Raghubir, a reputed doctor, practices medicine in a tier-three city. He owns an imported SUV which he bought 10 years ago, using his hard- earned savings of nearly 5 years. Initially, he used to take it for long rides, but for the last 6-7 years, he only commutes to his clinic, a 10-minute drive from his home.
The SUV has been his proud possession, but it demands high maintenance. Also, the diesel guzzling SUV does not comply with the new emission norms being introduced in the tier-one and tier-two cities. Of late, a few newspapers reported that the new emission norms may be introduced in tier-three cities as well. This news has worried Raghubir.
Raghubir is afraid that once the new emission norms are rolled out, he might not be able to use his SUV anymore.
Which of the following options will BEST put Raghubir at ease with using his SUV for some more time?
Which of the following options will BEST put Raghubir at ease with using his SUV for some more time?
- Non-compliant SUVs are still plying in tier-two cities
- His city has many other SUVs which are as old as his
- As a sought-after doctor, all the law enforcement officials are his patients
- His lawyer friends in his city recently bought non-compliant SUVs from tier-two cities
- His mechanic assures him that the new norms will not be introduced anytime soon
The Correct Option is D
Approach Solution - 1
The question revolves around the apprehensions of Raghubir regarding new emission norms and how he might be reassured about using his SUV for a longer period. Let's analyze the given options and understand which one aligns best with putting Raghubir at ease:
- Non-compliant SUVs are still plying in tier-two cities: This is not very reassuring for Raghubir since it only indicates the current situation in tier-two cities and does not provide any direct assurance about the future status of the norms in his own tier-three city. Therefore, this option is not suitable.
- His city has many other SUVs which are as old as his: Knowing that there are similar vehicles in his city does not guarantee that they will all comply or escape the new norms. It provides no assurance about the SUV’s continued usability when the norms take effect.
- As a sought-after doctor, all the law enforcement officials are his patients: Even though Raghubir might have influence due to his profession, this option does not guarantee legal and secure compliance with emission norms. It is an unreliable assurance.
- His lawyer friends in his city recently bought non-compliant SUVs from tier-two cities: This option is the most reassuring because it indicates a recent trend or behavior by informed individuals (lawyers) who presumably have assessed the risks and foresee continued usability of non-compliant SUVs, suggesting that enforcement in tier-three cities might not be imminent or strict.
- His mechanic assures him that the new norms will not be introduced anytime soon: While the mechanic's opinion might offer temporary comfort, it lacks the credibility and foresight compared to legal professionals' actions. The mechanic's assurance is speculative and not grounded in legal standing.
Based on this analysis, the best option to put Raghubir at ease is: His lawyer friends in his city recently bought non-compliant SUVs from tier-two cities. This option suggests a practical and informed perspective that the norms are not expected to impact their legal usage in the near term.
Approach Solution -2
Step 1: Identify Raghubir’s Concern
Raghubir is worried about whether his current SUV will still be usable once stricter emission norms arrive. He needs reassurance that owning and using his non-compliant SUV will still be practically acceptable for some more time.
Step 2: Evaluate the Options
- Option 1: Tier-two cities may still allow SUVs, but this is indirect and not specific to his own city.
- Option 2: Other old SUVs in his city do not guarantee legal protection — it’s only observational.
- Option 3: Being a doctor with law enforcement officials as patients is irrelevant and unethical as justification.
- Option 4: Lawyer friends in his city recently purchased non-compliant SUVs → strong evidence that such vehicles will still be usable locally, easing his worry.
- Option 5: Mechanic’s assurance is unreliable and not authoritative.
Step 3: Logical Conclusion
Option 4 gives the strongest reassurance because it shows that knowledgeable professionals (lawyers) in his own city are still confident enough to buy non-compliant SUVs. This directly reduces his fear about being barred from using his SUV immediately.
Final Answer:
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (D): Lawyer friends in his city recently bought non-compliant SUVs.}} \]
Anya, Raghubir’s daughter, works in a metro city. She is concerned about private transport emissions and is unhappy with her father’s diesel-guzzling SUV. Though she wants her father to be more environmentally responsible, she is aware that any drastic suggestion might attract strong resistance. Hence, she wants a solution, acceptable to Raghubir, that gently dissuades him from using his SUV on a daily basis.
Which of the following actions by Anya will BEST dissuade Raghubir from using his SUV on a daily basis?
Which of the following actions by Anya will BEST dissuade Raghubir from using his SUV on a daily basis?
- Take away Raghubir’s SUV to the metro city and gift him a new SUV
- Request Raghubir to use public transport for his daily commute, and use the SUV sparingly
- Ask Raghubir’s secretary to ferry him to the clinic daily in her car, except for the weekends
- Gift Raghubir a small petrol car and convince him to sell his SUV
- Ask his mechanic to explore if the SUV can be retrofitted with a CNG kit
The Correct Option is C
Approach Solution - 1
The scenario presents Anya’s dilemma about reducing her father's SUV usage due to environmental concerns. The goal is to find a subtle, yet effective way, to dissuade Raghubir from using his diesel SUV daily. Let’s evaluate the options provided to identify the most appropriate action:
- Take away Raghubir’s SUV to the metro city and gift him a new SUV:
This option is drastic and doesn’t address Anya’s concern about emissions, as a new SUV might still consume significant resources and produce similar emissions. - Request Raghubir to use public transport for his daily commute, and use the SUV sparingly:
This option directly tries to change Raghubir’s behavior but might face resistance as it requires a significant lifestyle change. - Ask Raghubir’s secretary to ferry him to the clinic daily in her car, except for the weekends:
This subtly reduces daily usage without taking away the comfort and ease Raghubir enjoys with his SUV. It respects his pride in the SUV while gently transitioning him away from its regular use. This is a feasible and less intrusive method. - Gift Raghubir a small petrol car and convince him to sell his SUV:
Although this option could reduce emissions, convincing Raghubir to sell his cherished possession is quite drastic and intrusive. - Ask his mechanic to explore if the SUV can be retrofitted with a CNG kit:
While this might reduce emissions, it maintains the SUV's usage and entails additional modification costs, which may not align with Anya's intent.
Upon reviewing all the options, the most subtle and practical method to dissuade Raghubir from daily SUV usage is:
Ask Raghubir’s secretary to ferry him to the clinic daily in her car, except for the weekends. This option is effective as it gently reduces SUV usage without imposing a significant lifestyle change or directly challenging Raghubir's pride in his SUV.
Approach Solution -2
Step 1: Identify the Core Challenge
Anya wants to reduce her father’s SUV usage without creating resistance. Thus, the solution must be gentle, acceptable, and non-confrontational.
Step 2: Evaluate the Options
- Option 1: Taking away the SUV and replacing it with another SUV → drastic and confrontational; not acceptable.
- Option 2: Requesting use of public transport → unlikely to succeed, as older individuals often resist sudden lifestyle changes.
- Option 3: Secretary ferrying him daily → subtle, convenient, and saves fuel. Since weekends remain open, it avoids strong resistance.
- Option 4: Gifting a small petrol car and selling the SUV → drastic, may cause emotional resistance.
- Option 5: Retrofitting with CNG kit → eco-friendly, but does not reduce SUV usage; only modifies fuel type.
Step 3: Logical Conclusion
Option 3 provides a practical and acceptable compromise — it reduces daily SUV usage while still leaving Raghubir the freedom to use it occasionally, thereby avoiding conflict.
Final Answer:
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (C): Secretary ferries him daily, except weekends.}} \]
The new emission norms are about to get implemented in tier-three cities, and Raghubir’s city will follow suit shortly. Hence, Raghubir starts exploring options of buying an electric vehicle (EV). He lists the following factors that will guide him on buying an electric car:
P. EVs within Raghubir’s budget can cover his daily commute, but not the long rides.
Q. A new electric SUV in the market, within his budget, nearly has the same look and feel of his present SUV.
R. EVs cannot be driven beyond a speed of 70 kmph.
S. New charging stations on the main highway, connecting his city to the closest metro city, may come up in another year.
T. The only shop, selling EVs in his city, is ready to trade in Raghubir’s SUV at a reasonable price.
The above listed factors have been arranged in a DECREASING order of influence in the options given below.
Which of the following options will BEST help Raghubir buy an electric vehicle immediately?
P. EVs within Raghubir’s budget can cover his daily commute, but not the long rides.
Q. A new electric SUV in the market, within his budget, nearly has the same look and feel of his present SUV.
R. EVs cannot be driven beyond a speed of 70 kmph.
S. New charging stations on the main highway, connecting his city to the closest metro city, may come up in another year.
T. The only shop, selling EVs in his city, is ready to trade in Raghubir’s SUV at a reasonable price.
The above listed factors have been arranged in a DECREASING order of influence in the options given below.
Which of the following options will BEST help Raghubir buy an electric vehicle immediately?
- TQRPS
- QTPSR
- QRTPS
- TQRSP
- SPTQR
The Correct Option is B
Approach Solution - 1
To determine the best sequence of factors that would help Raghubir buy an electric vehicle immediately, we need to analyze each factor based on the problem's context and Raghubir's situation.
- Factor Q: "A new electric SUV in the market, within his budget, nearly has the same look and feel of his present SUV."
This factor is highly influential as it addresses Raghubir's attachment to his current SUV's comfort and style. An electric SUV that matches in these aspects while being affordable is a significant motivator for him to switch. - Factor T: "The only shop, selling EVs in his city, is ready to trade in Raghubir’s SUV at a reasonable price."
This factor is crucial as it provides Raghubir an opportunity to get a reasonable trade-in value for his current SUV, which helps offset the cost of the new EV. - Factor P: "EVs within Raghubir’s budget can cover his daily commute, but not the long rides."
This factor is moderately important. While the EVs support his daily use case, they do not permit long-distance travel. However, since he mainly uses his vehicle for a short, 10-minute commute, the factor is less critical compared to Q and T. - Factor S: "New charging stations on the main highway, connecting his city to the closest metro city, may come up in another year."
This factor provides a future assurance of infrastructure support for longer travels, but it's not an immediate concern as the stations are not yet available. - Factor R: "EVs cannot be driven beyond a speed of 70 kmph."
This factor has the least influence on deciding now since Raghubir's main use case involves short commutes at lower speeds.
Arranging these factors in decreasing order of influence for immediate purchase: QTPSR. This matches the conditions where the immediate motivators (Q and T) are crucial, while P ensures daily utility, followed by longer-term considerations (S and R).
Thus, the correct answer is QTPSR.
Approach Solution -2
Step 1: Identify the Key Influences
Raghubir wants to buy an EV immediately. Hence, the strongest factors will be those that are practical, immediate, and aligned with his needs:
- Q: Same look and feel as his current SUV, within budget → Very strong motivator for purchase.
- T: Trade-in option for his present SUV → Makes purchase financially attractive.
- P: Covers daily commute, though not long rides → Practical utility for immediate needs.
- S: Charging stations in future → Useful, but not immediate; hence lower priority.
- R: “Cannot be driven beyond 70 kmph” → Likely an incorrect belief; least influence if he has correct information.
Step 2: Arrange in Decreasing Order of Influence
From strongest to weakest influence: \[ Q \;>\; T \;>\; P \;>\; S \;>\; R \]
Step 3: Match with Options
This sequence matches Option 2: QTPSR.
Final Answer:
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (B): QTPSR}} \]
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
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- 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 XAT exam
- An artificial swimming pool is circular and water is flowing clockwise at a speed of 3 km/hr. Two swimmers Ayub and Rana start from diametrically opposite points, Ayub in the anticlockwise direction and Rana in the clockwise direction. They first meet at a point such that Ayub has covered 60 m by that time. Their second meeting point is such that Rana has covered another 180 m after the first meeting point. If the speed of Rana in still water is 3 km/hr, find the time taken by Ayub to cover one full circle in the clockwise direction.
- XAT - 2026
- Time and Work
- Arrange the following generations from the oldest to the youngest:
1. Generation X
2. Silent Generation
3. Generation Alpha
4. Baby Boomers
5. Millennials
- XAT - 2026
- Current Affairs
- Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Brijbhushan, a microfinancier, lends money at the rate of Rs.10 per square meter to small farmers at a village. He charges an annual interest rate of 10%. All the farming plots in that village are rectangular, with areas varying between a minimum of 1000 square meters and a maximum of 10,000 square meters.
This year, Brijbhushan has lent money only to five farmers: Aditya, Binod, Chhuttan, Dabloo and Govind. The perimeter of Chhuttan’s plot is 250 meters, with the length and width being at a ratio of 4:1. Aditya’s plot has an area three times the area of Govind’s plot. The area of Aditya’s plot is also the average of the areas of Govind’s plot and Dabloo’s plot. The plots belonging to Aditya, Binod and Dabloo are of the same width, but of different lengths. Moreover, the length of Binod’s plot is the sum of the lengths of Aditya’s plot and Dabloo’s plot.- XAT - 2026
- Mensuration
Light Chemicals is an industrial paint supplier with presence in three locations: Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The sunburst chart below shows the distribution of the number of employees of different departments of Light Chemicals. There are four departments: Finance, IT, HR and Sales. The employees are deployed in four ranks: junior, mid, senior and executive. The chart shows four levels: location, department, rank and gender (M: male, F: female). At every level, the number of employees at a location/department/rank/gender are proportional to the corresponding area of the region represented in the chart.
Due to some issues with the software, the data on junior female employees have gone missing. Notice that there are junior female employees in Mumbai HR, Sales and IT departments, Hyderabad HR department, and Bengaluru IT and Finance departments. The corresponding missing numbers are marked u, v, w, x, y and z in the diagram, respectively.
It is also known that:
a) Light Chemicals has a total of 210 junior employees.
b) Light Chemicals has a total of 146 employees in the IT department.
c) Light Chemicals has a total of 777 employees in the Hyderabad office.
d) In the Mumbai office, the number of female employees is 55.
- XAT - 2026
- Pie Charts
An investment company, Win Lose, recruit's employees to trade in the share market. For newcomers, they have a one-year probation period. During this period, the employees are given Rs. 1 lakh per month to invest the way they see fit. They are evaluated at the end of every month, using the following criteria:
1. If the total loss in any span of three consecutive months exceeds Rs. 20,000, their services are terminated at the end of that 3-month period,
2. If the total loss in any span of six consecutive months exceeds Rs. 10,000, their services are terminated at the end of that 6-month period.
Further, at the end of the 12-month probation period, if there are losses on their overall investment, their services are terminated.
Ratan, Shri, Tamal and Upanshu started working for Win Lose in January. Ratan was terminated after 4 months, Shri was terminated after 7 months, Tamal was terminated after 10 months, while Upanshu was not terminated even after 12 months. The table below, partially, lists their monthly profits (in Rs. ‘000’) over the 12-month period, where x, y and z are masked information.
Note:
• A negative profit value indicates a loss.
• The value in any cell is an integer.
Illustration: As Upanshu is continuing after March, that means his total profit during January-March (2z +2z +0) ≥
Rs.20,000. Similarly, as he is continuing after June, his total profit during January − June ≥
Rs.10,000, as well as his total profit during April-June ≥ Rs.10,000.
- XAT - 2026
- Logical and Analytical Reasoning Skills