Associate Content Manager | Updated On - Nov 6, 2024
CAT 2023 Slot 2 VARC Question Paper is available here for free download. CAT 2023 Slot 2 paper has been conducted on November 26 from 12.30 PM to 2.30 PM. CAT 2023 Slot 2 question paper VARC comprises 24 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes. According to initial students reaction, CAT 2023 Slot 2 VARC was easy to moderate.
CAT 2023 Slot 2 VARC Question Paper with Solutions PDF
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CAT 2023 Slot 2 VARC Questions with Solution
| Question No. | Question | Correct Answer | Solution |
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| 1 | If the author of the passage were to write a book on the Battle of Hastings along the lines of his/her own reasoning, the focus of the historical account would be on: 1. providing a nuanced interpretation by relying on the auxiliary sciences. 2. exploring the socio-political and economic factors that led to the Battle. 3. producing a detailed timeline of the various events that led to the Battle. 4. deriving historical facts from the relevant documents and inscriptions. |
2 | exploring the socio-political and economic factors that led to the Battle. |
| 2 | According to this passage, which one of the following statements best describes the significance of archaeology for historians? 1. Archaeology helps historians to locate the oldest civilisations in history. 2. Archaeology helps historians to ascertain factual accuracy. 3. Archaeology helps historians to interpret historical facts. 4. Archaeology helps historians to carry out their primary duty. |
2 | Archaeology helps historians to ascertain factual accuracy. |
| 3 | All of the following, if true, can weaken the passage’s claim that facts do not speak for themselves, EXCEPT: 1. a fact, by its very nature, is objective and universal, irrespective of the context in which it is placed. 2. facts, like truth, can be relative: what is fact for person X may not be so for person Y. 3. the order in which a series of facts is presented does not have any bearing on the production of meaning. 4. the truth value of a fact is independent of the historian who expresses it. |
2 | facts, like truth, can be relative: what is fact for person X may not be so for person Y. |
| 4 | All of the following describe the “common-sense view” of history, EXCEPT: 1. only the positivist methods can lead to credible historical knowledge. 2. history can be objective like the sciences if it is derived from historical facts. 3. real history can be found in ancient engravings and archival documents. 4. history is like science: a selective system of cognitive orientations to reality. |
4 | history is like science: a selective system of cognitive orientations to reality. |
| 5 | Umberto Eco, an Italian writer, was right when he said the language of Europe is translation. Netflix and other deep-pocketed global firms speak it well. Just as the EU employs a small army of translators and interpreters to turn intricate laws or impassioned speeches of Romanian MEPs into the EU’s 24 official languages, so do the likes of Netflix. It now offers dubbing in 34 languages and subtitling in a few more. . . . The economics of European productions are more appealing, too. American audiences are more willing than before to give dubbed or subtitled viewing a chance. This means shows such as “Lupin”, a French crime caper on Netflix, can become global hits. . . . In 2015, about 75% of Netflix’s original content was American; now the figure is half, according to Ampere, a media-analysis company. Netflix has about 100 productions under way in Europe, which is more than big public broadcasters in France or Germany. . . . |
4 | A murder mystery drama set in North Africa and France. |
| 6 | The author sees the rise of Netflix in Europe as: 1. an economic threat. 2. a looming cultural threat. 3. filling an entertainment gap. 4. a unifying force. |
4 | a unifying force. |
| 7 | Based on information provided in the passage, all of the following are true, EXCEPT: 1. national broadcasters dominate in the EU in terms of total television viewing hours. 2. Netflix has been able to transform itself into a truly European entity. 3. only half of Netflix’s original programming in the EU is now produced in America. 4. European television productions have the potential to become global hits. |
2 | Netflix has been able to transform itself into a truly European entity. |
| 8 | Which one of the following research findings would weaken the author’s conclusion in the final paragraph? 1. Research shows there is a wide variance in the popularity and viewing of Netflix shows across different EU countries. 2. Research shows that older women across the EU enjoy watching romantic comedies on Netflix, whereas younger women prefer historical fiction dramas. 3. Research shows that Netflix hits produced in France are very popular with North American audiences. 4. Research shows that Netflix has been gradually losing market share to other streaming television service providers. |
1 | Research shows there is a wide variance in the popularity and viewing of Netflix shows across different EU countries. |
| 9 | Over the past four centuries liberalism has been so successful that it has driven all its opponents off the battlefield. Now it is disintegrating, destroyed by a mix of hubris and internal contradictions, according to Patrick Deneen, a professor of politics at the University of Notre Dame. . . . Equality of opportunity has produced a new meritocratic aristocracy that has all the aloofness of the old aristocracy with none of its sense of noblesse oblige. Democracy has degenerated into a theatre of the absurd. And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery. “The gap between liberalism’s claims about itself and the lived reality of the citizenry” is now so wide that “the lie can no longer be accepted,” Mr. Deneen writes. What better proof of this than the vision of 1,000 private planes whisking their occupants to Davos to discuss the question of “creating a shared future in a fragmented world”? . . . |
4 | The author acknowledges the historical dominance of liberalism and its need for reform, aligning with option 4. |
| 10 | All of the following statements are evidence of the decline of liberalism today, EXCEPT: 1. “And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery.” 2. “. . . the creation of a business aristocracy, the rise of vast companies . . .” 3. “Democracy has degenerated into a theatre of the absurd.” 4. ”The gap between liberalism’s claims about itself and the lived reality of the citizenry is now so wide that ‘the lie can no longer be accepted’ . . .” |
1 | “And technological advances are reducing ever more areas of work into meaningless drudgery.” |
| 11 | The author of the passage refers to “the Davos elite” to illustrate his views on: 1. the unlikelihood of a return to the liberalism of the past as long as the rich continue to benefit from the decline in liberal values. 2. the fact that the rise in liberalism had led to a greater interest in shared futures from unlikely social classes. 3. the hypocrisy of the liberal rich, who profess to subscribe to liberal values while cornering most of the wealth. 4. the way the debate around liberalism has been captured by the rich who have managed to insulate themselves from economic hardships. |
3 | The reference to the Davos elite highlights the contrast between their wealth and professed liberal values, indicating hypocrisy. |
| 12 | The author of the passage faults Deneen’s conclusions for all of the following reasons, EXCEPT: 1. its extreme pessimism about the future of liberalism today and predictions of an ultimate decline. 2. its repeated harking back to premodern notions of liberty. 3. its very narrow definition of liberalism limited to individual freedoms. 4. its failure to note historical instances in which the process of declining liberalism has managed to reverse itself. |
2 | its repeated harking back to premodern notions of liberty. |
| 13 | The Second Hand September campaign, led by Oxfam . . . seeks to encourage shopping at local organisations and charities as alternatives to fast fashion brands such as Primark and Boohoo in the name of saving our planet. As innocent as mindless scrolling through online shops may seem, such consumers are unintentionally—or perhaps even knowingly—contributing to an industry that uses more energy than aviation. . . . Brits buy more garments than any other country in Europe, so it comes as no shock that many of those clothes end up in UK landfills each year: 300,000 tonnes of them, to be exact. This waste of clothing is destructive to our planet, releasing greenhouse gases as clothes are burnt as well as bleeding toxins and dyes into the surrounding soil and water. As ecologist Chelsea Rochman bluntly put it, “The mismanagement of our waste has even come back to haunt us on our dinner plate.” |
3 | Slow fashion emphasizes quality and durability, contrasting with the fast fashion model. |
| 14 | According to the author, companies like ThredUP have not caught on in the UK for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that: 1. the British don’t buy second-hand clothing. 2. luxury brands do not like their product to be devalued. 3. luxury brands want to maintain their brand image. 4. recycling is currently not financially attractive for luxury brands. |
1 | the British don’t buy second-hand clothing. |
| 15 | The act of “thrifting”, as described in the passage, can be considered ironic because it: 1. offers luxury clothing at cut-rate prices. 2. has created environmental problems. 3. is an anti-consumerist attitude. 4. is not cost-effective for retailers. |
2 | while thrifting is marketed as environmentally friendly, it may contribute to pollution and other issues, creating irony. |
| 16 | The central idea of the passage would be undermined if: 1. customers bought all their clothes online. 2. second-hand stores sold only high-quality clothes. 3. Primark and Boohoo recycled their clothes for vintage stores. 4. clothes were not thrown and burnt in landfills. |
2 | second-hand stores sold only high-quality clothes. |
| 17 | There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit. Sentence: And probably much earlier, moving the documentation for kissing back 1,000 years compared to what was acknowledged in the scientific community. Paragraph: Research has hypothesised that the earliest evidence of human lip kissing originated in a very specific geographical location in South Asia 3,500 years ago. (1) . From there it may have spread to other regions, simultaneously accelerating the spread of the herpes simplex virus 1. According to Dr Troels Pank Arbøll and Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen, who in a new article in the journal Science draw on a range of written sources from the earliest Mesopotamian societies, kissing was already a well-established practice 4,500 years ago in the Middle East. (2) . In ancient Mesopotamia, people wrote in cuneiform script on clay tablets. (3) . Many thousands of these clay tablets have survived to this day, and they contain clear examples that kissing was considered a part of romantic intimacy in ancient times. (4) . “Kissing could also have been part of friendships and family members’ relations,” says Dr Troels Pank Arbøll, an expert on the history of medicine in Mesopotamia. |
2 | The sentence fits best in the second blank, as it provides a contrast with the previously stated origin of kissing. |
| 18 | There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit. Sentence: Dualism was long held as the defining feature of developing countries in contrast to developed countries, where frontier technologies and high productivity were assumed to prevail. Paragraph: (1) . At the core of development economics lies the idea of ‘productive dualism’: that poor countries’ economies are split between a narrow ‘modern’ sector that uses advanced technologies and a larger ‘traditional’ sector characterized by very low productivity. (2) . While this distinction between developing and advanced economies may have made some sense in the 1950s and 1960s, it no longer appears to be very relevant. A combination of forces have produced a widening gap between the winners and those left behind. (3) . Convergence between poor and rich parts of the economy was arrested and regional disparities widened. (4) . As a result, policymakers in advanced economies are now grappling with the same questions that have long preoccupied developing economies: mainly how to close the gap with the more advanced parts of the economy. |
2 | The sentence best fits in the second blank as it sets the context for discussing ‘productive dualism’ in development economics. |
| 19 | Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer. 1. Self-care particularly links to loneliness, behavioural problems, and negative academic outcomes. 2. “Latchkey children” refers to children who routinely return home from school to empty homes and take care of themselves for extended periods of time. 3. Although self-care generally points to negative outcomes, it is important to consider that the bulk of research has yet to track long-term consequences. 4. In research and practice, the phrase “children in self-care” has come to replace latchkey in an effort to more accurately reflect the nature of their circumstances. 5. Although parents might believe that self-care would be beneficial for development, recent research has found quite the opposite. |
3 | Sentence 3 is the odd one out as it introduces the idea of considering long-term consequences, while the others focus on the immediate implications of self-care and latchkey situations. |
| 20 | Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer. 1. The banning of Northern Lights could be considered a precursor to censoring books for “moral”, world view or religious reasons. 2. Attempts to ban books are attempts to silence authors who have summoned immense courage in telling their stories. 3. Now the banning and challenging of books in the US has escalated to an unprecedented level. 4. The widely acclaimed fantasy novel Northern Lights was banned in some parts of the US, and was the second most challenged book in the US. 5. The American Library Association documented an unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022, about 2,500 unique titles. |
2 | Sentence 2 is the odd one out as it discusses the courage of authors rather than focusing on the statistical and factual aspects of book banning and challenges. |
| 21 | The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer. 1. Like the ants that make up a colony, no single neuron holds complex information like self-awareness, hope or pride. 2. Although the human brain is not yet understood enough to identify the mechanism by which emergence functions, most neurobiologists agree that complex interconnections among the parts give rise to qualities that belong only to the whole. 3. Nonetheless, the sum of all neurons in the nervous system generates complex human emotions like fear and joy, none of which can be attributed to a single neuron. 4. Human consciousness is often called an emergent property of the human brain. |
4132 | The correct sequence starts with sentence 4, introducing the concept of consciousness as an emergent property, followed by sentence 2, which discusses the mechanism of emergence, then sentence 1, which uses the ant colony analogy, and concludes with sentence 3, highlighting how the collective neurons generate complex emotions. |
| 22 | The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) given below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer. 1. Contemporary African writing like ‘The Bottled Leopard’ voices this theme using two children and two backgrounds to juxtapose two varying cultures. 2. Chukwuemeka Ike explores the conflict, and casts the Western tradition as condescending, enveloping and unaccommodating towards local African practice. 3. However, their views contradict the reality, for a rich and sustaining local African cultural ethos exists for all who care, to see and experience. 4. Western Christian concepts tend to deny or feign ignorance about the existence of a genuine and enduring indigenous African tradition. |
4321 | The correct sequence starts with sentence 4, introducing the critique of Western concepts. This is followed by sentence 2, which details the perspective of Chukwuemeka Ike, then sentence 3, which counters the views of the West with the existence of a rich local culture, and concludes with sentence 1, which presents contemporary African writing that illustrates this theme. |
| 23 | The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage. Heatwaves are becoming longer, frequent and intense due to climate change. The impacts of extreme heat are unevenly experienced; with older people and young children, those with pre-existing medical conditions and on low incomes significantly more vulnerable. Adaptation to heatwaves is a significant public policy concern. Research conducted among at-risk people in the UK reveals that even vulnerable people do not perceive themselves as at risk of extreme heat; therefore, early warnings of extreme heat events do not perform as intended. This suggests that understanding how extreme heat is narrated is very important. The news media play a central role in this process and can help warn people about the potential danger, as well as about impacts on infrastructure and society. |
3 | The best summary captures the central idea that heatwaves present a significant risk and emphasizes the important role the media plays in raising awareness about this danger. |
| 24 | The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage. People spontaneously create counterfactual alternatives to reality when they think “if only” or “what if” and imagine how the past could have been different. The mind computes counterfactuals for many reasons. Counterfactuals explain the past and prepare for the future, they implicate various relations including causal ones, and they affect intentions and decisions. They modulate emotions such as regret and relief, and they support moral judgments such as blame. The ability to create counterfactuals develops throughout childhood and contributes to reasoning about other people’s beliefs, including their false beliefs. |
1 | The best summary encapsulates the various reasons for creating counterfactuals and emphasizes their significance in the developmental process. |
CAT Questions
1. Average of 5 integers is 38 and all the numbers are between 0 and 50 (both inclusive). In these 5 numbers, a is the minimum. If exactly 3 of them are more than 32, find the difference between the minimum and the maximum value of a.
Average of 5 integers is 38 and all the numbers are between 0 and 50 (both inclusive). In these 5 numbers, a is the minimum. If exactly 3 of them are more than 32, find the difference between the minimum and the maximum value of a.
2. In a company, 20% of the employees work in the manufacturing department. If the total salary obtained by all the manufacturing employees is one-sixth of the total salary obtained by all the employees in the company, then the ratio of the average salary obtained by the manufacturing employees to the average salary obtained by the non-manufacturing employees is
In a company, 20% of the employees work in the manufacturing department. If the total salary obtained by all the manufacturing employees is one-sixth of the total salary obtained by all the employees in the company, then the ratio of the average salary obtained by the manufacturing employees to the average salary obtained by the non-manufacturing employees is
- 6 : 5
- 4 : 5
- 5 : 4
- 5 : 6
4. Anil borrows Rs 2 lakhs at an interest rate of 8% per annum, compounded half-yearly. He repays Rs 10320 at the end of the first year and closes the loan by paying the outstanding amount at the end of the third year. Then, the total interest, in rupees, paid over the three years is nearest to
Anil borrows Rs 2 lakhs at an interest rate of 8% per annum, compounded half-yearly. He repays Rs 10320 at the end of the first year and closes the loan by paying the outstanding amount at the end of the third year. Then, the total interest, in rupees, paid over the three years is nearest to
- 33130
- 40991
- 51311
- 51311
5. There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4 ) the following sentence would best fit.
Sentence: This philosophical cut at one's core beliefs, values, and way of life is difficult enough.
Paragraph: The experience of reading philosophy is often disquieting. When reading philosophy, the values around which one has heretofore organised one's life may come to look provincial, flatly wrong, or even evil. __(1)_. When beliefs previously held as truths are rendered implausible, new beliefs, values, and ways of living may be required. _ (2) . What's worse, philosophers admonish each other to remain unsutured until such time as a defensible new answer is revealed or constructed. Sometimes philosophical writing is even strictly critical in that it does not even attempt to provide an alternative after tearing down a cultural or conceptual citadel. (3). The reader of philosophy must be prepared for the possibility of this experience. While reading philosophy can help one clarify one's values, and even make one self-conscious for the first time of the fact that there are good reasons for believing what one believes, it can also generate un-remediated doubt that is difficult to live with.
There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4 ) the following sentence would best fit.
Sentence: This philosophical cut at one's core beliefs, values, and way of life is difficult enough.
Paragraph: The experience of reading philosophy is often disquieting. When reading philosophy, the values around which one has heretofore organised one's life may come to look provincial, flatly wrong, or even evil. __(1)_. When beliefs previously held as truths are rendered implausible, new beliefs, values, and ways of living may be required. _ (2) . What's worse, philosophers admonish each other to remain unsutured until such time as a defensible new answer is revealed or constructed. Sometimes philosophical writing is even strictly critical in that it does not even attempt to provide an alternative after tearing down a cultural or conceptual citadel. (3). The reader of philosophy must be prepared for the possibility of this experience. While reading philosophy can help one clarify one's values, and even make one self-conscious for the first time of the fact that there are good reasons for believing what one believes, it can also generate un-remediated doubt that is difficult to live with.
Sentence: This philosophical cut at one's core beliefs, values, and way of life is difficult enough.
Paragraph: The experience of reading philosophy is often disquieting. When reading philosophy, the values around which one has heretofore organised one's life may come to look provincial, flatly wrong, or even evil. __(1)_. When beliefs previously held as truths are rendered implausible, new beliefs, values, and ways of living may be required. _ (2) . What's worse, philosophers admonish each other to remain unsutured until such time as a defensible new answer is revealed or constructed. Sometimes philosophical writing is even strictly critical in that it does not even attempt to provide an alternative after tearing down a cultural or conceptual citadel. (3). The reader of philosophy must be prepared for the possibility of this experience. While reading philosophy can help one clarify one's values, and even make one self-conscious for the first time of the fact that there are good reasons for believing what one believes, it can also generate un-remediated doubt that is difficult to live with.
- Option 4
- Option 2
- Option 1
- Option 3
6. The sum of the first two natural numbers, each having 15 factors (including 1 and the number itself), is
The sum of the first two natural numbers, each having 15 factors (including 1 and the number itself), is
- 348
- 412
- 468
- None of Above
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