Back in the early 2000s, an awesome thing happened in the New X-Men comics. Our mutant heroes had been battling giant robots called Sentinels for years, but suddenly these mechanical overlords spawned a new threat: Nano-Sentinels! Not content to rule Earth with their metal fists, these tiny robots invaded our bodies at the microscopic level. Infected humans were slowly converted into machines, cell by cell.
Now, a new wave of extremely odd robots is making at least part of the Nano-Sentinels story come true. Using exotic fabrication materials like squishy hydrogels and elastic polymers, researchers are making autonomous devices that are often tiny and that could turn out to be more powerful than an army of Terminators. Some are 1-centimetre blobs that can skate overwater. Others are flat sheets that can roll themselves into tubes, or matchstick-sized plastic coils that act as powerful muscles. No, they won’t be invading our bodies and turning us into Sentinels – which I personally find a little disappointing – but some of them could one day swim through our bloodstream to heal us. They could also clean up pollutants in water or fold themselves into different kinds of vehicles for us to drive. . . .
Unlike a traditional robot, which is made of mechanical parts, these new kinds of robots are made from molecular parts. The principle is the same: both are devices that can move around and do things independently. But a robot made from smart materials might be nothing more than a pink drop of hydrogel. Instead of gears and wires, it’s assembled from two kinds of molecules – some that love water and some that avoid it – which interact to allow the bot to skate on top of a pond.
Sometimes these materials are used to enhance more conventional robots. One team of researchers, for example, has developed a different kind of hydrogel that becomes sticky when exposed to a low-voltage zap of electricity and then stops being sticky when the electricity is switched off. This putty-like gel can be pasted right onto the feet or wheels of a robot. When the robot wants to climb a sheer wall or scoot across the ceiling, it can activate its sticky feet with a few volts. Once it is back on a flat surface again, the robot turns off the adhesive like a light switch.
Robots that are wholly or partly made of gloop aren’t the future that I was promised in science fiction. But it’s definitely the future I want. I’m especially keen on the nanometre- scale “soft robots” that could one day swim through our bodies. Metin Sitti, a director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany, worked with colleagues to prototype these tiny, synthetic beasts using various stretchy materials, such as simple rubber, and seeding them with magnetic microparticles. They are assembled into a finished shape by applying magnetic fields. The results look like flowers or geometric shapes made from Tinkertoy ball and stick modelling kits. They’re guided through tubes of fluid using magnets, and can even stop and cling to the sides of a tube
Which one of the following statements, if true, would be the most direct extension of the arguments in the passage?
- In the future, robots will be used to search and destroy diseases even in the deepest recesses of the human body.
- X-Men may be created by injecting people with mutant nano-gels that will respond to the brain’s magnetic field.
- Sentinel robots will be used in warfare to cause large-scale destructive mutations amongst civilians.
- 1-centimetre blobs of gel that have nano-robots in them will be used to send messages.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
To determine which statement is the most direct extension of the arguments presented in the passage, we need to identify the core themes and advancements discussed in the text.
The passage highlights the potential for tiny and advanced "soft robots" that could operate at a microscopic level within the human body. It notes that these nanometre-scale robots are particularly promising for swimming through the bloodstream and performing functions like healing, by leveraging materials such as hydrogels and magnetic microparticles.
Given this context, let's evaluate the options:
- In the future, robots will be used to search and destroy diseases even in the deepest recesses of the human body.
This statement aligns directly with the passage's discussion about nanometre-scale robots operating within the human body to perform healing functions. Therefore, it is the most direct extension of the passage's arguments.
- X-Men may be created by injecting people with mutant nano-gels that will respond to the brain’s magnetic field.
This statement introduces a fictional and speculative concept not directly related to the passage's primary focus on medical advancements.
- Sentinel robots will be used in warfare to cause large-scale destructive mutations amongst civilians.
This statement suggests a military application, deviating from the passage's focus on medical and environmental benefits of robots.
- 1-centimetre blobs of gel that have nano-robots in them will be used to send messages.
While it talks about using advanced materials, it does not align with the medical focus and potential benefits highlighted in the passage.
Therefore, the correct option that most directly extends the passage's arguments is the first one: In the future, robots will be used to search and destroy diseases even in the deepest recesses of the human body.
Which one of the following statements best summarises the central point of the passage?
- Robots will use nano-robots on their feet and wheels to climb walls or move on ceilings.
- Once the stuff of science fiction, nano-robots now feature in cutting-edge scientific research.
- Nano-robots made from molecules that react to water have become increasingly useful.
- The field of robotics is likely to be feature more and more in comics like the New X-Men
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The passage describes the evolution of nano-robots from being a concept in science fiction to becoming part of contemporary scientific research. The focus is on how these tiny robots, inspired by fictional narratives like the Nano-Sentinels in the New X-Men comics, are now being developed using advanced materials such as hydrogels and polymers. These materials are used to create autonomous devices that have various applications, from medical uses within the human body to environmental clean-up tasks. The passage emphasizes the transition of nano-robots from an imaginative idea to a tangible, cutting-edge technological advancement.
Best Summary of the Passage:
Among the given options, the statement that best summarizes the central point of the passage is:
"Once the stuff of science fiction, nano-robots now feature in cutting-edge scientific research."
This option captures the essence of the narrative, highlighting the progression from fiction to real-world research.
Which one of the following scenarios, if false, could be seen as supporting the passage?
- Some hydrogels turn sticky when an electric current is passed through them; this potentially has very useful applications.
- Robots made from smart materials are likely to become part of our everyday lives in the future.
- Nano-Sentinel-like robots are likely to be used to inject people to convert them into robots, cell by cell.
- There are two kinds of molecules used to make some nano-robots: one that reacts positively to water and the other negatively.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The task requires identifying which scenario, if false, could support the passage's theme. Examining the passage reveals a focus on advancements in robotics, particularly the potential and limitations of robotic technologies like Nano-Sentinels and soft robots.
The passage discusses:
- Development of robots made from smart materials, such as hydrogels and polymers.
- Nano-Sentinels in the context of comics versus real-life applications which do not convert humans into robots.
- Potential uses of these technologies, including environmental cleanup and medical applications.
Now, evaluate each option:
- Some hydrogels turn sticky when an electric current is passed through them; this potentially has very useful applications. - This aligns with the passage's discussion and does not directly support or contradict the passage if false.
- Robots made from smart materials are likely to become part of our everyday lives in the future. - Similarly, this supports the message within the passage about the future applications of these technologies.
- Nano-Sentinel-like robots are likely to be used to inject people to convert them into robots, cell by cell. - This scenario directly contradicts the passage's statements about not turning humans into robots, hence if false, it supports the passage.
- There are two kinds of molecules used to make some nano-robots: one that reacts positively to water and the other negatively. - The passage contains similar information about molecular interaction, supporting it whether true or false.
Thus, the scenario that, when false, supports the passage is: Nano-Sentinel-like robots are likely to be used to inject people to convert them into robots, cell by cell.
Which one of the following statements best captures the sense of the first paragraph?
- The X-Men were mutant heroes who now had to battle tiny robots called Nano-Sentinels.
- People who were infected by Nano-Sentinel robots became mutants who were called X-Men.
- Tiny sentinels called X-Men infected people, turning them into mutant robot overlords.
- None of the options listed here.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
- Relevant Details: X-Men are mutant heroes; they encounter "tiny robots" called Nano-Sentinels, which invade and convert humans.
- The X-Men were mutant heroes who now had to battle tiny robots called Nano-Sentinels.
Analysis: This aligns perfectly with the paragraph, as it describes the X-Men as heroes who confront Nano-Sentinels. - People who were infected by Nano-Sentinel robots became mutants who were called X-Men.
Analysis: Incorrect. The Nano-Sentinels convert humans to part machines, not mutants or X-Men. - Tiny sentinels called X-Men infected people, turning them into mutant robot overlords.
Analysis: Incorrect. The X-Men are heroes, not the infecting sentinels. - None of the options listed here.
Analysis: Since option 1 is accurate, this is incorrect.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are letters ‘e’ taken from four popular logos, arranged in a sequence. Which of the options is the correct sequence?
- UCEED - 2026
- English Language Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are four options, each showing consecutive frames representing the movement of a pendulum of an old-style wall clock for an animation movie. Which is the correct option?
- UCEED - 2026
- English Language Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Acrucial moderating factor in how people experience comparisons is self-esteem. Individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to interpret upward comparison as informative rather than threatening. They are more resilient in the face of others’ success and more likely to believe they can reach their own goals. In contrast, people with low self-esteem are more prone to interpret comparison as judgment, reinforcing negative self-views and triggering feelings of inadequacy.
This dynamic creates a self-reinforcing loop. People with high self-esteem are less vulnerable to upward comparison, which intensifies those doubts. Those with a secure sense of self are more likely to use comparison as a learning tool. The same external stimulus—a colleague’s achievements, a friend’s popularity—can have radically different effects depending on internal stability.
Self-esteem also influences how people choose their comparison targets. Research has found that individuals often engage in “selective comparison,” seeking out those who confirm their existing beliefs about themselves. This can become a subtle form of self-sabotage. Someone who feels unworthy may subconsciously seek out targets that reinforce that sense, perpetuating a narrative of inferiority. One of the most promising antidotes to social comparison is temporal comparison—evaluating oneself not against others, but against one’s own past. This method has been shown to increase motivation and satisfaction, especially when individuals can see concrete progress. Temporal comparison activates the same reward circuits as social comparison but avoids the threat systems associated with social ranking. It also reinforces agency: individuals focus on what they can control and improve rather than what others control. In therapeutic and coaching settings, temporal comparison is used to help clients build self-efficacy and track growth over time.
Moreover, people who focus on self-improvement rather than social dominance are less likely to fall into cycles of envy or self-pity. They can still use others as inspiration, but they do so without attaching their self-worth to the outcome. This is not to say they never compare—but that they focus on learning, rather than judgment. The most skilful approach to comparison may lie in eliminating it, but in reframing it as feedback. When we interpret comparison as information rather than a verdict, we can ask, “What can I learn from this?” This shift turns comparison into a growth tool. Teachers mentor their students, not as rivals. Psychologists emphasize that the key variable here is mindset.
A fixed mindset sees comparison as a threat. If someone else is better, it means we are worse. A growth mindset sees comparison as a map. If someone else has reached a certain level, it means the path exists. This reframing is not just a cognitive trick. It changes the emotional tone of comparison, making it more likely to inspire than to wound. Reframing also requires emotional regulation—the ability to notice an initial pang of envy or shame without reacting impulsively. With practice, individuals can learn to pause, reflect, and reinterpret their emotional responses. Over time, this builds resilience and self-trust, allowing comparison to become a learning tool rather than a cage.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
When people who are talking don’t share the same culture, knowledge, values, and assumptions, mutual understanding can be especially difficult. Such understanding is possible through the negotiation of meaning. To negotiate meaning with someone, you have to become aware of and respect both the differences in your backgrounds and when these differences are important. You need enough diversity of cultural and personal experience to be aware that divergent world views exist and what they might be like. You also need the flexibility in world view, and a generous tolerance for mistakes, as well as a talent for finding the right metaphor to communicate the relevant parts of unshared experiences or to highlight the shared experiences while demphasizing the others. Metaphorical imagination is a crucial skill in creating rapport and in communicating the nature of unshared experience. This skill consists, in large measure, of the ability to bend your world view and adjust the way you categorize your experiences. Problems of mutual understanding are not exotic; they arise in all extended conversations where understanding is important.
When it really counts, meaning is almost never communicated according to the CONDUIT metaphor, that is, where one person transmits a fixed, clear proposition to another by means of expressions in a common language, where both parties have all the relevant common knowledge, assumptions, values, etc. When the chips are down, meaning is negotiated: you slowly figure out what you have in common, what it is safe to talk about, how you can communicate unshared experience or create a shared vision. With enough flexibility in bending your world view and with luck and charity, you may achieve some mutual understanding.
Communication theories based on the CONDUIT metaphor turn from the pathetic to the evil when they are applied indiscriminately on a large scale, say, in government surveillance or computerized files. There, what is most crucial for real understanding is almost never included, and it is assumed that the words in the file have meaning in themselves—disembodied, objective, understandable meaning. When a society lives by the CONDUITmetaphor on a large scale, misunderstanding, persecution, and much worse are the likely products.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Later, I realized that reviewing the history of nuclear physics served another purpose as well: It gave the lie to the naive belief that the physicists could have come together when nuclear fission was discovered (in Nazi Germany!) and agreed to keep the discovery a secret, thereby sparing humanity such a burden. No. Given the development of nuclear physics up to 1938, development that physicists throughout the world pursued in all innocence of any intention of finding the engine of a new weapon of mass destruction—only one of them, the remarkable Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, took that possibility seriously—the discovery of nuclear fission was inevitable. To stop it, you would have had to stop physics. If German scientists hadn’t made the discovery when they did, French, American, Russian, Italian, or Danish scientists would have done so, almost certainly within days or weeks. They were all working at the same cutting edge, trying to understand the strange results of a simple experiment bombarding uranium with neutrons. Here was no Faustian bargain, as movie directors and other naifs still find it intellectually challenging to imagine. Here was no evil machinery that the noble scientists might hide from the problems and the generals. To the contrary, there was a high insight into how the world works, an energetic reaction, older than the earth, that science had finally devised the instruments and arrangements to coart forth. “Make it seem inevitable,” Louis Pasteur used to advise his students when they prepared to write up their discoveries. But it was. To wish that it might have been ignored or suppressed is barbarous. “Knowledge,” Niels Bohr once noted, “is itself the basis for civilization.” You cannot have the one without the other; the one depends upon the other. Nor can you have only benevolent knowledge; the scientific method doesn’t filter for benevolence. Knowledge has consequences, not always intended, not always comfortable, but always welcome. The earth revolves around the sun, not the sun around the earth. “It is a profound and necessary truth,” Robert Oppenheimer would say, “that the deep things in science are not found because they are useful; they are found because it was possible to find them.”
...Bohr proposed once that the goal of science is not universal truth. Rather, he argued, the modest but relentless goal of science is “the gradual removal of prejudices.” The discovery that the earth revolves around the sun has gradually removed the prejudice that the earth is the center of the universe. The discovery of microbes is gradually removing the prejudice that disease is a punishment from God. The discovery of evolution is gradually removing the prejudice that Homo sapiens is a separate and special creation.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in CAT exam
- The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
In the dynamic realm of creativity, artists often find themselves at the crossroads between drawing inspiration from diverse cultures and inadvertently crossing into the territory of cultural appropriation. Inspiration is the lifeblood of creativity, driving artists to create works that resonate across borders. In a globalized era of the modern world, artists draw from a vast array of cultural influences. When approached respectfully, inspiration becomes a bridge, fostering understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity. However, the line between inspiration and cultural appropriation can be thin and easily blurred.
Cultural appropriation occurs when elements from a particular culture are borrowed without proper understanding, respect, or acknowledgment. This leads to the commodification of sacred symbols, the reinforcement of stereotypes, and the erasure of the cultural context from which these elements originated. It is essential to recognize that the impact of cultural appropriation extends beyond the realm of artistic expression, influencing societal perceptions and perpetuating power imbalances.- CAT - 2025
- Para Summary
- The number of distinct integers $n$ for which $\log_{\left(\frac14\right)}(n^2 - 7n + 11)>0$ is:
- CAT - 2025
- Linear Inequalities
- In the set of consecutive odd numbers $\{1, 3, 5, \ldots, 57\}$, there is a number $k$ such that the sum of all the elements less than $k$ is equal to the sum of all the elements greater than $k$. Then, $k$ equals?
- CAT - 2025
- Number Systems
- The number of distinct pairs of integers $(x, y)$ satisfying the inequalities $x>y \ge 3$ and $x + y<14$ is:
- CAT - 2025
- Number Systems
For any natural number $k$, let $a_k = 3^k$. The smallest natural number $m$ for which \[ (a_1)^1 \times (a_2)^2 \times \dots \times (a_{20})^{20} \;<\; a_{21} \times a_{22} \times \dots \times a_{20+m} \] is:
- CAT - 2025
- Linear Inequalities