CAT 2018 Previous Year Question Paper

Passage 1

Every few years a list circulates of words that supposedly cannot be translated: a term for the particular light of late afternoon, another for the urge to squeeze something cute, a third for the melancholy of a chance that was missed. The lists are charming, and they flatter a widely held belief that each language encloses a distinctive way of seeing the world, inaccessible to outsiders. They are also, in an important sense, misleading.

To call a word untranslatable usually means only that no single word in the target language corresponds to it. But translation has never worked word by word. A phrase, a sentence or an example can convey what a lone word cannot, and the fact that English needs seven words to render a concept that another language expresses in one tells us about the economy of vocabularies, not about the limits of understanding. If English speakers could not grasp the meaning of a supposedly untranslatable word, the compilers of these lists would be unable to explain it to their readers, which they invariably do in a sentence or two.

This is not to deny that languages differ in what they make easy to say. A language that obliges its speakers to mark whether they witnessed an event or heard about it second-hand keeps the question of evidence constantly in view; a language without such marking allows the question to recede. Researchers have found modest but measurable effects of such grammatical habits on what speakers attend to and remember. The differences are real, but they are differences of emphasis and habit, not walls. Speakers of any language can notice what another language obliges its speakers to notice; they are simply not required to.

The romantic view of untranslatability carries a hidden cost. If languages are sealed worlds, then translation is a kind of betrayal, and the translator a well-meaning forger. Literary cultures that accept this view have sometimes undervalued translators and treated translated books as inferior substitutes for the real thing. The more modest view, that translation is difficult but possible, restores the translator to the role of a craftsman solving problems of fit, tone and rhythm, and allows readers to take translated literature seriously as literature.

The appeal of untranslatable words, then, may lie less in what they reveal about languages than in what they offer readers: the pleasure of discovering that someone, somewhere, had a name for a feeling one had assumed was private. That pleasure is genuine. It is simply a pleasure of recognition, and recognition depends on the very translatability the lists appear to deny.

1. Which of the following best expresses the main argument of the passage?

   1. Some words are truly untranslatable because each language encloses a sealed way of seeing the world.
   2. Grammatical differences between languages have no effect on how their speakers think.
   3. Lists of untranslatable words should be discouraged because they insult translators.
   4. A word without a one-word equivalent is not beyond understanding; languages differ in emphasis rather than in what their speakers can grasp.
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: D (A word without a one-word equivalent is not beyond understanding; languages differ in emphasis rather than in what their speakers can grasp.)

   The passage argues that 'untranslatable' only means 'no single-word equivalent' and that grammatical differences are 'differences of emphasis and habit, not walls'. A is the view it rejects; B contradicts the reported 'modest but measurable effects'; C overstates the point about translators.

2. The author observes that list compilers explain each 'untranslatable' word in a sentence or two in order to

   1. criticise the compilers for writing explanations that are too brief.
   2. suggest that English is richer in vocabulary than other languages.
   3. show that the lists themselves demonstrate that the words can be rendered in English.
   4. argue that single-word equivalents are always preferable to phrases.
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: C (show that the lists themselves demonstrate that the words can be rendered in English.)

   If the meaning can be explained to English readers in a sentence, it has been translated, which undercuts the lists' own claim.

3. With which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?

   1. Grammar has no influence on what speakers of a language pay attention to.
   2. Grammatical features can shape habits of attention without stopping speakers of other languages from grasping the same distinctions.
   3. Speakers of a language without evidential marking cannot tell witnessed events from reported ones.
   4. Translated books are, at best, inferior substitutes for the originals.
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (Grammatical features can shape habits of attention without stopping speakers of other languages from grasping the same distinctions.)

   Paragraph three accepts measurable effects on attention but says speakers of any language 'can notice what another language obliges its speakers to notice'. A ignores the effects; C contradicts 'they are simply not required to'; D is the romantic view the author criticises.

4. The final sentence of the passage implies that

   1. a reader can recognise the feeling only because its meaning has been conveyed in the reader's own language.
   2. readers enjoy untranslatable words because they cannot understand them.
   3. the feelings named by untranslatable words are private and cannot be shared.
   4. translators should avoid explaining foreign words to their readers.
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: A (a reader can recognise the feeling only because its meaning has been conveyed in the reader's own language.)

   Recognition requires understanding what the word means, which in turn requires that it has been translated, the 'very translatability the lists appear to deny'.

Verbal ability

5. The five sentences below, labelled 1 to 5, form a coherent paragraph when properly ordered. Type in the correct order as a sequence of five numbers. 1. A set of closed loops, each inside the last, therefore marks a hill or, if the heights fall inwards, a hollow. 2. A contour line joins points on a map that lie at the same height above sea level. 3. With a little practice, a walker can glance at the pattern and see the shape of the land before ever setting foot on it. 4. Drawn at regular intervals of height, these lines turn a flat sheet into a picture of relief. 5. Where the lines crowd together, the ground rises steeply; where they spread apart, the slope is gentle. (type in your answer)

   Answer and explanation

   Answer: 24513

   2 defines a contour line. 4 ('these lines') explains what they do together. 5 explains spacing and slope. 1 ('therefore') draws a further consequence about closed loops. 3 concludes with the practical skill. Order: 2-4-5-1-3.

6. Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the sentence that does not fit and type in its number. 1. Night-shift work disrupts the body's internal clock, which expects darkness and sleep at night. 2. Workers on rotating shifts report more sleep problems than those on fixed schedules. 3. Some studies link years of night work to higher rates of metabolic disorders. 4. Employers can reduce the harm by rotating shifts forwards, from morning to evening to night, rather than backwards. 5. The daily cycles of plants, which open and close their leaves at regular hours, were among the first biological clocks to be described. (type in your answer)

   Answer and explanation

   Answer: 5

   Sentences 1–4 concern the effects of shift work on human workers and how employers can reduce them. Sentence 5 shares the theme of biological clocks but is about the history of plant research, so it does not fit.

7. The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage. Open-plan offices were promoted as a way to encourage collaboration by removing the walls between colleagues. Studies that tracked how employees actually communicated found the opposite: after a move to open plan, face-to-face conversation fell and email rose, as people sought privacy by withdrawing into their screens. Removing physical barriers, it seems, can lead people to build psychological ones.

   1. Open-plan offices increase collaboration because they remove walls between colleagues.
   2. Open-plan offices were introduced mainly to save money rather than to improve collaboration.
   3. Email is a more efficient means of communication than face-to-face conversation.
   4. Removing walls to encourage interaction can backfire, as people guard their privacy by talking less in person.
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: D (Removing walls to encourage interaction can backfire, as people guard their privacy by talking less in person.)

   The passage reports that the intended effect reversed: face-to-face talk fell as people withdrew for privacy. A states the original claim, B introduces a motive the passage never mentions, and C is not argued.

Set 1

Six candidates, A to F, took part in a four-round selection contest. Each round was marked out of 50. A candidate's final score is the sum of his or her best three round scores (the lowest round score is dropped). Candidates are ranked by final score, highest first; ties in final score are broken in favour of the candidate with the higher total of all four rounds.

8. Which candidate is ranked fifth?

   1. B
   2. C
   3. E
   4. A
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: C (E)

   Final scores (best three): A 120, B 119, C 119, D 125, E 119, F 125. Four-round totals: A 155, B 147, C 155, D 150, E 148, F 158. Ranking: F (125, 158), D (125, 150), A (120), then the three on 119 by total: C (155), E (148), B (147). E is fifth.

9. How many candidates have a final score of 120 or more? (type in your answer)

   Answer and explanation

   Answer: 3

   A (120), D (125) and F (125). The other three have 119.

10. If the final score were instead the total of all four rounds, which candidate would be ranked last?

    1. B
    2. D
    3. E
    4. C
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (B)

    Totals: A 155, B 147, C 155, D 150, E 148, F 158. B has the lowest total.

11. For which candidate is the Round 1 score the one that gets dropped?

    1. C
    2. D
    3. E
    4. F
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (F)

    Each candidate's lowest score: A 35 (R2), B 28 (R4), C 36 (R4), D 25 (R2), E 29 (R3), F 33 (R1). Only F's dropped score is from Round 1.

12. A train passes a pole in 15 seconds and a 300 m long platform in 27 seconds. What is the length of the train in metres? (type in your answer)

    Answer and explanation

    Answer: 375

    The extra 300 m takes 27 − 15 = 12 s, so speed = 25 m/s. Length = 25 × 15 = 375 m.

13. A vessel contains 80 litres of pure milk. 8 litres are drawn off and replaced with water. This is done three times in all. How much milk does the vessel finally contain?

    1. 56.32 L
    2. 58.32 L
    3. 59.04 L
    4. 64.80 L
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (58.32 L)

    Each operation keeps 72/80 = 0.9 of the milk. After three operations: 80 × 0.9³ = 80 × 0.729 = 58.32 litres.

14. In triangle ABC, AB = 13, BC = 14 and CA = 15. What is the length of the altitude from A to BC?

    1. 11.2
    2. 12
    3. 12.6
    4. 13
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (12)

    Semi-perimeter s = 21. Area = √(21 × 8 × 7 × 6) = √7056 = 84. Altitude to BC = 2 × 84 ÷ 14 = 12.

15. A 25 m ladder leans against a vertical wall with its foot 7 m from the wall. If the top of the ladder slides down by 4 m, by how many metres does the foot slide away from the wall? (type in your answer)

    Answer and explanation

    Answer: 8

    Initial height = √(625 − 49) = 24 m. New height = 20 m, so the new distance of the foot = √(625 − 400) = 15 m. The foot moves 15 − 7 = 8 m.

16. A starts a business with ₹40,000. Three months later B joins with ₹60,000. At the end of the year the profit is ₹34,000. What is B's share, in rupees? (type in your answer)

    Answer and explanation

    Answer: 18000

    Capital-months: A = 40,000 × 12 = 4,80,000 and B = 60,000 × 9 = 5,40,000, a ratio of 8 : 9. B's share = 34,000 × 9/17 = ₹18,000.

17. How many integers x satisfy |x − 3| + |x + 2| ≤ 9?

    1. 8
    2. 9
    3. 10
    4. 11
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (10)

    For −2 ≤ x ≤ 3 the sum equals 5, which is fine. For x > 3 the sum is 2x − 1 ≤ 9, so x ≤ 5. For x < −2 the sum is 1 − 2x ≤ 9, so x ≥ −4. Hence −4 ≤ x ≤ 5: 10 integers.

18. The HCF of two numbers is 12 and their LCM is 360. If one of the numbers is 72, what is the other?

    1. 48
    2. 72
    3. 60
    4. 90
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (60)

    Product of the numbers = HCF × LCM = 12 × 360 = 4320. Other number = 4320 ÷ 72 = 60. Check: HCF(72, 60) = 12 and LCM = 360.

19. How many three-digit numbers have their digits in strictly increasing order from left to right (for example, 258)? (type in your answer)

    Answer and explanation

    Answer: 84

    The digits must be three different non-zero digits (0 cannot appear, because it would have to come first). Any choice of 3 digits from 1–9 gives exactly one increasing arrangement: C(9,3) = 84.

20. A trader sells two articles for ₹9,900 each. On one he gains 10% and on the other he loses 10%. What is his overall result?

    1. No profit, no loss
    2. 1% gain
    3. 2% loss
    4. 1% loss
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (1% loss)

    Cost prices: 9,900 ÷ 1.1 = 9,000 and 9,900 ÷ 0.9 = 11,000, total 20,000. Selling total = 19,800. Loss = 200, i.e. 1% of the cost.