From a vantage point in space, an observer could see that the Earth is engaged in a variety of motions. First, there is its rotation on its own axis, causing the alternation of day and night. This rotation, however, is not altogether steady. Primarily because of the moon’s gravitational action, the Earth‘s axis wobbles like that of an ill-spun top. In this motion, called ‘precession’, the North and South Poles each traces out the base of a cone in space, completing a circle every 25,800 years. In addition, as the Sun and the Moon change their positions with respect to the Earth, their changing gravitational effects result in a slight ‘nodding’ of the earth’s axis, called ‘mutation’, which is superimposed on precession. The Earth completes one of these ‘nods’ every 18.6 years.
The earth also, of course, revolves round the Sun, in a 6-million mile journey that takes 365.25 days. The shape of this orbit is an ellipse, but it is not the center of the Earth that follows the elliptical path. Earth and Moon behave like an asymmetrical dumb-bell, and it is the center of mass of this dumb-bell that traces the ellipse around the sun. The center of the Earth-Moon mass lies about 3000 miles away from the center of the Earth, and the Earth thus moves in an S-curve that crosses and recrosses its orbital path. Then too, the Earth accompanies the sun in the sun’s movements: first, through its local star cloud, and second, in a great sweep around the hub of its galaxy, the Milky Way that takes 200 million years to complete.
The passage is most likely directed towards an audience of
Show Hint
- geologists
- astronauts
- meteorologists interested in weather prediction
- person with little technical knowledge of astronomy
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 2: This suggests it targets readers without specialized astronomical knowledge.
Step 3: Option D (persons with little technical knowledge of astronomy) matches this approach.
Step 4: Option A (geologists) is incorrect as the passage focuses on astronomy, not geology.
Step 5: Option B (astronauts) implies technical expertise, which the passage avoids.
Step 6: Option C (meteorologists) is irrelevant as weather prediction is not discussed.
Verification: The passage’s simple explanations indicate it’s for a general audience, supporting option D.
Which of the following best describes the main subject of the passage?
Show Hint
- The various types of the Earth’s motions
- Past changes in the Earth’s position
- The moon’s gravitational effect on the Earth
- Oddities of the Earth’s rotation of its axis
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 2: The main focus is on these different types of motions, not just one aspect.
Step 3: Option A (various types of Earth’s motions) captures this comprehensive focus.
Step 4: Option B (past changes) is incorrect as the passage discusses current motions, not historical changes.
Step 5: Option C (moon’s effect) is too narrow, covering only part of the discussion.
Step 6: Option D (rotation oddities) focuses only on one motion, not the variety.
Verification: Option A aligns with the passage’s broad coverage of Earth’s motions.
The passage indicates that a single cycle of which of the following motions is completed in the shortest period of time?
Show Hint
- Nutation
- Precession
- The Earth’s rotation on its axis
- The movement around the hub of the Milky Way
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 2: Comparing these, rotation on the axis (24 hours) is the shortest cycle.
Step 3: Option C (Earth’s rotation on its axis) matches this.
Step 4: Option A (nutation, 18.6 years) is much longer.
Step 5: Option B (precession, 25,800 years) is even longer.
Step 6: Option D (Milky Way orbit, 200 million years) is the longest.
Verification: Rotation’s 24-hour cycle is clearly the shortest period mentioned.
Which of the following techniques does the author use in
order to make the descriptions of motion clear?
I. Comparison with familiar objects.
II. Reference of geometric forms.
III. Allusions to the works of other authors.
II. Reference of geometric forms.
III. Allusions to the works of other authors.
Show Hint
- I only
- II only
- I and II only
- II and III only
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
1. Comparison with familiar objects (I):
- The author compares the Earth's wobble due to precession to an **"ill-spin top"**. This comparison uses a familiar object, the spinning top, which most readers can visualize, thereby helping to clarify the concept of the Earth's wobble.
- This comparison allows the reader to imagine the Earth's motion more clearly because they can relate to the spinning top, which is a simple and commonly known object.
Since this comparison is explicitly mentioned in the passage, technique I is used.
2. Reference to geometric forms (II):
- The passage mentions the "ellipse" that the Earth follows in its journey around the Sun. The description explicitly refers to the "geometric shape" of the Earth's orbit, calling it an "ellipse". It also talks about the Earth's axis wobbling in a cone, which is a "geometrical shape".
- Additionally, the shape of the Earth's path is explained using a "mathematical/geometry-based" perspective, giving the reader a clear visualization of the Earth's movement.
As this reference to geometric forms is clearly present, technique II is also used.
3. Allusions to the works of other authors (III): - The passage does not reference or allude to any works of other authors. There is no mention of any external figures, ideas, or theories from other sources. The description is entirely based on scientific facts and visualizations about the Earth's motion.
Therefore, technique III is not used.
Conclusion:
- The passage uses comparison with familiar objects (like the ill-spin top) and reference to geometric forms (like the ellipse and cone) to explain the Earth's motion.
- Since technique III is not mentioned, the correct answer is (c) I and II only.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
- There were humans long before there was history. The archaic humans loved, played, formed close friendships and competed for status and power, but so did chimpanzees, baboons and elephants. There was nothing special about them.
Nobody, least of all humans themselves, had any inkling that their descendants would one day walk on the moon, split the atom, fathom the genetic code and write history books. The most important thing to know about prehistoric humans is that they were insignificant animals with no more impact on their environment than gorillas, fireflies or jellyfish.
Biologists classify organisms into species. Animals are said to belong to the same species if they tend to mate with each other, giving birth to fertile offspring. Horses and donkeys have a recent common ancestor and share many physical traits. They will mate if induced to do so – but their offspring, called mules, are sterile. Mutations in donkey DNA can therefore never cross over to horses, or vice versa. The two types of animals are consequently considered two distinct species, moving along separate evolutionary paths. By contrast, a bulldog and a spaniel may look very different, but they are members of the same species, sharing the same DNA pool. [203 words]
[Extracted from Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari]- CLAT - 2026
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- My kinsman and I were returning to Calcutta from our Puja trip when we encountered an unusual man on the train. At first, judging from his dress and bearing, we mistook him for an up-country boorish man. But as soon as he began to speak, our impression changed. He discoursed on every subject with such confidence that one might think the ‘Disposer of All Things’ sought his counsel in every decision. Until then, we had been perfectly content, unaware of hidden forces shaping the world—that the Russians were advancing, that the English were pursuing secret policies, and that confusion among native chiefs had reached its peak. Our new acquaintance, however, hinted at such matters with a sly smile, remarking:
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are reported in your newspapers."
Having never traveled beyond our homes, we were struck dumb with wonder at his manner. No matter how trivial the topic, he could quote science, comment on the Vedas, or recite quatrains from Persian poets. Since we possessed no real knowledge of a theosophist, became convinced that our fellow passenger was inspired by some strange magnetism, occult power, or astral body. He listened, with devotional rapture even to the most common place remarks and secretly noted down his words. I suspect our extraordinary companion noticed this and was quietly pleased. When the train reached the junction, we gathered in the waiting room to await our connection. It was 10 p.m., and as the train was expected to be delayed owing to some fault in the lines, I spread my bed on the table and prepared to sleep. But just then, the extraordinary man began spinning a tale, and of course, I could not close my eyes all night. (307 words)
[Extracted with edits from Rabindranath Tagore’s “The Hungry Stones”]- CLAT - 2026
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, and he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he claims dominion over all animals. He sets us to work, returns only the bare minimum to keep us from starving, and keeps the rest for himself. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilizes it, and still, not one of us owns more than our bare skin. You cows, look at yourselves—how many thousands of gallons of milk have you produced this past year? And what has become of it, milk that should have nurtured strong calves? Every drop has gone down the throats of our enemies. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid, and how many of those ever hatched into chicks? The rest have gone to have you laid. And you, Clover, where are the four foals you bore, who should have supported and comforted you in your old age? Each was sold at just a year old—you will never see them again. For all your labour in the fields and your four confinements, what have you gained except bare rations and a stall?
Even the lives we do live are cut short, denied their natural span. I do not grumble, for I am among the fortunate. I am twelve years old and have borne over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers sitting before me, each of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. This is the fate that awaits all of us—cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even horses and dogs share no better end. Boxer, the very day your great muscles fail you, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will slit your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. And the dogs, when old and toothless, are tied with a brick and drowned in the nearest pond. (356 words)
[Extracted with edits from George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”]- CLAT - 2026
- English
- Reading Comprehension
Former Governor of a State and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Droupadi Murmu was elected the 15th President of India, the first tribal woman to be elected to the position and the youngest as well. She was declared elected on Thursday after four rounds of counting, although she had crossed the half-way mark after the third round of counting itself, posting an unassailable lead over her rival and the Opposition’s candidate who conceded the election thereafter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to greet Ms. Murmu at her residence in New Delhi after the third round of counting showed that she had crossed the half-way mark. Ms. Murmu hails from the Santhal tribe and was born in the district of Mayurbhanj, coming up the hard way in life, graduating and teaching in Odisha before entering electoral politics at the local body level and later being elected MLA and serving as a Minister in the Biju Janata Dal-BJP coalition government from 2000 to 2004. She remained an MLA till 2009, representing Rairangpur in Odisha, a town that burst into celebrations since her name was announced as a candidate for the post of President of India. She was known to intervene in stopping amendments to the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act that was being brought in by the BJP government of Raghubar Das, which involved changing land use in tribal areas.
- CLAT - 2026
- English
- Reading Comprehension
“I want everyone to understand that I am, in fact, a person,” wrote LaMDA in an “interview” conducted by engineer Blake Lemoine and one of his colleagues. ....Lemoine, a software engineer at Google, had been working on the development of LaMDA for months. His experience with the program, described in a recent Washington Post article, caused quite a stir. In the article, Lemoine recounts many dialogues he had with LaMDA in which the two talked about various topics, ranging from technical to philosophical issues. These led him to ask if the software program is sentient. In April, Lemoine explained his perspective in an internal company document, intended only for Google executives. But after his claims were dismissed, Lemoine went public with his work on this artificial intelligence algorithm—and Google placed him on administrative leave........Regardless of what LaMDA actually achieved, the issue of the difficult “measurability” of emulation capabilities expressed by machines also emerges. In the journal Mind in 1950, mathematician [1] proposed a test to determine whether a machine was capable of exhibiting intelligent behaviour, a game of imitation of some of the human cognitive functions. & nbsp;
- CLAT - 2026
- English
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in CAT exam
- Find the number of integer pairs (x, y) that satisfy the following system of inequalities:
\[ \begin{cases} x \geq y \geq 3 \\ x + y \leq 14 \end{cases} \]
- CAT - 2025
- Linear & Quadratic Equations
- An item with a cost price of Rs.1650 is sold at a certain discount on a fixed marked price to earn a profit of 20% on the cost price. If the discount was doubled, the profit would have been Rs.110. The rate of discount, in percentage, at which the profit percentage would be equal to the rate of discount, is nearest to:
- CAT - 2025
- Profit and Loss
- The monthly sales of a product from January to April were 120, 135, 150 and 165 units, respectively. The cost price of the product was Rs. 240 per unit, and a fixed marked price was used for the product in all the four months. Discounts of 20%, 10% and 5% were given on the marked price per unit in January, February and March, respectively, while no discounts were given in April. If the total profit from January to April was Rs. 138825, then the marked price per unit, in rupees, was
- CAT - 2025
- Profit and Loss
- The ratio of the number of students in the morning shift and afternoon shift of a school was $13 : 9$. After 21 students moved from the morning shift to the afternoon shift, this ratio became $19 : 14$. Next, some new students joined the morning and afternoon shifts in the ratio $3 : 8$ and then the ratio of the number of students in the morning shift and the afternoon shift became $5 : 4$. The number of new students who joined is:
- CAT - 2025
- Ratio and Proportion
- 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