VA - 4 : Reading Comprehension - 1

Workshop

Number of Questions : 24 WSP–0011/18

Identifying Genres: courage to use your own understanding,” is therefore

the motto of the enlightenment.
The main genres which have contributed to CAT and
NON-CAT reading comprehension passages are: Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why such
a large part of mankind gladly remain minors all
Business and Economics, Political Theory, Current their lives, long after nature has freed them from
Affairs, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Science external guidance. They are the reasons why it is
and Technology, Environmental studies, Cultural so easy for others to set themselves up as
Studies, Social Science (History, Geography, guardians. It is so comfortable to be a minor. If I
Politics), Arts and Humanities, Current Affairs/Trend, have a book that thinks for me, a pastor who acts
Reviews, Abstract or inter-disciplinary subjects and as my conscience, a physician who prescribes my
so on… diet, and so on—then I have no need to exert myself.
I have no need to think, if only I can pay; others will
The list is not exhaustive. A guide to understanding take care of that disagreeable business for me.
the different genres is available on your SIS. Kindly
go through the entire article. Thus it is very difficult for the individual to work
himself out of the nonage which has become almost
The aim of this class is to make you familiar with second nature to him. He has even grown to like it,
the different genres. Hence, the questions are and is at first really incapable of using his own
primarily aimed at testing your basic comprehension understanding because he has never been permitted
of the passage. to try it. Dogmas and formulas, these mechanical
tools designed for reasonable use—or rather abuse—
Directions for questions 1 to 24: Read the following of his natural gifts, are the fetters of an everlasting
passages and answer the questions that follow. nonage. The man who casts them off would make
an uncertain leap over the narrowest ditch, because
Passage – 1 he is not used to such free movement. That is why
there are only a few men who walk firmly, and who
Philosophy have emerged from nonage by cultivating their own
minds.
Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-
imposed nonage. Nonage is the inability to use It is more nearly possible, however, for the public to
one’s own understanding without another’s guidance. enlighten itself; indeed, if it is only given freedom,
This nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in enlightenment is almost inevitable. There will always
lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of be a few independent thinkers, even among the self-
courage to use one’s own mind without another’s appointed guardians of the multitude. Once such
guidance. Dare to know! (Sapere aude.) “Have the men have thrown off the yoke of nonage, they will

VA - 4 Page 1
spread about them the spirit of a reasonable 2. Which of the following best captures the main
appreciation of man’s value and of his duty to think idea of the passage?
for himself. It is especially to be noted that the public (1) To highlight the perils of freedom without
which was earlier brought under the yoke by these enlightenment
men, afterwards forces these very guardians to (2) To trace the path from nonage to freedom
remain in submission, if it is so incited by some of (3) To evaluate the attainment of
its guardians who are themselves incapable of any enlightenment
enlightenment. That shows how pernicious it is to (4) To elucidate the factors behind
implant prejudices: they will eventually revenge enlightenment
themselves upon their authors or their authors’
descendants. Therefore, a public can achieve
3. What is the author trying to instruct us
enlightenment only slowly. A revolution may bring
through this passage?
about the end of a personal despotism or of
(1) S/he wants us to think freely and act
avaricious tyrannical oppression, but never a true
judiciously and wisely.
reform of modes of thought. New prejudices will
(2) S/he is promoting the tolerance of diverse
serve, in place of the old, as guide lines for the
unthinking multitude. viewpoints attain freedom.
(3) S/he is instructing us that while
This enlightenment requires nothing but freedom— expressing our opinions, we should not
and the most innocent of all that may be called forget to discharge our duties.
“freedom”: freedom to make public use of one’s (4) S/he encourages us to be free in mind
reason in all matters. Now I hear the cry from all and spirit at all cost.
sides: “Do not argue!” The officer says: “Do not
argue—drill!” The tax collector: “Do not argue—pay!” 4. Which of the following can be inferred from
The pastor: “Do not argue—believe!” Only one ruler the given passage?
in the world says: “Argue as much as you please, (1) There needs to be an emphasis on the
but obey!” We find restrictions on freedom public to blindly follow and comply with
everywhere. But which restriction is harmful to the desires of the government.
enlightenment? Which restriction is innocent, and (2) For the public to be enlightened, the
which advances enlightenment? I reply: the public leaders should be enlightened.
use of one’s reason must be free at all times, and (3) Human nature allowed men to be selfish
this alone can bring enlightenment to mankind. and yet act in common self-interested
harmony.
1. Which of the following is closest to being an (4) The need of leaders and guardians dictate
example of ‘self-imposed nonage’? the righteous intimidation of their subjects.
(1) A young boy refusing to do his homework
without the guidance of his mother
5. Which of the following is not discussed in
(2) A cricketer not using an aggressive
the passage?
batting style during a run chase as he is
(1) Men thought it cumbersome to reason.
waiting for his coach’s permission
(2) Simple obedience was less onerous to
(3) A teenage girl not obeying her father’s
the minds of men.
order to return home by 7 in the evening
(4) A senior employee refusing to follow the (3) Freedom to express honestly is the only
guidelines to improve productivity set by requirement for enlightenment.
the upper management due to creative (4) Self-imposed nonage is a factor behind
differences enlightenment.

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6. Which of the following is true about the given discrepancy exists between sex and gender,
passage? compassion and empathy are essential to foster
(1) The author is caustic towards the lazy better understanding and an appropriate relationship
and indecisive people. between the physician and the patient. Conceptually,
(2) The author is wondering about the efficacy professionals dealing with development may fairly
of Enlightenment. state that sex is biologically determined, whereas
(3) The author is insisting on not being gender is culturally determined.
enslaved.
(4) The author is concerned about the future Proponents of social learning theory criticize
of humankind under threat from tyrants biological approaches for neglecting to consider the
and despots. way in which behavior is affected by social
influences. Markbank and Letherby, in their book
Passage – 2 entitled Introduction to Gender: Social Science
Perspective, Second Edition, assert:
Women’s Studies / Political Theory
“As biological approaches assume a biological
The term “Gender” is used to define all the things dichotomy, they are unable, according to their
one says or does in order to disclose himself or critics, to explain diversity among women and among
herself as having been a boy or man, girl or woman men. In addition, if we look at different cultures, be
sexually, socially and etc. Gender role refers to all that across geographical or across history, it is clear
personal and social characteristics including the that what it means to be woman or a man differs. In
clothing, speech pattern, behaviors, actions, fact gender roles are exceedingly changeable across
occupations, activities, etc. Since the women have societies with certain tasks being assigned to the
been considered as the subordinated sex, the wave female in one society and to the male in another.
of feminism has resulted in a new phenomenon Social learning theory purports that women and men
known as “gender consciousness”. Consequently, are products not of biology but of culture and society
the women gradually have become determined to that boys and girls learn gender –appropriate
find ways to undermine such subordination. They behavior from birth as we are all surrounded by
have tried to prove that although they are different gender socialization messages from our families.”
but they are not inferior. They want to prove their
abilities and for this purpose, they have decided to De Beauvoir (1908-1986) in The Second Sex (1949),
defy the socially constructed beliefs. They have made claims: “one is not born, but rather becomes, a
attempts to establish equality with men, both woman, later. No biological, psychological, or
politically and socially. Most of the feminist critics economic fate determines the figure that the human
believe that the society is the main cause of female presents in society; it is civilization as a
imposing genders distinctions. whole that produces this creature, intermediate
between male and eunuch, which is described as a
A person’s sex is a primary state of anatomic or feminine” (De Beauvoir 1949). In Gender Trouble
physiologic parameters. A person’s gender is a (1990), Judith Butler makes a comment in this
conclusion reached in a broad sense when individual respect and states: If there is something right in
gender identity and gender role are expressed. An Beauvoir’s claim that ‘one is not born, but rather
often-used phrase to point out the difference, it has becomes a woman later, it follows that woman itself
some merit when dealing with these definitions. is a term in process, a becoming, a constructing
Sexual identity is in the perineum; gender identity that cannot rightfully be said to originate or to end.
is in the cerebrum. Increasingly, the more subjective As an ongoing discursive practice, it is open to
sense of gender identity takes precedence in intervention and resignation. Even when gender
evaluating patients’ needs. In instances when a seems to congeal into the most reified forms, the

VA - 4 Page 3
‘congealing’ is itself an insistent and insidious 9. Judge the nature of the author’s tone on the
practice, sustained and regulated by various social basis of the given passage.
means. (1) There is a hint of contempt in the author’s
tone.
According to Butler, feminism doesn’t accept (2) The author feels dejected because of the
biology as a destiny, but opposing this idea, it pitiable condition of women.
develops an account of patriarchal culture which (3) The author is baffled because of the
maintains that masculine and feminine genders lookalike in the terms ‘gender’ and ‘sex’.
would inevitably be built upon bodies (male and (4) The author shows no bias towards the
female) by cultural bias; it insists that being a man anatomical or cultural interpretation of
sexuality.
or a woman on the basis of being male or female is
inevitably a culturally made idea and as a 10. Which of the following cannot be inferred from
consequence there will be no choice, difference or the given passage?
resistance. Being biologically a male, and not feeling (1) Gender refers to the way a society
like a man, is considered as a sign indicating that encourages and teaches a man and a
“the experience of a gendered cultural identity is woman to behave in different ways through
considered an achievement”. She rejects the “sex/ socialization.
gender distinction in order to argue that there is no (2) Sex refers to the cultural, socially-
sex that is not always already a gender”. constructed differences between male
and female.
7. Which of the following is the main idea of the (3) There has been a conscious effort on the
given passage? part of female sex to prove that men are
(1) To show how gender roles vary under in no way superior to them.
different contexts (4) The prejudice pertaining to gender is
resultant of the acts of the surrounding
(2) To show the different definitions given by
community.
different writers for the term ‘gender’
(3) To show that neither genetic nor any 11. Which of the following represents a similar
economic fate determines the place that relation as the pair in question?
women present in society MASCULINITY : SOCIALLY
(4) To show that femininity and masculinity (1) Gender : Anthropologically
are culturally created and accepted (2) Sex : Culturally
concepts (3) Femininity : Biologically
(4) Male : Aesthetically
8. Which of the following is a fact from the given
passage? 12. Which of the following can be inferred from
(1) Biological dichotomy restricts diversity the passage?
(1) A true identification of one’s sexuality will
among men and women.
require a conscious effort from those in
(2) In her book Gender Trouble, Butler
power.
recognizes the persisting self-division in
(2) It is nearly impossible to define the
a man or a woman.
difference between the definitions of sex
(3) According to De Beauvoir, the category and gender.
of woman does not have an initial (3) Gender consciousness requires an
substance or existence, other than its acknowledgement of one’s anatomical
subsequent emergence. identifications.
(4) Butler believes that feminism is (4) Cultural definitions sometimes clash with
subservient to destiny. biological identifications when it comes
to understanding human behaviours.

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 Passage – 3 the Congo, that had seduced Conrad’s ivory hunting
Kurtz into the horrors of its savage embrace had, in
Literature 1890, lured Conrad himself into adventure that turned
him from sailor to writer and severely affected his
As the Heart of Darkness makes its way into the health for the rest of his life. As the voyage up the
savage shadows of the African continent, Joseph Congo pro ved fateful for the development of Conrad’s
Conrad exposes a psycho-geography of the narrator, Marlow, it was equally fateful for Conrad’s
collective unconscious in the entangling symbolic individuation, as he reflects in his letters “Before
realities of the serpentine Congo. Conrad’s novella the Congo I was just a mere animal.”
descends into the unknowable darkness at the heart
of Africa, taking its narrator, Marlow, on an Hillman, in “Notes on White Supremacy” reminds
underworld journey of individuation, a modern us that, like Conrad, both Freud and Jung were called
odyssey toward the center of the Self and the center to venture into the shadowed continent and vestiges
of the Earth. Ego dissolves into soul as, in the of their journeys still colour our psychological
interior; Marlow encounters his double in the powerful language:
image of ivory-obsessed Kurtz, the dark shadow of
European imperialism. The dark meditation is graced The convention informing geographical discoveries
by personifications of anima in Kurtz’ black goddess, and the expansion of white consciousness over
the savagely magnificent consort of the underworld, Africa continue to inform psychic geography. The
and in his porcelain -skinned Persephone, innocent topological language used by Freud for “the
intended of the upper world. unconscious” as a place below, different, timeless,
primordial, libidinal and separated from the
“Africa,” wrote Graham Greene, “will always be the consciousness recapitulates what white reporters
Africa in the Victorian atlas, the blank unexplored
centuries earlier said about West Africa. From
continent in the shape of the human heart.” The
Conrad’s Heart of Darkness to van der Post’s
African heart described by Greene “acquired a new
Venture to the Interior, Africa and the unconscious
layer of meaning when Conrad portrayed the Congo
allegorize the other place.... “Just don’t stay in the
under King Leopold as the Heart of Darkness, a
topical colonies too long; you must reign at home,”
place where barbarism triumphs over humanity,
nature over technology, biology over culture, id over writes Freud in 1911 to Jung, who himself made the
super ego.” African journey fourteen years later, describing the
vast lands and dark peoples he encountered in
The unknown and uncharted topography of the language he applies as well to the immemorial
African continent first beckoned Conrad’s narrator, unconscious psyche.... Part of psychology’s myth
Marlow, into its depths in his boyhood: “Now, when is that the unconscious was “discovered” as its
I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would contents are “explored”.
look for hours at South America, or Africa, or
Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of Thus Africa has become a topology of the mind —
exploration”. When Marlow was grown and Africa its location, its shape, its cultures, its textures, its
was no longer a blank space on the map, but rather rhythms, its foliage, its hues, its wildness — all
“a place of darkness,” there was still one river there calling forth something lost in the psychology of the
that drew him especially, “a mighty big river, that white European. It is with an understanding of our
you could see on the map, resembling an immense destiny to explore that symbolic lost continent within
snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at ourselves that we can begin to appreciate the
rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost prescience of Jungian psychology in Conrad’s Heart
in the depths of the land”. This same deep place, of Darkness.

VA - 4 Page 5
13. Which of the following can be inferred about 17. Identify the nature of author’s tone in the
the above given passage? above passage.
(1) The given passage is a psychological (1) Simply Caustic
analysis of the novel Heart of Darkness. (2) Sincerely Idealistic
(2) The above passage presents the different (3) Descriptive
themes of the novel Heart of Darkness. (4) Argumentative
(3) The above passage is a summary of a
portion of the novel Heart of Darkness. 18. Which of the following is most likely to be
(4) The purpose of the above passage is to the profession of the author?
criticize Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness (1) A movie critic
(2) A newspaper analyst
14. Which of the following is not in alliance with (3) A college Professor
the representation of ‘Africa’ as in Conrad’s (4) An English literature scholar
Heart of Darkness?
a) Conrad portrays Africa (Congo) as being Passage – 4
inhibited by people who are primitive and
uncivilized. Biology (CAT 2017, Slot 1)
b) Civilization is shown to be non-existent
in the depths of Africa. Scientists have long recognized the incredible
c) Africa is portrayed as a place full of diversity within a species. But they thought it
delights and charms, which attracts the reflected evolutionary changes that unfolded
attention of Marlow. imperceptibly, over millions of years. That divergence
between populations within a species was enforced,
(1) Both a and c according to Ernst Mayr, the great evolutionary
(2) a, b, and c biologist of the 1940s, when a population was
(3) Only c separated from the rest of the species by a mountain
(4) Only b range or a desert, preventing breeding across the
divide over geologic scales of time. Without the
15. The author compares Congo to an animal/a separation, gene flow was relentless. But as the
reptile. What is this figure of speech called? separation persisted, the isolated population grew
(1) Onomatopoeia apart and speciation occurred.
(2) Metaphor
(3) Alliteration In the mid-1960s, the biologist Paul Ehrlich – author
(4) Euphemism of The Population Bomb (1968) – and his Stanford
University colleague Peter Raven challenged Mayr’s
16. According to the passage, which of the ideas about speciation. They had studied
following is not true about The Congo? checkerspot butterflies living in the Jasper Ridge
(1) Congo was responsible for the Biological Preserve in California, and it soon became
deteriorating health of Conrad. clear that they were not examining a single
(2) Congo was a powerful force that enabled population. Through years of capturing, marking and
the change of profession of people. then recapturing the butterflies, they were able to
(3) Congo’s power is compared to the prove that within the population, spread over just 50
devouring powers of a snake. acres of suitable checkerspot habitat, there were
(4) Congo proved itself fatalistic for different three groups that rarely interacted despite their very
characters in the novel. close proximity.

Page 6 VA - 4
Among other ideas, Ehrlich and Raven argued in a 21. The author discusses Mayr, Ehrlich and
now classic paper from 1969 that gene flow was not Raven to demonstrate that:
as predictable and ubiquitous as Mayr and his (1) evolution is a sensitive and controversial
cohort maintained, and thus evolutionary divergence topic.
between neighbouring groups in a population was (2) Ehrlich and Raven’s ideas about
probably common. They also asserted that isolation evolutionary divergence are widely
and gene flow were less important to evolutionary accepted by scientists.
divergence than natural selection (when factors such (3) the causes of speciation are debated by
as mate choice, weather, disease or predation scientists.
cause better-adapted individuals to survive and pass (4) checkerspot butterflies offer the best
on their successful genetic traits). For example,
example of Ehrlich and Raven’s ideas
Ehrlich and Raven suggested that, without the force
about speciation.
of natural selection, an isolated population would
remain unchanged and that, in other scenarios,
natural selection could be strong enough to
Passage – 5
overpower gene flow…
Technology / Abstract
19. Which of the following best sums up Ehrlich
and Raven’s argument in their classic 1969 Typewriters are the epitome of a technology that
paper? has been comprehensively rendered obsolete by the
(1) Ernst Mayr was wrong in identifying digital age. The ink comes off the ribbon, they weigh
physical separation as the cause of a ton, and second thoughts are a disaster. But they
species diversity. are also personal, portable and, above all, private.
(2) Checkerspot butterflies in the 50-acre Type a document and lock it away and more or less
Jasper Ridge Preserve formed three the only way anyone else can get it is if you give it
groups that rarely interacted with each to them. That is why the Russians have decided to
other. go back to typewriters in some government offices,
(3) While a factor, isolation was not as and why in the US, some departments have never
important to speciation as natural abandoned them. Yet it is not just their resistance
selection. to algorithms and secret surveillance that keeps
(4) Gene flow is less common and more typewriter production lines – well one, at least – in
erratic than Mayr and his colleagues business (the last British one closed a year ago).
claimed. Nor is it only the nostalgic appeal of the metal body
and the stout well-defined keys that make them
20. All of the following statements are true
popular on eBay. A typewriter demands something
according to the passage EXCEPT:
particular: attentiveness. By the time the paper is
(1) Gene flow contributes to evolutionary
loaded, the ribbon tightened, the carriage returned,
divergence.
the spacing and the margins set, there’s a big
(2) The Population Bomb questioned
premium on hitting the right key. That means sorting
dominant ideas about species diversity
out ideas, pulling together a kind of order and
(3) Evolutionary changes unfold
imperceptibly over time. organising details before actually striking off. There
(4) Checkerspot butterflies are known to can be no thinking on screen with a typewriter. Nor
exhibit speciation while living in close are there any easy distractions. No online shopping.
proximity.

VA - 4 Page 7
No urgent emails. No Twitter. No need even for 23. According to the passage, some
electricity – perfect for writing in a remote hideaway. governments still use typewriters because:
The thinking process is accompanied by the (1) they do not want to abandon old
encouraging clack of keys, and the ratchet of the technologies that may be useful in the
carriage return. Ping! future.
(2) they want to ensure that typewriter
production lines remain in business.
22. Which one of the following best describes
(3) they like the nostalgic appeal of typewriter.
what the passage is trying to do?
(4) they can control who reads the document.
(1) It describes why people continue to use
typewriters even in the digital age.
24. The writer praises typewriters for all the
(2) It argues that typewriters will continue to
following reasons EXCEPT:
be used even though they are an obsolete
(1) unlike computers, they can only be used
technology.
for typing.
(3) It highlights the personal benefits of using
(2) you cannot revise what you have typed
typewriters.
on a typewriter.
(4) It shows that computers offer fewer
(3) typewriters are noisier than computers.
options than typewriters.
(4) typewriters are messier to use than
computers.

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 WSP-0011/18 VA - 4 : Reading Comprehension - 1 Workshop
Answers and Explanations
1 2 2 4 3 1 4 2 5 3 6 3 7 4 8 3 9 4 10 2
11 1 12 4 13 1 14 3 15 2 16 4 17 3 18 4 19 3 20 2
21 3 22 1 23 4 24 4

1. 2 Refer to the lines – “Nonage is the inability to use freedom is paramount for Enlightenment but not the
one’s own…indecision and lack of courage to use only requirement. Option 4 is mentioned in the first
one’s own mind without another’s guidance.” There paragraph.
are two components here: a – inability to use one’s
knowledge without guidance; b – no lack of 6. 3 1 is too extreme. The author is mildly critical towards
understanding. Only option 2 clearly shows the two people who have self-imposed nonage. 2 is wrong
things. The batsman knows how to bat aggressively; as the author doesn’t wonder. S/he is very sure of
he is simply indecisive. In 1, the boy might not know the values of enlightenment. 3 is an important factor
the answer to questions of the homework. 3 is as the author promotes freedom throughout the
irrelevant. 4 has not component of indecisiveness. passage. 4 is too farfetched.
The employee is quite decisive.
7. 4 Option 1 is ruled out since we are not given any
2. 4 The author, in the passage, takes an explanatory different contexts. Option 2 is ruled out since we are
approach. S/he defines the various reasons that are not given different definitions for the term ‘gender’.
holding the public back from achieving enlightenment. What we have in the passage is different comments
S/he also analyses the prices to be paid for freedom by different writers. Option 3 is ruled out since it is
without enlightenment. Hence, option 4 is the correct simply the paraphrasing of De Beauvoir’s comment
answer. Option 1 is too narrow. Option 2 is wrong as in her book, given in 4th paragraph of the passage.
the author doesn’t focus on freedom. Option 3 is Hence it cannot be the main idea. Option 4 is the most
distorted. The author can’t evaluate something which appropriate as it is repeated in the passage.
has not been attained. ‘Femininity’ and ‘masculinity’ refer to the different
ways in which men and women behave. Hence it
3. 1 This can be inferred from both the opening and the can be inferred from- “Most of the feminist critics
last paragraphs of the given passage. It is stated in believe that the society is the main cause of imposing
the opening passage- “Have the courage to use your genders distinctions” and from “whereas gender is
own understanding”. And in the last passage it is culturally determined.”
stated- “the public use of one’s reason must be free
at all times”. 2 is distorted. There is no method of 8. 3 Option (3) is the correct answer. Options 1 is factually
attaining freedom mentioned in the passage. Option the opposite of what the author says. Due to
3 is beyond the scope of the passage. Option 4 is dichotomy, there is diversity. Option 2 is not mentioned
wrong because of ‘all cost’. in the passage. The following statement from
paragraph 4- “one is not born, but rather becomes, a
4. 2 Options 1 and 4 are ruled out as exactly their opposite woman, later” proves that option 3 is stated in the
has been stated in the passage. Option 3 is incorrect passage. Option 4 is contradicted by the first line of
since it is not stated in the passage. Option 2 can be the last paragraph.
inferred from the following information in the second
last paragraph- “It is especially to be noted that 9. 4 The author uses a neutral tone in dealing with the
…Therefore, a public can achieve enlightenment only concepts. S/he is neither contemptuous nor dejected.
slowly.” These are extreme words. Similarly, the author is not
baffled or puzzled about the definitions. S/he is
5. 3 Option 1 is ruled out since it can inferred from the competent enough to clarify the terms. Hence, option
following sentence in the opening paragraph-” This 4 is the correct answer.
nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of
understanding but in indecision and lack of courage 10. 2 Option 3 can be inferred from the following sentence-
to use one’s own mind without another’s guidance. “They have tried to prove that although they are
Dare to know!” Option 2 is ruled out since it can be different but they are not inferior”. Option 4 can be
inferred from the second paragraph-”It is so inferred from the following sentence-”Most of the
comfortable to be a minor”. Option 3 is the most feminist critics believe that the society is the main
appropriate since according the passage, “This cause of imposing genders distinctions.” Consider
enlightenment requires nothing but freedom”, meaning the following sentence given in the passage-

VA - 4 Page 1
 “Conceptually…determined, whereas gender is means snake like. Option (4) is incorrect since it is
culturally determined.” Clearly, option 1 can be beyond the scope of the passage. Though Congo is
inferred, since the given option means gender is shown as affecting the health of the people, it does
determined by the society and the culture. Option 2 is not state that Congo took lives of the people.
incorrect because the passage states that sex is
determined biologically. 17. 3 Option (3) is the correct answer. Clearly the passage
is providing us information about the representation
11. 1 Option 1 is the correct answer. The pair in the of Africa and Congo in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
question is a pair, which is a fact taken from the Option (1) is incorrect because there are no signs of
passage. The passage states that gender is sarcasm or attack. Options (2) and (4) are also invalid
constructed socially. Masculinity and femininity are as the author is neither idealizing anything nor arguing
terms for defining gender. Option 2 is incorrect since over something.
according to the passage, sex is biologically or
genetically defined. Option 3 is incorrect since 18. 4 The author can be a professor but the subject is
according to the passage, femininity is constructed missing. Hence, the most likely answer is 4 where
culturally. Option 4 is a vague option. the author’s background in English literature is clearly
‘Anthropologically’ means socially and hence option visible.
1 is the most appropriate.
19. 3 Mayr’s contention was that speciation takes place
12. 4 It is the main idea of the passage. Option 1 is irrelevant. due to factors like geographical isolation. However
The passage doesn’t talk about ‘those in power’. the 1969 paper challenges this notion and places the
Options 2 and 3 go against the vein of the passage. emphasis on natural selection.

13. 1 Option (1) is the correct answer. Option (2) is ruled 20. 2 2 has neither been stated in the passage nor has it
out since no themes are discussed in the passage. been implied. The other options can be directly verified
The above passage is not a summary of a portion of from the passage.
the novel, since there are several things mentioned,
which will definitely not fall in the spectrum of the 21. 3 Mayr placed the emphasis of speciation on isolation.
novel, like the views of Hillman and Graham Greene. This notion was challenged and discarded by Ehrlich
Option (4) is incorrect since the author does not and Raven. This shows that speciation is a topic of
attack or criticize the novel. He simply analyses the contention.
novel, the representation of Africa and Congo, and
portrayal of Kurtz and Marlow. 22. 1 Option 1 is the correct answer as the author provides
examples of the US and Russia to tell that these
14. 3 Option (3) is the correct answer. Statements (a) and countries have taken up the use of typewriter. The
(b) can be inferred from the passage. In paragraph author also supports their using of typewriters by
2, the author calls Africa as “a place where barbarism providing us with positive aspects of the typewriters.
triumphs”. Barbarism points towards presence of Option 2 is beyond the scope of the passage. Option
uncivilized people and lack of civilization. Statement 3 is incorrect since clearly it is not the main aim of the
(c) is the most appropriate as it is nowhere stated in passage. There is no hint to make that claim. Option 4
the passage. What Marlow was attracted to, was a is incorrect since this difference has nowhere been
river in Africa. Calling Africa as a place of delights made.
and charms will be too mainstream.
23. 4 “Type a document and lock it away and more or less
15. 2 Option (2) is the correct answer. Metaphor is a figure the only way anyone else can get………. some
of speech that means implied comparison. The author departments have never abandoned them”. This
uses the metaphor of a snake to describe Congo. information, which says that using of typewriters
Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds helps one control who views the document, makes
of neighboring words. Euphemism is a mild, indirect, option 4 correct.
or vague term substituting for a harsh, blunt, or
offensive term. Onomatopoeia is the formation of a 24. 4 Towards the end of the passage, it is written- “Nor
word from a sound associated with what is named. are there any easy distractions.” – i.e that typewriters
can be used only for one single thing- writing. Hence
16. 4 Option (4) is the correct answer. Options (1) and (2) 1 is stated in the passage and is therefore not the
can be inferred from the following sentence in answer. It is also stated- “there’s a big premium on
paragraph 4- “this same deep place……………lured hitting the right key.” This means that once something
Conrad himself into adventure that turned him from has been typed, it cannot be revised. Hence option 2
sailor to writer and severely affected his health for is also stated. It is also stated- “….encouraging clack
the rest of his life.” Option (3) can be inferred from of keys”. This is associated with typewriters making
the opening sentence in the passage, where the more noise than computers. Hence option 3 is also
author calls the Congo as ‘serpentine’. Serpentine stated. Nothing in the passage points towards option
4. Therefore, it is the correct answer.

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