answer. Look for what is directly stated. In sentence completion questions, you may also find poetic and literary language, which tests your understanding of figurative usage. The correct answer is the one that is directly implied in the sentence.
Ø Determine where the sentence is heading, using structural clues. Ø Anticipate answers in your words.
Ø Look for answers that are similar to yours.
Ø Fix words in the sentence to see if they gel with the whole sentence. Sentence completion strategy in a nutshell.
Strategy 1
Read the entire sentence.
In both one and two blank sentences read the entire sentence before you inspect the choices. An overall understanding of the sentence is essential.
Strategy 2
Identify structural clues to determine the nature of the word(s) required.
You can determine the positive or negative tone of the expected word using structural clues. And identify the words whose synonym, antonym, parallel word or cause/ effect that you have to supply.
Strategy 3
Substitute your own words.
Place your own words in the blanks assuming that answer choices are not given, keeping in mind the clues you have identified.
Strategy 4
Identify words similar to the ones you substituted.
If the word you have substituted goes with the requirement of the sentence, you are sure to find a word(s) similar in meaning and tone to the ones you have substituted.
Strategy 5
Read the sentence back with word(s) filled in.
Now read the entire sentence with the words filled in to see if the word(s) fit literally and figuratively. Identifying clues
Now let’s discuss in detail the types of sentence completion clues that are found in the CAT. Identifying these clues is the single most promising method of solving sentence completion questions.
A. THOUGHT CONTINUITY CLUES
In this type the first part of the sentence and the second part are parallel ideas. There is no shift in meaning. The missing word in the sentence is parallel to or has a meaning similar to a word already given in the sentence. One part of the sentence may support or elaborate another part. One part of the sentence may be complementary to the other part in meaning. These clues continue the sentence in the same direction. The positive or negative tone of what follows is not changed by these clue words.
The words that indicate such continuity are:
v Similarly v Because
v And
v Since v Thus
v In fact v More over v In deed v In addition v Consequently Study the following sentences:
1. Shakespeare lives forever; in fact he is immorta l.
2. His argument was convincing and persuasive.
3. The film script showed depth and maturity; likewise the treatment showed profundity. In the sentences above the words in italics are structural clues.
In the first sentence the clue to the word to be filled in is ‘in fact’, indicating that a word similar in meaning to the phrase ‘ lives for ever’ is required to complete the sentence.
In the second sentence, the word to be filled in should be parallel to ‘persuasive’, determined by the thought continuity word’ and’.
In the third sentence, the word ‘likewise’ indicates that a word parallel to depth and maturity completes the sentence. Now let’s understand more about thought continuity clues from the following exercise.
SENTENCE COMPLETION DRILL - 1
DIRECTIONS: Read each of the following incomplete sentences, identify the thought continuity clues and supply your own word to complete the sentence. Your word should complete the meaning of the sentence.
1. Human beings are not free-living solitary individuals; they are _____ . 2. His writing lacks _____ ; there is nothing new or interesting in his books.
3. Albert is famous for his _____ , he shows too high an opinion of himself and his achievements. 4. Delegates expressed strong _____ to the scheme as it appeared anti-poor.
5. There is a new feeling of _____ in the state owing to the progressive policies of the new government. 6. Churchill was a fine political _____ ; thousands of people gathered to listen to his formal speeches. 7. The employees decided to go on a strike as the authorities were _____ to their plight.
8. His friends called him a _____ , he is very lively and full of energy.
9. These days youngsters are highly _____ ; they show a lot of experience of the world and social situations. 10. He is _____ and does not show allegiance to any group or political organisation.
11. The company is known for its _____ mode of functioning; it is not organised into a clear and efficient organisation.
12. _____ people do not show or accept things as they really are.
13. The timing is _____ as the economy is booming and consumer interest is on the rise.
14. This shows the rise of fundamentalism _____ by selfish groups and power-hungry politicians. [Turn to end of chapter for answers]
B. PARALLEL IDEA CLUES
These clues are similar to the thought continuity clues. The word that completes the sentence is in the same tone as in the word already given. The word(s) that complete the sentence complements a word or phrase already given. All that the young ask of the political class is compassion and concern/ sympathy/ caring .
ii. On questions about political and electoral reforms, the respondents showed great forethought and vision/ rationality.
In the above sentences you may observe that the words given and the words that have to be filled in are parallel/ complementary or in the same tone.
SENTENCE COMPLETION DRILL 2
DIRECTIONS: In the following sentences, identify the clue words and supply a word that is parallel to the given word to complete the meaning of the sentence.
1. Global markets demand a more sophisticated and _____ approach.
2. For those who use knowledge at every stage, information will be both their raw material as well as _____ . 3. The _____ of intangible knowledge assets will also mean major changes in management structures.
4. As the buying power of the consumer increases, he will also become more discriminating and _____ of quality and _____ of service.
5. India is a _____ society with varied religions, languages and beliefs.
6. The author of ‘An Equal Music’ knowingly and _____ overlooks some of the shortcomings of the artistic creations he refers to.
7. Joyce’s clarity and _____ in sketching lives on the edge of despair ensures that her stories will be read widely.
8. The combination of elegance and _____ in his speech enthralled the audience.
C. THOUGHT REVERSAL CLUES
These change the direction of the sentence. They make one part of the sentence contradict or qualify another part. The word or phrase that completes the sentence is opposite in meaning to a word or phrase already given. The positive or negative charge of an answer is changed by these clues.
Such signs include:
v But v On the contrary
v In spite of v Despite v Yet v However v Unless v Rather v Although v While v Unfortunately v Nonetheless v Ironically v Paradoxically Illustrations:
i. His argument was flawed but persuasive.
iii. The emphasis will not be on physical assets but on intangibles.
In the sentences above the words in italics are structural clues, which indicate that the words to be filled in are opposite in meaning to the words that are already given in the sentences.
SENTENCE COMPLETION DRILL - 3
DIRECTIONS: Now identify the thought reversal clues in the following sentences and supply words that provide contrast ideas to those given in the first part of the given sentences.
1. Unless organizations learn to create a strong brand value, they may find their contact with their end customer _____ by intermediaries.
2. Spirituality is something that deals with the celebration of life and not with _____ . 3. Indians have lost their _____ and have succumbed to a culture of materialism.
4. Government agencies have failed to arrive at a consensus due to _____ considerations. 5. Science and religion are not antithetical, but instead hold the prospect of a _____ relationship. 6. Let our differences be a cause for admiration and celebration, not for _____ and _____. 7. While we see Indians doing well outside India, inside India they are still _____.
SENTENCE COMPLETION DRILL - 4
DIRECTIONS: Read each of the following sentences, identify the clues and write appropriate words in the blanks to complete the meaning of the sentence.
1. It is heartening to come upon this book at a time when journalism seems to have been overtaken by _____ and meaninglessness.
2. Although the developmental process provided security for women, it led to the _____ of their involvement in decision-making.
3. The new approach emphasizes intervention to _____ the problem rather than to challenge the context that gives forth the problem.
4. One of the greatest threats that faces the nation today is the growing _____ between people of different faiths. 5. If the growing spread of reactionary and _____ religious assertion is any indicator, then we in our country
have yet to learn how to deal with pluralism.
6. Much of the book cites problems in public health reforms, but very few essays actually point towards _____ . 7. At a time when children’s stories were exclusively moral and _____ Anderson revolutionized the genre by
infusing it with humour, anarchy and sorrow.
8. Anderson expressed the most painful and _____ emotions with extraordinary aesthetic control. 9. In his simple and _____ way, Anderson told us much about the human condition.
While studying a sentence completion questions, you should be able to gauge as to which direction the sentence is heading. If the sentence has a causal idea it is possible to infer what would logically follow the causal phenomenon. In other words, we can anticipate the type of effect that the given cause would lead to. Similarly by analyzing the nature of an effect (sentences in which effect is given), we can also infer the plausible causal factor that would’ve contributed to the type of effect given. The easiest way is to identify the tone of the cause or effect to be supplied into the sentence - negative or positive.
Let’s work on sentences with cause effect relationship.
Torture is so prevalent and _____ of the hapless so common that these helpless beings are certainly _____ when they pour out their story of agony.
A. indemnifications ... unhinged B. felicitation ... believable C. disparaging ... credulous D. victimization ... credible E. endurance... fathomable
In the above sentence you observe that there are two clues: parallel and causal. Signaled by the word and the first blank needs a word parallel to torture i.e. victimization. The intensity of these two factors results in the possibility of the stories believable or credible.
Look at another example:
Higher education in India can no longer be allowed to remain as a/an _____ instrument that crushes the spirit of the individual while goading him into a _____ and consumerist mode.
A. innerving ... boisterous B. emasculating ... materialist C. invigorating ... pragmatic D. relegating ... humanistic E. riveting ... catholic
An instrument that crushes the spirit of the individual cannot be innerving or invigorating (both means energizing) nor can it be riveting, since rivet means to hold firmly and relegate meaning to lower in rank is closer but the latter word cannot be humanistic. The word that is parallel to consumerist is materialist.
In a similar mode identify the cause effect ideas in the incomplete sentences in the following drill and choose appropriate words to complete them.
SENTENCE COMPLETION DRILL - 5
DIRECTIONS: Read each of the following incomplete sentences and identify word(s) from the choices to complete the sentences employing cause-effect clues.
1. The therapies that try to _____ harmony and balance through physical methods have recently become known collectively as bodywork.
A. adjust B. tamper C. facilitate
D. expurgate E. aver
2. The _____ of our natural environment has been accompanied by a corresponding increase in health problems of individuals.
A. alterations B. transformation C. deterioration
D. transitoriness E. glorification
3. Rural indebtedness, which has already reached _____ , is also likely to grow into the drought-affected areas. A. magnanimous proportions B. alarming proportions
C. unambiguous levels D. national standards
4. Unlike their civilian counterparts, the army _____ are quick in completing enquiries, and therefore their report should be _____ before long.
A. legislations ... public B. headquarters ... consigned C. courts ... available D. machinery ... commissioned E. headquarters ... assessed
5. At the macro-level hate _____ alienation between nations and provoke wars and large-scale cruelty.
A. assuages B. alleviates C. exhorts
D. aggravates E. alloys
6. The world’s quest for peace is shaped by the _____ of power which also, _____ , shapes its approach to war. A. paradigm ... ironically B. perpetrators ... paradoxically
C. framework ... arguably D. corridors ... eventually E. zealots ... hypothetically
7. The fact of the novel the reviewers did find praiseworthy was Rushdie’s _____ and sustained optimism in the face of _____ .
A. forthrightness ... evidence B. honesty ... neutrality C. perseverance ... adversity D. denial ... criticism E. probity ... dissonance
8. The special _____ and privileges writers receive are their reward for using knowledge in the service of others.
A. deference B. irreverence C. impetus
D. broad-mindedness E. derision
9. Unless there are continuous efforts to _____ micronutrients, food growing in soil will be _____ in other nutrients.
A. advocate ... bereft B. deliver ... adequate C. replenish ... deficient D. impair ... lacking E. co-exist ... prominent
10. There is _____ evidence to _____ the claim that organic food is crucial for the health of human beings. A. yielding ... rebuke B. captivating ... draft
C. compelling ... stultify D. persuasive ... support E. convincing ... minimize
11. Because the _____ span of television-trained audiences has been artificially shortened, candidates are forced to _____ their programs in 30 or 60 second summaries.
A. campaign ... augment B. confrontation ... telecast C. concentration ... embellish D. life ... summarize E. attention ... encapsulate
E. WORD DEFINITION CLUES
Yet another common clue found in sentence completion stimuli is the meaning or definition of the word to be filled given as part of the incomplete sentence itself. It is similar to the thought continuity clue except that in this case the meaning of the word or definition of the word to be selected is already given.
Let us study an example:
The great irony of Apple Computers is that the very posture that won Steve Jobs a cult following creating an exclusive group of _____ technicians who _____ refused to bow to IBM, hobbled his company.
A. iconoclastic ... stubbornly B. conservative ... invariably C. rebellious ... timidly D. traditional ... out rightly E. pre-meditated ... obediently
In the sentence above you would’ve already observed the words ‘refused to bow’, which signals the word to be placed in the second blank. This phrase clearly defines the word stubbornly.
Another example:
The crisis in modern education is not merely a constraint of _____ of funds but of _____ practices, unsuited for contemporary system.
A. scarcity ... doctrinaire B. fulsomeness .... authoritative C. restrictive ness ... autocratic D. congruity ... monolithic E. paucity ... anachronistic
In the above sentence the key to the latter word is ‘unsuited for contemporary education’. You can now easily eliminate unsuitable choices and arrive at choice E, i.e. anachronistic.
SENTENCE COMPLETION DRILL 6 [CLUE- WORD DEFINITION]
Directions: Choose the appropriate words that complete the following incomplete sentences using clues available in
the sentences. The clue is that definition or meaning of words to be selected is already in the sentences.
1. One approach to defining _____ art has suggested that some sort of female _____ or sensibility exists, involving an imagery and formal style specific to women.
A. abstract ... chauvinism B. modern ... sensitivity C. contemporary ... outlook D. traditional ... beauty E. feminist ... aesthetic
2. Many of Herbert’s poems are mere bundles of _____ of metaphor, quaint and crabbed to the last degree. A. inditements B. oddities C. portrayals D. ramifications E. epitomes
3. Although the hero travels from place to place and meets with a variety of adventures, Tom Jones is more than a _____ story.
A. picturesque B. narrative C. picaresque D. thrilling E. sensational 4. Writing thus directly from his temperament, at the suggestion of his moods, Stern is curiously _____ .
A. disinterested B. dispassionate C. subjective
D. nonplussed E. promissory
5. Tennyson courageously faced the facts of science, as revealed in geology and biology, but he succeeded in _____ religious consolation from the very things which were _____ as a fatal menace to religion.
A. wringing ... dreaded B. occluding ... considered C. persisting ... pertinent D. dispersing ... highlighted E. inciting ... fortified
6. Decorous though they might seem, Austin’s _____ anonymity and her modest description of her miniaturist art implies a criticism.
A. studied B. profound C. self-exploring
D. self-effacing E. lackadaisical
7. Most relationships between living organisms are essentially _____ ones, characterized by coexistence and interdependence.
A. universal B. dichotomous C. distinctive D. symbiotic E. conducive
8. Throughout Greek antiquity healing was considered as essentially a _____ phenomenon and was associated with many deities.
9. The great distinction between teachers and philosophers is that one class speaks from within, or from _____ and the other class from without, as _____ .
A. cognizance ... intuition B. memory ... observers C. experience ... spectators D. exposure ... experimenters E. astuteness ... forethought
10. With new push technology, information can be _____ to individual requirements and proactively made available to the people who most use it.
A. tailored B. invested C. managed D. heralded E. garnered
11. It is believed that a teacher is not trusted to give _____ of his pupils, and an average teacher’s grading of his student is _____ by considerations of affinity and political persuasion.
A. a subjective analysis ... supported B. an impartial assessment ... clouded C. a disinterested evaluation ... denied D. a controlled measurement ... experimented E. a pertinent report ... provoked
12. Although a physicist, Franck’s work had profound _____ chemistry and on the branch of _____ dealing with the fundamental process of photosynthesis.
A. probity ... natural science B. earnestness ... pathology C. influence on ... botany D. dependence on ... anatomy E. impact on ... philology
13. I do not think that ordinary human beings can be happy without _____; in fact rivalry has been, ever since the origin of man, the spur to most serious matters.
A. sports B. competition C. art D. cooperation E. concern
14. He was a _____ in his love for his country and consequently expressed himself in extreme ways.
A. partisan B. patriot C. figurehead D. chauvinist E. altruist
15. Acceptance of an event is not to be mistaken for a life of passivity or submission to _____ characterized by laziness and a sense of helplessness.
A. cynicism B. obsequiousness C. fatalism
D. authority E. ambition
SENTENCE COMPLETION DRILL 7 [CLUE - CONTRAST IDEA]
DIRECTIONS: Each of the following questions has a sentence that has either one or two blanks. The blanks indicate that a piece of the sentence is missing. Each sentence is followed by five answer choices that consist of words or phrases. Select the answer choice that completes the sentence best.
1. Nature and nature-related knowledge used to be _____ from patentability but recent developments go a long way towards _____ the patentability of life forms.
A. derived ... understanding B. excluded ... accepting C. demarcated ... protecting D. inferred ... safeguarding E. circumscribed ... denoting
2. To avoid _____ is a natural tendency, to implicate innocents for reasons of vendetta is not unnatural.
A. self-denial B. self-incrimination
C. self-depreciation D. self-indulgence
E. self-adulation
3. The cult advocates that change must be on our terms that it must not be under _____, that we must anticipate, and always be _____ to change.
