List of top Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) Questions asked in CAT

A difficult readjustment in the scientist’s conception of duty is imperatively necessary. As Lord Adrain said in his address to the British Association, “unless we are ready to give up some of our old loyalties, we may be forced into a fight which might end the human race”. This matter of loyalty is the crux. Hitherto, in the East and in the West alike, most scientists, like most other people, have felt that loyalty to their own state is paramount. They have no longer a right to feel this. Loyalty to the human race must take its place. Everyone in the West will at once admit this as regards Soviet scientists. We are shocked that Kapitza who was Rutherford’s favourite pupil, was willing when the Soviet government refused him permission to return to Cambridge, to place his scientific skill at the disposal of those who wished to spread communism by means of H-bombs. We do not so readily apprehend a similar failure of duty on our own side. I do not wish to be thought to suggest treachery, since that is only a transference of loyalty to another national state. I am suggesting a very different thing; that scientists the world over should join in enlightening mankind as to the perils of a great war and in devising methods for its prevention. I urge with all the emphasis at my disposal that this is the duty of scientists in East and West alike. It is difficult duty, and one likely to entail penalties for those who perform it. Bu after all it is the labours of scientists which have caused the danger and on this account, if on no other, scientists must do everything in their power to save mankind from the madness which they have made possible. Science from the dawn of history, and probably longer, has been intimately associated with war. I imagine that when our ancestors descended from the trees they were victorious over the arboreal conservatives because flints were sharper than coconuts. To come to more recent times, Archimedes was respected for his scientific defense of Syracuse against the Romans; Leonardo obtained employment under the Duke of Milan because of his skill in fortification, though he did mention in a postscript that he could also paint a bit. Galileo similarly derived an income from the Grant Duke of Tuscany because of his skill in calculating the trajectories of projectiles. In the French Revolution those scientists who were not guillotined devoted themselves to making new explosives. There is therefore no departure from tradition in the present day scientist’s manufacture of A-bombs and H-bomb. All that is new is the extent of their destructive skill.
I do not think that men of science can cease to regard the disinterested pursuit of knowledge as their primary duty. It is true that new knowledge and new skills are sometimes harmful in their effects, but scientists cannot profitably take account of this fact since the effects are impossible to foresee. We cannot blame Columbus because the discovery of the Western Hemisphere spread throughout the Eastern Hemisphere an appallingly devastating plague. Nor can we blame James Watt for the Dust Bowl although if there had been no steam engines and no railways the West would not have been so carelessly or so quickly cultivate4. To see that knowledge is wisely used in primarily the duty of statesmen, not of science; but it is part of the duty of men of science to see that important knowledge is widely disseminated and is not falsified in the interests of this or that propaganda.
Scientific knowledge has its dangers; but so has every great thing. And over and beyond the dangers with which it threatens the present, it opens up, as nothing else can, the vision of a possible happy world, a world without poverty, without war, with little illness. And what is perhaps more than all, when science has mastered the forces which mould human character, it will be able to produce populations in which few suffer from destructive fierceness and in which the great majority regard other people, not as competitors, to be feared, but as helpers in a common task. Science has only recently begun to apply itself to human beings except in their purely physical aspect. Such science as exists in psychology and anthropology has hardly begun to affect political behaviour or private ethics. The minds of men remain attuned to a world that is fast disappearing. The changes in our physical environment require, if they are to bring well being, correlative changes in our beliefs and habits. If we cannot effect these changes, we shall suffer the fate of the dinosaurs, who could not live on dry land.
I think it is the duty of science - I do not say of every individual man of science - to study the means by which we can adapt ourselves to the new world. There are certain things that the world quite obviously needs; tentativeness, as opposed to dogmatism in our beliefs: an expectation of co-operation, rather than competition, in social relations, a lessening of envy and collective hatre4. These are things which education could produce without much difficulty. They are not things adequately south in the education of the present day.
It is progress in the human sciences that we must look to undo the evils which have resulted from a knowledge of the physical world hastily and superficially acquired by populations unconscious of the changes in themselves that the new knowledge has made imperative. The road to a happier world than any known in the past lies open before us if atavistic destructive passion can be kept in leash while the necessary adaptations are made. Fears are inevitable in our time, but hopes are equally rational and far more likely to bear good fruit. We must learn to think rather less of the dangers to be avoided than of the good that will be within our grasp if we believe in it and let it dominate our thoughts. Science, whatever unpleasant consequences it may have by the way, is in its very nature a liberator, a liberator of bondage to physical nature and, in time to come a liberator from the weight of destructive passion. We are on the threshold of utter disaster or unprecedented glorious achievement. No previous age has been fraught with problems so momentous and it is to science that we must look for happy issue.

If the more articulate members of a community formed a coherent and united class with a common interest, democracy would probably replace in to the rule of that intelligent, educated minority; even as it is, the democracies of the modern world are much closer to this fate than they are to the much-canvassed dangers of mob rule. Far from oppressing the cultured minority, or any other minorities, democracy gives more of them more scope to have their way than any other system does. This is the lesson of experience. It might also have been derived from an analysis of the concept of democracy, if the concept had been accurately analyzed

A distinction should be made between work and occupation. Work implies necessity; it is something that must be done as contributing to the means of life in general and to one’s own subsistence in particular. Occupation absorbs time and energy so long as we choose to give them; it demands constant initiative, and it is its own reward. For the average person the element of necessity in work is valuable, for he is saved the mental stress involved in devising outlets for his energy. Work has for him obvious utility, and it bring the satisfaction of tangible rewards. Where as occupation is an end in itself, and we therefore demand that it shall be agreeable, work is usually the means to other ends - ends which present themselves to the mind as sufficiently important to compensate for any disagreeableness in the means. There are forms of work, of course, which since external compulsion is reduced to a minimum, are hardly to be differentiated from occupation. The artist, the imaginative writer, the scientist, the social worker, for instance, find their pleasure in the constant spontaneous exercise o creative energy and the essential reward of their work is in the doing of it. In all work performed by a suitable agent there must be a pleasurable element, and the greater the amount of pleasure that can be associated with work, the better. But for most people the pleasure of occupation needs the addition of the necessity provided in work. It is better for them to follow a path of employment marked out for them than to have to find their own.
When, therefore, we look ahead to the situation likely to be produced by the continued rapid extension of machine production, we should think not so much about providing occupation for leisure as about limiting the amount of leisure to that which can be profitably used. We shall have to put the emphasis on the work - providing rather than the goods - providing aspect of the economic process. In the earlier and more ruthless days of capitalism the duty of the economic system to provide work was overlooked. The purpose of competitive enterprise was to realize a profit. When profit ceased or was curtailed, production also ceased or was curtaile4. Thus the workers, who were regarded as units of labour forming part of the costs of production, were taken on when required and dismissed when not required. They hardly thought of demanding work as a right. And so long as British manufacturers had their eyes mainly on the markets awaiting them abroad, they could conveniently neglect the fact that since workers are also consumers, unemployment at home means loss of trade. Moral considerations did not yet find a substitute in ordinary business prudence. The labour movements arose largely as a revolt against the conception of workers as commodities to be bought and sold without regard to their needs as human beings. In a socialist system it is assumed that they will be treated with genuine consideration, for, the making of profit not being essential, central planning will not only adjust the factors of production to the best advantage but will secure regularity of employment. But has the socialist thought about what he would do if owing to technological advance, the amount of human labour were catastrophically reduced? So far as I know, he has no plan beyond drastically lining the hours of work, and sharing out as much work as there may be. And, of course, he would grant monetary relief to those who were actually unemploye4. But has he considered what would be the moral effect of life imagined as possible in the highly mechanized state of future? Has he thought of the possibility of bands of unemployed and underemployed workers marching on the capital to demand not income (which they will have) but work?

It is undeniable that some very useful analogies can be drawn between the relational systems of computer mechanism and the relational systems of brain mechanism. The comparison does not depend upon any close resemblance between the actual mechanical links which occur in brains and computers; it depends on what the machines do. Further more, brains and computers can both be organized so as to solve problems. The mode of communication is very similar in both the cases, so much so that computers can now be designed to generate artificial human speech and even, by accident, to produce sequences of words which human beings recognize as poetry. The implication is not that machines are gradually assuming human forms, but that there is no sharp break of continuity between what is human, what is mechanical.

The motive force that has carried the psychoanalytic movement to a voluminous wave of popular attention and created for it considerable following those discontent with traditional methods and attitudes, is the frank direction of the psychological instruments of exploration to the insistent and intimate problems of human relations. However false or however true its conclusions, however weak or strong its arguments, however effective or defective or even pernicious its practice, its mission is broadly humanistic. Psychological enlightenment is presented as a program of salvation. By no other appeal could the service of psychology have become so glorified. The therapeutic promise of psychoanalysis came as the most novel, most ambitious, most releasing of the long procession of curative systems that mark the history of mental healing.
To the contemporary trends in psychology psychoanalysis actually offered a rebuke, a challenge, a supplement, though it appeared to ignore them. With the practical purpose of applied psychology directed to human efficiency it had no direct relation and thus no quarrel. The solution of behaviorism, likewise bidding for popular approval by reducing adjustment to a program of conditioning, it inevitably found alien and irrelevant, as the behaviorist in reciprocity found psychoanalytic doctrine mystical, fantastic, assumptive, remote. Even to the cognate formulations of mental hygiene, as likewise in its contacts with related fields of psychology, psychoanalysis made no conciliatory advances. Towards psychiatry, its nearest of kin, it took an unfriendly position, quite too plainly implying a disdain for an unprogressive relative. These estrangements affected its relations throughout the domain of mind and its ills; but they came to head in the practice.
From the outset in the days of struggle, when it had but a sparse and scattered discipleship, to the present position of prominence, Freudianism went its own way, for the most part neglected by academic psychology. Of dreams, lapses and neuroses, orthodox psychology had little say. The second reason for the impression made by psychoanalysis when once launched against the tide of academic resistance was its recognition of depth psychology, so much closer to human motivation, so much more intimate and direct than the analysis of mental factors.
Most persons in trouble would be grateful for relief without critical examination of the theory behind the practice that helped them. Anyone at all acquainted with the ebb and flow of cures - cures that cure cures that fail - need not be told that the scientific basis of the system is often the least important factor. Many of these systems arise empirically within a practice, which by trial, seems to give results. This is not the case in psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis belongs to the typical groups of therapies in which practice is entirely a derivative of theory. Here the pertinent psychological principle reads: “Create a belief in the theory, and the fact will create themselves”.

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
It's taken me six decades, but recently I had a profound realization: Every aspect of existence requires continuous energy and order to sustain itself. This fundamental truth, encapsulated in the second law of thermodynamics, states that everything tends towards disorder over time. This realization isn't just a reflection of aging; it's a deeper understanding that even seemingly inert objects—stones, iron columns, copper pipes, gravel roads, or a piece of paper—inevitably degrade without ongoing maintenance and the infusion of additional order. It appears that the essence of existence itself is largely about maintenance.

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The era of the internal combustion engine is nearing its end, evidenced by various indicators. Major automakers are increasingly transitioning to hybrid vehicles. Volvo, for instance, has committed to ceasing production of purely petrol-engined cars by 2019. Additionally, Tesla has introduced its first electric car aimed at middle-class consumers—the Tesla 3, priced at $35,000 in the US. Over 400,000 people have already made refundable deposits for this model, with thousands having received their cars. Tesla aims to sell another half a million units next year, a notable achievement considering its limited range and the scarcity of charging stations.

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Most accomplished senior managers depart from the traditional rational model, which prioritizes goal-setting, option analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making. Instead, these leaders often rely on intuition—a blend of instinct and nuanced understanding—when making daily strategic decisions to navigate a complex network of interconnected challenges. These issues are defined by uncertainty, conflicting information, creativity, and unexpected developments. They integrate deliberate action with intuitive insights to craft decisions that naturally align with their operational strategies.

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
In his YouTube series "Howtown," Adam Cole explores the reality behind how dogs perceive the world. Through collaboration with experts and deep dives into scientific literature, Cole uncovers insights into canine vision, revealing how dogs perceive color, depth, and the intertwining of sight and smell. His investigation sheds light on the tools scientists use to understand animals' perspectives and the inherent limitations.

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Daniel Alarcón was captivated by the vibrant pirated book market in Peru, particularly by a book titled Discursos y Brindis ('Speeches and Toasts'). This instructional book, filled with Peruvian-specific content, intrigued him with its optimistic tone and wide-ranging advice, from speeches for radio receiver inaugurations to eulogies for drowned fishermen. In a Pop-Up Magazine video, Alarcón celebrates the book's quirks before delving into its deeper role as a guide for social access and advancement in Peru.

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Promoting increased plastic recycling is comparable to trying to stop a collapsing skyscraper by hammering a nail. It's a futile effort to find recycling centers and feel a sense of accomplishment when we manage to recycle, yet it fails to tackle the root cause: the rampant production of single-use plastics. These items, like grocery bags used for mere minutes but enduring for hundreds of years in our ecosystems, illustrate a profound misuse of technology. The real solution lies in eliminating the production of single-use plastics altogether, rather than relying on insufficient recycling efforts to address a problem that should never have been created in the first place.

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
"It does seem to me that the job of comedy is to offend,or have the potential to offend,and it cannot be drained of that potential," Rowan Atkinson said of cancel culture. "Every joke has a victim. That's the definition of a joke. Someone or something or an idea is made to look ridiculous." The Netflix star continued,"I think you've got to be very, very careful about saying what you're allowed to make jokes about. You've always got to kick up? Really?" He added,"There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society,who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society,you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything."

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
As Soviet power declined, the world became to some extent multipolar, and Europe strove to define an independent identity. What a journey Europe has undertaken to reach this point. It had in every century changed its internal structure and invented new ways of thinking about the nature of international order. Now at the culmination of an era, Europe, in order to participate in it, felt obliged to set aside the political mechanisms through which it had conducted its affairs for three and a half centuries. Impelled also by the desire to cushion the emergent unification of Germany, the new European Union established a common currency in 2002 and a formal political structure in 2004. It proclaimed a Europe united, whole, and free, adjusting its differences by peaceful mechanisms.