Typically, elephant researchers have cited, as a cause of aggression, the high levels of testosterone in newly matured male elephants or the competition for land and resources between elephants and humans. But. . . Bradshaw and several colleagues argue. . . that today’s elephant populations are suffering from a form of chronic stress, a kind of species-wide trauma. Decades of poaching and culling and habitat loss, they claim, have so disrupted the intricate web of familial and societal relations by which young elephants have traditionally been raised in the wild, and by which established elephant herds are governed, that what we are now witnessing is nothing less than a precipitous collapse of elephant culture. . . .
Elephants, when left to their own devices, are profoundly social creatures. . . . Young elephants are raised within an extended, multitiered network of doting female caregivers that includes the birth mother, grandmothers, aunts and friends. These relations are maintained over a life span as long as 70 years. Studies of established herds have shown that young elephants stay within 15 feet of their mothers for nearly all of their first eight years of life, after which young females are socialized into the matriarchal network, while young males go off for a time into an all-male social group before coming back into the fold as mature adults. . . .
This fabric of elephant society, Bradshaw and her colleagues [demonstrate], ha[s] effectively been frayed by years of habitat loss and poaching, along with systematic culling by government agencies to control elephant numbers and translocations of herds to different habitats. . . . As a result of such social upheaval, calves are now being born to and raised by ever younger and inexperienced mothers. Young orphaned elephants, meanwhile, that have witnessed the death of a parent at the hands of poachers are coming of age in the absence of the support system that defines traditional elephant life. “The loss of elephant elders,” [says] Bradshaw . . . "and the traumatic experience of witnessing the massacres of their family, impairs normal brain and behavior development in young elephants.”
What Bradshaw and her colleagues describe would seem to be an extreme form of anthropocentric conjecture if the evidence that they’ve compiled from various elephant researchers. . . weren’t so compelling. The elephants of decimated herds, especially orphans who’ve watched the death of their parents and elders from poaching and culling, exhibit behavior typically associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related disorders in humans: abnormal startle response, unpredictable asocial behavior, inattentive mothering and hyperaggression. . . .
[According to Bradshaw], “Elephants are suffering and behaving in the same ways that we recognize in ourselves as a result of violence. . . . Except perhaps for a few specific features, brain organization and early development of elephants and humans are extremely similar.”
The passage makes all of the following claims EXCEPT:
- elephant mothers are evolving newer ways of rearing their calves to adapt to emerging threats.
- the elephant response to deeply disturbing experiences is similar to that of humans.
- human actions such as poaching and culling have created stressful conditions for elephant communities.
elephants establish extended and enduring familial relationships as do humans.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
To determine which claim the passage does not make, we need to analyze the content presented. First, let's look at each statement from the options:
- Elephant mothers are evolving newer ways of rearing their calves to adapt to emerging threats.
- The elephant response to deeply disturbing experiences is similar to that of humans.
- Human actions such as poaching and culling have created stressful conditions for elephant communities.
- Elephants establish extended and enduring familial relationships as do humans.
Now, let's examine how each statement is supported or not supported by the passage:
Option 1: The passage elaborates on how young elephants are born to and raised by younger and inexperienced mothers due to social disruptions. This implies challenges rather than new adaptive strategies by elephant mothers (not explicitly mentioned).
Option 2: This is explicitly mentioned in the passage, highlighting the similarity in responses to trauma between elephants and humans.
Option 3: The passage directly attributes chronic stress and collapses of elephant culture to human actions like poaching and culling.
Option 4: The passage describes the profound social structure of elephants, akin to extended familial relationships in humans.
Therefore, the claim not made by the passage is:
Elephant mothers are evolving newer ways of rearing their calves to adapt to emerging threats.
Which of the following statements best expresses the overall argument of this passage?
- Recent elephant behaviour could be understood as a form of species-wide trauma-related response.
- Elephants, like the humans they are in conflict with, are profoundly social creatures.
- The relationship between elephants and humans has changed from one of coexistence to one of hostility.
- The brain organisation and early development of elephants and humans are extremely similar.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
To determine the statement that best expresses the overall argument of the passage, we should first understand the core message conveyed by the author. The passage discusses the changing relationship between elephants and humans, highlighting the shift from peaceful coexistence to hostility and violence. It particularly emphasizes the impact of poaching, culling, and habitat loss on elephants, leading to societal and cultural disruptions within elephant herds. This has resulted in elephants exhibiting behaviors akin to trauma-related disorders. The author draws parallels between elephants and humans, focusing on their social nature and similar brain development and organization. This evidence supports the argument that recent elephant behavior can be understood as a trauma-related response. The passage centers around the notion of species-wide trauma due to external human-induced factors negatively impacting elephant societies and individual development. Based on this understanding, the statement "Recent elephant behaviour could be understood as a form of species-wide trauma-related response" encapsulates the main argument of the passage. It aligns with the observations and conclusions presented by Bradshaw and her colleagues regarding the effects of environmental and social disruptions on elephant populations, paralleling trauma responses observed in humans.
Which of the following measures is Bradshaw most likely to support to address the problem of elephant aggression?
- Funding of more studies to better understand the impact of testosterone on male elephant aggression.
- The development of treatment programmes for elephants drawing on insights gained from treating post-traumatic stress disorder in humans.
- Studying the impact of isolating elephant calves on their early brain development, behaviour and aggression.
- Increased funding for research into the similarity of humans and other animals drawing on insights gained from human-elephant similarities.
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The correct answer is (B):
To answer this question, we must first carefully read the question. The question wants us to address the problem of aggression in elephants, suggesting that we must pick the option that brings a solution to the problem of elephant aggression.
Option 1 goes out because the testosterone issue is not at all a concern or the bone of contention. Moreover, by understanding it, how would we be able to address the problem concerning elephant aggression.
Option 2 could indeed help us address the problem of elephant aggression because the trauma experienced by elephants is very similar to stress disorder in humans, and because elephants are social creatures just as humans are, insights gained from treating post-traumatic stress disorder in humans might help us address the problem of elephant aggression. Option 2 is the right choice Both option 3 and 4 are not likely to contribute in any ways to addressing the problem of elephant aggression. If yes, then there must a strong evidence for that in the passage, but we have no such evidence.
In paragraph 4, the phrase, “The fabric of elephant society . . . has(s) effectively been frayed by . . .” is:
an accurate description of the condition of elephant herds today.
- a metaphor for the effect of human activity on elephant communities.
an exaggeration aimed at bolstering Bradshaw’s claims.
- an ode to the fragility of elephant society today.
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
In the first paragraph, Bradshaw uses the term “violence” to describe the recent change in the human-elephant relationship because, according to him:
- there is a purposefulness in human and elephant aggression towards each other.
elephant herds and their habitat have been systematically destroyed by humans.
- human-elephant interactions have changed their character over time.
- both humans and elephants have killed members of each other’s species.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
- There is intentionality associated with the aggression of both humans and elephants. Bradshaw highlights that for centuries, humans and elephants coexisted peacefully. However, there is now hostility, referring to intentional acts of aggression from both sides.
- Bradshaw's perspective focuses on the purposefulness behind these aggressive interactions, which distinguishes them from mere natural behaviors or accidental encounters.
- The quoted text from Bradshaw mentions “the intentionality associated with it,” indicating that the observed violence is deliberate, hence supporting the correct answer:
there is a purposefulness in human and elephant aggression towards each other.
- While other factors like testosterone levels and competition for resources are acknowledged as causes of aggression, Bradshaw emphasizes the psychological and cultural upheavals faced by elephants due to human actions. This reinforces her view on the intentional aspect of violence in the changed relationship.
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