QUESTIONS
Instruction:
Any universal concept of time must ultimately be based on the evolution of the cosmos itself.
When you look up at the universe you’re seeing events that happened in the past – it takes light time to reach
us. In fact, even the simplest observation can help us understand cosmological time: for example the fact that
the night sky is dark. If the universe had an infinite past and was infinite in extent, the night sky would be
completely bright – filled with the light from an infinite number of stars in a cosmos that had always existed.
For a long time scientists, including Albert Einstein, thought that the universe was static and infinite.
Observations have since shown that it is in fact expanding, and at an accelerating rate. This means that it
must have originated from a more compact state that we call the Big Bang, implying that time does have a
beginning. In fact, if we look for light that is old enough we can even see the relic radiation from Big Bang –
the cosmic microwave background. Realising this was a first step in determining the age of the universe.
But there is a snag, Einstein’s special theory of relativity, shows that time is … relative: the faster you move
relative to me, the slower time will pass for you relative to my perception of time. So in our universe of
expanding galaxies, spinning stars and swirling planets, experiences of time vary: everything’s past, present
and future is relative.
So is there a universal time that we could all agree on?
It turns out that because the universe is on average the same everywhere, and on average looks the same in
every direction, there does exist a “cosmic time”. To measure it, all we have to do is measure the properties
of the cosmic microwave background. Cosmologists have used this to determine the age of the universe; its
cosmic age. It turns out that the universe is 13.799 billion years old.
So we know time most likely started during the Big Bang. But there is one nagging question that remains:
what exactly is time?
To unpack this question, we have to look at the basic properties of space and time. In the dimension of space,
you can move forwards and backwards; commuters experience this everyday. But time is different, it has a
direction, you always move forward, never in reverse. So why is the dimension of time irreversible? This is
one of the major unsolved problems in physics.
To explain why time itself is irreversible, we need to find processes in nature that are also irreversible. One of
the few such concepts in physics (and life!) is that things tend to become less “tidy” as time passes. We
describe this using a physical property called entropy that encodes how ordered something is.
Imagine a box of gas in which all the particles were initially placed in one corner (an ordered state). Over
time they would naturally seek to fill the entire box (a disordered state) – and to put the particles back into an
ordered state would require energy. This is irreversible. It’s like cracking an egg to make an omelette – once
it spreads out and fills the frying pan, it will never go back to being egg-shaped. It’s the same with the
universe: as it evolves, the overall entropy increases.
It turns out entropy is a pretty good way to explain time’s arrow. And while it may seem like the universe is
becoming more ordered rather than less – going from a wild sea of relatively uniformly spread out hot gas in
its early stages to stars, planets, humans and articles about time – it’s nevertheless possible that it is
increasing in disorder. That’s because the gravity associated with large masses may be pulling matter into
seemingly ordered states – with the increase in disorder that we think must have taken place being somehow
hidden away in the gravitational fields. So disorder could be increasing even though we don’t see it.
But given nature’s tendency to prefer disorder, why did the universe start off in such an ordered state in the
first place? This is still considered a mystery. Some researchers argue that the Big Bang may not even have
been the beginning, there may in fact be “parallel universes" where time runs in different directions.
Q.1) According to the passage, “the fact that the night sky is dark”, indicates …
[A] that Big Bang may not have been the beginning of time.
[B] that there is a beginning of time as we know it.
[C] that light sources are few in our universe.
[D] that the universe itself has always existed.
Q.2) Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
[A] Light in the cosmos comes from stars.
[B] Time has the same dimensions as space.
[C] The Big Bang is not a generally accepted theory.
[D] The universe is growing larger at a consistent rate.
Q.3) The passage implies that cosmic microwave background:
[A] while ubiquitous, is a residue of starlight
[B] is a radiation that pervades the cosmos
[C] is proof of the entropy that is the property of all matter
[D] is a measure of the inherent instability of the cosmos
Q.4) The fact that time is relative to position and speed can imply all of the following EXCEPT:
[A] A human on earth can view a star that is yet to form.
[B] The order in the cosmos is deceptive.
[C] A powerful enough device can read the microwaves post the big bang.
[D] The personal experience of time is individual and not uniform.
Q.5) According to the passage, which of the following could possibly give us a clue to explaining the paradox of
order in a universe that clearly prefers disorder?
[A] The measure of time that is reflected in the cosmic waves such as x-rays and microwaves
[B] The radiation measures from gravitational bodies, formed since the big bang
[C] The evaluation of notional entities like relative time and relative space
[D] The information that could be gleaned from gravitational fields
Q.6) According to the passage, which of the following is not true of entropy?
[A] It is a property of all things in the cosmos.
[B] The consequences of entropy cannot be reversed.
[C] Entropy is the property that reveals the state of order of something.
[D] Entropy explains the fact that microwaves are lingering remnants of things
Instruction:
Danino has expressed dissatisfaction that many genetic studies have attributed the ‘spread of
agriculture’ into the subcontinent to migrations. Just to be sure that no one thinks that the practice of
agriculture is in the genes, I would like to point out that the spread of the technology of agriculture was
associated with the movement of people; agriculturists who took the technology to new regions and taught it
to the locals in the new region. Movement of people implies movement of genes. Some migrants ‘export’
their genes to a new region by taking spouses from the new region and producing children with them who
stay in the new region. We can never be sure that the attribution of agriculture having been introduced to the
Indian subcontinent by migrants is fully true. However, genetic data do support this model, especially of the
spread of modern, organized agriculture.
Having said this, I must also emphasize, once again, that collection of more extensive data is always more
helpful in understanding our past and of the spread of our inventions and innovations. A Y-chromosomal
signature, haplogroup J, was shown to be associated with the spread of modern agriculture. This signature
has its highest frequency in the Fertile Crescent region – the region comprising the present-day countries of
Syria, Lebanon, Turkey – where the technology of modern agriculture was invented about 7,000–10,000
years ago. Collection of deeper data showed that this signature is quite heterogeneous and is composed of at
least four sub-signatures, one of which – haplogroup J2b2 – is confined to the India–Pakistan region.
This sub-signature arose over 13,000 years ago and hence its introduction into India could not have been by
migrants who introduced modern agriculture into India. We showed that the haplogroup J2b2 possibly arose
in India, because the highest frequency of this haplogroup is found in India. We discovered multiple
epicentres of this haplogroup in India and interestingly these epicentres neatly coincided with the seats of
introduction of early forms of agriculture in India (as evidenced by the study of fossilized pollen grains by
Fuller and his team). It is unlikely that haplogroup J arose independently multiple times in geographically
separated places. It probably arose in an ancient population who had spread themselves in geographically
separated regions and they invented rudimentary forms of agriculture independently in multiple geographical
regions. However, it is notable that these early forms of agriculture remained largely confined to India and
Pakistan region.
Q.7) Danino believed that genetic studies, which “attributed the ‘spread of agriculture’ into the Indian subcontinent
to migrations,” are:
[A] incorrect because migrants did not introduce agriculture into the subcontinent.
[B] true because it was indeed migrants who introduced agriculture into the subcontinent.
[C] only partially correct as early forms of agriculture were indigenously developed in the subcontinent.
[D] originally results of expert intuition but later validated by an improved ability to decipher evidence.
Q.8) It can be inferred from the passage that the study of “fossilized pollen grains” …
[A] helps reconstruct the forms of past vegetation.
[B] helps detect the genetic makeup of plants.
[C] helps trace the genetic mutations of cultivated plants.
[D] helps trace the genes of the cultivators.
Q.9) All of the following statements are true according to the passage EXCEPT:
[A] The genetic signature haplogroup J caused the invention of agriculture.
[B] The haplogroup J2b2 probably arose in India.
[C] The spread of the technology of agriculture was associated with the movement of people.
[D] The haplogroup J has more sub-signatures than just J2b2.
Instruction:
A lack of restraint is perhaps the best response to Ishiguro’s novel, The Remains of the Day,
which is the tale of a man so burdened by propriety that he lets the love of his life slip through his fingers. Mr
Stevens is chief of staff at an English stately home; as the novel opens, in the summer of 1956, he is set to
undertake a motoring trip to visit Miss Kenton, a housekeeper who left 20 years earlier to get married. The
butler says he wants to ask her if she’d consider returning to work: “Miss Kenton, with her great affection for
this house, with her exemplary professionalism, was just the factor needed to enable me to complete a fully
satisfactory staff plan for Darlington Hall.” But Stevens isn’t fooling anyone, especially when he lets slip that
a letter (“her first in seven years, discounting Christmas cards”) contains hints her marriage is falling apart.
Unreliable narrators – those mysterious figures the reader must try to work out – are ten a penny in fiction.
Ishiguro, instead, likes to give us unwitting narrators: speakers who remain trapped in self-preserving
fictions, mysteries even to themselves. Bit by bit, you learn to look for the real emotions running beneath the
buffed surface of the prose. Stevens reminisces grandly about his former employer, Lord Darlington, an
aristocrat who aligned himself with the Nazis and eventually died in disgrace. He sifts through memories of
his father – a butler himself, who was aloof to the point of abuse – and holds forth about “dignity”, a
concocted ideal that has to do “with a butler’s ability not to abandon the professional being he inhabits”.
Each journal entry becomes a mannered exercise in avoidance and projection. When Stevens reaches a
sensitive subject – such as whether Miss Kenton was driven away by his refusal to admit his feelings for her
– he veers off into self-protective prattling, carrying on for pages before he feels able to continue. “All in all,”
he writes tellingly, “I cannot see why the option of her returning to Darlington Hall and seeing out her
working years there should not offer a very genuine consolation to a life that has come to be so dominated by
a sense of waste.”
We get a picture of a man trying desperately to keep a lid on his emotions – and what a complete picture it is.
The Remains of the Day does that most wonderful thing a work of literature can do: it makes you feel you
hold a human life in your hands. When you reach the end, it really does seem as if you’ve lost a friend – a
laughably pompous, party-hat-refusing, stick-in-the-mud friend, but a good friend nonetheless. You want to
give him a hug, except he’d be outraged.
The Remains of the Day is a book about a thwarted life. It’s about how class conditioning can turn you into
your own worst enemy, making you complicit in your own subservience. It’s probably quite an English book
– I can’t imagine readers in more gregarious nations will have much patience with a protagonist who takes
four decades to fail to declare his feelings. “Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way,” as Pink
Floyd sang. It’s a book for anyone who feels they’ve ever held themselves back when something that truly
mattered was within their grasp.
Most of all, though, it’s a book about love. Stevens is forced to let go of his illusions about Lord Darlington,
his filial pride, his cherished “dignity”, until all that remains is Miss Kenton and what might have been. The
story reaches its low-key climax in the quiet surroundings of a Cornish tea-room.
I once heard that, to make the reader cry, a writer should try to keep the characters dry-eyed. There are some
tears in this novel – yet perhaps not enough, because the tale of the steadfast, hopelessly mistaken Stevens
gets me every time. If you haven’t read The Remains of the Day, I hope you’ll let me park my professional
dignity and beg you to get hold of a copy pronto. And if you’ve read it and loved it, then – whatever you do –
don’t keep your feelings to yourself.
Q.10) The main conclusion of the review is that Stevens has:
[A] Been an unusual fictional character in his inability to view himself sensibly and express himself clearly.
[B] Suffered the consequences of a concocted ideal when he could have focused on what matters the most – love.
[C] Effectively shown the reader the need to express emotions without repression.
[D] Been instrumental in the writer’s own understanding of himself as an emotional person first and a professional
later.
Q.11) The reviewer believes that at the root of Stevens’ mistaken view of himself was:
[A] His sense of loyalty to his own father who had been a rather unsentimental person.
[B] His sense of belonging to a certain position in society.
[C] His belief in the importance of his job as Lord Darlington’s butler.
[D] The notion that Darlington Hall was more important than his emotional life.
Q.12) In the last paragraph the reviewer states that “perhaps there are not enough tears” in the novel, because:
[A] The reviewer was strongly moved by the character of Stevens who himself remains oblivious to his own tragedy.
[B] The reviewer feels like removing his own restraints every time he reads about the restrained impulses of Stevens.
[C] He finds the quiet desperation of Stevens’ to be typically English nature, and feels it could be more expressive.
[D] He believes that it is important to express emotions instead of keeping them bottled.
Q.13) The narrator in Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day is all of the following EXCEPT:
[A] Someone who denies his feelings in order to live by an ideal he believes in.
[B] Someone who goes to great lengths to avoid admitting to his own emotions.
[C] Someone who is difficult to understand and to predict.
[D] Someone with a strong sense of duty and an inability to enjoy himself.
Q.14) In the fifth paragraph, the reviewer calls Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day as “quite an English book” because:
[A] The English are the kind of people to find something meaningful in a thwarted life.
[B] Living on in quiet desperation is familiar to the English sensibility.
[C] The English way of life would find Stevens’ choices to be idealistic.
[D] The English are unique in their understanding of what honour and idealism mean.
Q.15) According to the reviewer, which of the following is the greatest achievement of Ishiguro in The Remains of
the Day?
[A] Delineation of the typical English culture and ethos.
[B] The technique of narration through journal entries.
[C] The true to life portrayal of the character of Stevens.
[D] Representing the pitfalls of exemplary professionalism.
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Q.16) Select the best summary
If you ask most people how tattoos work, they’re likely to get it wrong. The most pervasive oversimplification
is that tattoo needles inject ink into the skin, deep enough that it stays put. In fact, tattoo needles are more like
the nib of a fountain pen than a syringe; the ink isn’t shot down through the needle, but suspended at the end
of it when an artist dips the tool into a well. Then, when the tip of the needle pierces a hole in the recipient’s
skin, capillary action draws the ink down into the dermis. That’s how the ink gets into your skin. But why
does it stay there? Scientists recently discovered that tattoos are made possible not by ink-saturated skin cells,
but by immune cells called macrophages.
[A] Most people wrongly believe that in tattoos, ink is injected deep into the skin permanently. In truth, the ink
suspended at the tip of the needle is drawn into the dermis by capillary action, when shot into skin. Scientists
recently discovered that it’s immune cells and not skin cells that preserve this ink.
[B] The most popular misconception about tattoos is that the ink injected deep into the skin remains there forever. In
truth, ink, suspended at the tip of the needle, is shot into skin and sucked by the dermis. Scientists recently
discovered that it’s not the cells, but macrophages that make tattooing possible.
[C] The most popular misconception about tattoos is that ink is injected into the skin permanently. In truth, ink is
suspended at the tip of the needle, which is then sucked by the dermis through capillary action, when shot into
skin. It has long been known that it’s not skin cells, but macrophages (immune cells) that preserve this ink.
[D] The most popular misconception about tattoos is that ink is injected into the skin permanently. In truth, ink is
suspended at the tip of the needle, which is then injected into the dermis through capillary action. Scientists have
discovered that it’s not skin cells, but macrophages (immune cells) that preserve this ink.
Q.17) Select the best summary
Writing involves not only the hand and wrist but also the arm, the shoulder and often the whole body. Quill-
users were well aware of this, and would choose from the right wing or the left—ideally the third or fourth
feather of a goose-wing, but possibly the finest feathers of swans, or ravens, or crows—to make the quill curve
towards the hand or away from it, whichever felt more natural. Children forming letters sit hunched with
concentration, small fingers clenched round crayons, little pink tongues darting out of mouths. After a page or
three of writing against the clock, the ablest college student flaps his wrist to ease the ache in it. In like
manner, each and every instance of writing is a physical act involving varying degrees of exertion.
[A] Writing is a physical act involving the whole body. The 3rd of 4th feather from either side of a goose-wing or the
finest feathers of other birds were considered the best by quill users. From a child sitting hunched while learning
to write to a student flapping his wrist after writing long passages, every act of writing is quite physical.
[B] Writing is a physical act involving employment of the whole body. Quill users were aware of this. From a child
sitting hunched while learning to write to a student flapping his wrist after writing a test, every act of writing is
quite physical.
[C] Writing is a physical act involving the whole body. Knowing this, quill users chose only the best quills, in order
to write naturally. A child’s posture while learning to write or a college student flapping his wrist after writing
against time reveals the physical exertion in writing.
[D] Writing is a physical act involving employment of different body parts. Quill users, being aware of this, were
particular about using only the best quills. The physical exertion is evident in every act of writing.
Q.18) Select the best summary
Pastafarianism began with a satiric open letter written by then-25-year-old Bobby Henderson in response to
the Kansas Board of Education’s decision to teach the theory of intelligent design alongside evolution in
public schools. Henderson argued that schools ought also to devote class time to teaching the theory that a
flying spaghetti monster had created the universe. This, he reasoned, was as probable a version of intelligent
design as any other. The letter inspired a biblical flood’s worth of memes and launched a religious group that
now claims a global membership. As this so-called Pastafarianism has grown, some branches of this
movement have started demanding the rights and privileges enjoyed by more established religious
organizations. What started as a fake religion is now angling to be an authentic one.
[A] Bobby Henderson introduced pastafarianism as part of his protest against teaching theory of intelligent design in
public schools. He introduced the theory that a flying spaghetti monster had created the universe, reasoning it to
be as valid as the other. His theory is now popular enough to claim a globally accepted religious identity.
[B] Pastafarianism began in Kansas with Bobby Henderson’s satirical response to the idea of teaching theory of
intelligent design in public schools, arguing that the theory that a flying spaghetti monster had created the
universe is as valid as the other. The idea is now popular enough to claim a globally accepted religious identity.
[C] Pastafarianism puts forward the theory that a flying spaghetti monster had created the universe. It began with
Bobby Henderson’s disagreement about teaching theory of intelligent design in public schools. The movement
has now become a globally accepted religious identity.
[D] Pastafarianism puts forward the theory that a flying spaghetti monster created the universe. It began with Bobby
Henderson’s opposition to teaching theory of intelligent design in public schools in Kansas. Now, the religion
not only claims global membership but also demands an authentic identity.
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VARC Practice Answers:
Section 1
Q.1)B
Q.2)A
Q.3)B
Q.4)A
Q.5)D
Q.6)D
Q.7)C
Q.8)A
Q.9)A
Q.10)C
Q.11)B
Q.12)A
Q.13)C
Q.14)B
Q.15)A
Q.16)A
Q.17)C
Q.18)B
VARC Practice Explanations:
Section 1
Q.1) B
Explanation:
The darkness of the night sky is mentioned in order to point to the fact that light sources in the universe are
finite as the universe itself is finite. And this points to the fact that there is a point where the universe and
therefore time, as we know it, began. The first paragraph states: “If the universe had an infinite past and was
infinite in extent, the night sky would be completely bright – filled with the light from an infinite number of
stars in a cosmos that had always existed.”
Option 1 is incorrect. The passage explains that ‘time’, as we know it, originated with Big Bang. Option 1 is
contrary to this. Eliminate option 1.
Option 2 is correct. The darkness of the night sky is an indication that there is a beginning for time as we
know it. As the first paragraph states, the universe clearly has a finite past, as can be inferred from the finite
stars that light up the night sky. Also, paragraph 2 states: “This means that it must have originated from a
more compact state that we call the Big Bang, implying that time does have a beginning.” Therefore, retain
option 2.
Option 3 is incorrect. ‘Few’ is a relative term. The number of light sources is less important than the fact that
light sources are not infinite. But in an infinite universe the light sources would also be infinite. Reject option
3.
Option 4 is incorrect. The passage goes on to say that the universe had a definite beginning-- that it has not
always existed. Therefore, reject option 4.
Thus the correct answer is option 2.
Q.2) A
Explanation:
Option 1 is correct. Refer to the last line of paragraph 1 – “If the universe had an infinite past and was infinite
in extent, the night sky would be completely bright – filled with the light from an infinite number of stars in a
cosmos that had always existed.” Thus, it is clear that the sources of light in the cosmos are stars. Retain
option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect. The 7th paragraph states: “we have to look at the basic properties of space and time. In
the dimension of space, you can move forwards and backwards; commuters experience this everyday. But
time is different, it has a direction, you always move forward, never in reverse.” Thus, time does not have the
same dimensions as space does. Reject option 2.
Option 3 is incorrect. The passage mentions the Big Bang as a point of reference. For example, it states:
“This means that it must have originated from a more compact state that we call the Big Bang, implying that
time does have a beginning.” Though, at no point in the passage does it imply that the Big Bang is not a
generally accepted theory. Therefore, reject option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. Refer paragraph 2 where it states: “For a long time scientists, including Albert Einstein,
thought that the universe was static and infinite. Observations have since shown that it is in fact expanding,
and at an accelerating rate.” The universe is expanding at an accelerating, and not a consistent rate.
Therefore, reject option 4.
Thus the correct answer is option 1.
Q.3) B
Explanation:
Option 1 is incorrect. The passage states: “In fact, if we look for light that is old enough we can even see the
relic radiation from Big Bang – the cosmic microwave background.” The cosmic microwave background is,
therefore, said to be a residue of the Big Bang, and not that of starlight. Reject option 1.
Option 2 is correct. The cosmic microwave background is said to be ‘the relic radiation from Big Bang’. The
passage also states: “It turns out that because the universe is on an average the same everywhere, and on
average looks the same in every direction, there does exist a “cosmic time”. To measure it, all we have to do
is measure the properties of the cosmic microwave background.” This implies that the cosmic microwave
background is a radiation that can be detected all through the universe; it is the relic radiation following the
Big Bang, lingering in this measure. Retain option 2.
Option 3 is incorrect. Entropy is said to be a physical property that encodes how ordered something is. The
cosmic wave background, on the other hand, is said to be the residual radiation from the Big Bang that can be
used to measure the passage of time by studying the properties of the background radiation. The passage does
not imply, therefore, that this cosmic microwave background is the proof of entropy.
Reject option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. The ‘inherent instability of the cosmos’ is too vague and unspecific an assessment to
derive from the contents of the passage and what it states about the cosmic microwave background. Reject
option 4.
Thus the correct answer is option 2.
Q.4) A
Explanation:
Option 1 is not implied in the passage and is therefore correct. There is nothing in the passage to imply that
the future can be ‘viewed’. The passage states: “In the dimension of space, you can move forwards and
backwards; commuters experience this every day. But time is different, it has a direction, you always move
forward, never in reverse.” So, while the radiation from the big bang can be read, the time that lies ahead is
out of bounds to our understanding. Retain option 1.
Option 2 is implied in the passage. The penultimate paragraph states: “It turns out entropy is a pretty good
way to explain time’s arrow. And while it may seem like the universe is becoming more ordered rather than
less – going from a wild sea of relatively uniformly spread out hot gas in its early stages to stars, planets,
humans and articles about time – it’s nevertheless possible that it is increasing in disorder.” The implication is
that order in the cosmos is deceptive. Reject option 2.
Option 3 is implied in the passage. Refer to the passage where it states: “It turns out that because the universe
is on average the same everywhere, and on average looks the same in every direction, there does exist a
“cosmic time”. To measure it, all we have to do is measure the properties of the cosmic microwave
background.” Thus, option 3 is implied in the passage. Reject option 3.
Option 4 is implied in the passage. Refer to the third paragraph: “…Einstein’s special theory of relativity,
shows that time is … relative: the faster you move relative to me, the slower time will pass for you relative to
my perception of time. So in our universe of expanding galaxies, spinning stars and swirling planets,
experiences of time vary: everything’s past, present and future is relative.” In other words, the personal
experiencing of time is individual and not uniform. Reject option 4.
Thus the correct answer is option 1.
Q.5) D
Explanation:
Option 1 is incorrect. Refer to the passage where it states: “And while it may seem like the universe is
becoming more ordered rather than less – going from a wild sea of relatively uniformly spread out hot gas in
its early stages to stars, planets, humans and articles about time – it’s nevertheless possible that it is
increasing in disorder. That’s because the gravity associated with large masses may be pulling matter into
seemingly ordered states – with the increase in disorder that we think must have taken place being somehow
hidden away in the gravitational fields.” The disorder is therefore possibly hidden in the gravitational fields,
according to the passage. There is no mention of x-rays in the passage. Reject option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect. Radiation measure, from gravitational bodies, is not a concept that is referred to in the
passage. Reject option 2.
Option 3 – Measuring time and space is not connected with Entropy, in the passage. Reject option 3.
Option 4 is correct. The passage states that “…the gravity associated with large masses may be pulling matter
into seemingly ordered states – with the increase in disorder that we think must have taken place being
somehow hidden away in the gravitational fields.” Thus, according to the passage, the information contained
in gravitational fields could possibly give us a clue to understanding the paradox of order, in a world that
clearly prefers disorder. Retain option 4.
Thus the correct answer is option 4.
Q.6) D
Explanation:
Option 1 is true of Entropy and follows from what has been said in the passage. The passage states: “To
explain why time itself is irreversible, we need to find processes in nature that are also irreversible. One of
the few such concepts in physics (and life!) is that things tend to become less “tidy” as time passes.” Thus, all
things are said to possess Entropy. Reject option 1.
Option 2 is also true of Entropy and follows from the passage. Entropy defines the “processes in nature that
are also irreversible”. Therefore, it is true to state that the consequences of entropy cannot be reversed. Reject
option 2.
Option 3 is the stated definition of Entropy -- that ‘a physical property called entropy encodes how ordered
something is.’ Reject option 3.
Option 4 is correct. Microwaves are not defined in the passage and certainly cannot be said to be the
“lingering remnants of things”. Thus option 4 is not true of Entropy. Retain option 4.
Thus the correct answer is option 4
Q.7) C
Explanation:
The passage begins by stating Danino’s dissatisfaction with the presently accepted genetic studies that
attribute the spread of agriculture into the subcontinent to migration. The passage, then, relates the advent
and spread of agriculture to genetic studies. A “Y-chromosomal signature haplogroup J” is believed to be
associated with the spread of modern agriculture, because the gene has its highest frequency in the Fertile
Crescent region, where modern agriculture was invented 7000 to 10000 years ago. However, the haplogroup
J has four sub signatures, one of them being haplogroup j2b2. This group which is specific to the India-
Pakistan region arose 13000 years ago. And, the India-Pakistan region has had early forms of agriculture,
unique to this region, much before when modern agriculture originated in the Fertile Crescent. Modern,
organized agriculture then spread to other regions including the India-Pakistan region.
However, in the first paragraph itself, the spread of modern agriculture is attributed to migrants: “However,
genetic data do support this model,(referring to the spread of agriculture in the subcontinent) especially of
modern organized agriculture.” Hence, Danino believed that the studies were only partially correct. Option 3
precisely expresses this idea.
Option 1 is incorrect. The option is tricky. While it is true that migrants did not introduce (in the sense of
originate) agriculture as a practice, this fact is also derived from genetic studies. Hence, the statement that
Danino believed genetic studies to be incorrect is misleading. Eliminate option 1.
Option 2 is factually incorrect – the studies did not show that agriculture was introduced by migrants. The
passage says that rudimentary forms of agriculture were indigenously developed. Reject option 2.
Option 4 is incorrect. The passage does not state anything about expert intuitions and how they were
validated later. The option is unrelated to the passage and irrelevant to the question; it acts as a mere
distractor. So, reject option 4.
Thus the correct answer is option 3
Q.8) A
Explanation:
The mention of study of “fossilized pollen grains” is made quite briefly in the passage. The third paragraph
states, “We discovered multiple epicentres of this haplogroup in India and interestingly these epicentres
neatly coincided with the seats of introduction of early forms of agriculture in India (as evidenced by the
study of fossilized pollen grains by Fuller and his team).”
The writer takes the technical details for granted, and implies that the study of fossilized pollen is related to
the existence of rudimentary forms of agriculture in that place. A general reader of the article can draw only
this inference and nothing more.
The closest option to this idea is option 1– that the study of fossilized pollen can help archeologists
reconstruct the vegetation of that time. This reconstruction has to precede any conclusion about what type of
vegetation it was – whether agriculture or, simply, natural growth. Option 1, hence, cannot be disputed and is
the correct answer to this question.
Options 2 and 3 are technical statements. They may be correct. But only a technocrat or a biotechnology
expert can make these inferences, based on their technical knowledge. Reject options 2 and 3.
Option 4, which says that the genes of the cultivators can be traced by looking at the fossilized pollen grains,
appears far- fetched even for an ordinary reader. Reject option 4 as well.
Hence the correct answer is option 1.
Q.9) A
Explanation:
The third paragraph states thus: ‘We showed that the haplogroup J2b2 possibly arose in India, because the
highest frequency of this haplogroup is found in India.’ From this, it is clear that option 2 is true.
Similarly, the author, in the first paragraph states, ‘I would like to point out that the spread of the technology
of agriculture was associated with the movement of people; agriculturists who took the technology to new regions and taught it to the locals in the new region’. Thus, option 3 is true as well.
The second paragraph mentions, ‘Collection of deeper data showed that this signature is quite heterogeneous
and is composed of at least four sub-signatures, one of which – haplogroup J2b2 – is confined to the India–
Pakistan region’. Hence, option 4 is also true.
However, the second paragraph also states that ‘haplogroup J was shown to be associated with the spread of
modern agriculture. This signature has its highest frequency in the Fertile Crescent region where the
technology of modern agriculture was invented’. We can thus conclude that there is a correlation between
haplogroup J and agriculture. However, the passage presents no data that can conclude that haplogroup J
caused the invention of agriculture. Hence, the presence of haplogroup J and agriculture in a particular region
can be said to be just a case of correlation, and not that of causation. In the first paragraph, the author
cautions against such a mistaken belief.
“Just to be sure that no one thinks that the practice of agriculture is in
the genes, I would like to point out that the spread of the technology of agriculture was associated with the
movement of people” Hence, option 1 cannot be said to be true.
Hence the correct answer is option 1.
Q.10) C
Explanation:
Option 1 is incorrect. The review neither states nor implies that Stevens was “an unusual fictional character.”
Neither does the reviewer suggest that Stevens was unable to view himself sensibly. Reject option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect. Option 2 states, “suffered the consequences of a concocted ideal.” While the review
portrays Stevens as being “burdened by propriety” and as a man “desperately trying to keep a lid on his
emotions”, it does not suggest that what Stevens displayed was a “concocted ideal”. Reject option 2.
Option 4 is incorrect. While the reviewer strongly recommends the book and “beg you to get hold of a copy”
for its literary value, he does not say that the book has been instrumental in his understanding of himself,
emotionally or professionally. So reject option 4.
Option 3 is correct. The passage starts with the opinion, “A lack of restraint is perhaps the best response to
Ishiguro’s novel” and ends with the advice - “whatever you do – don’t keep your feelings to yourself”. In the
review, the writer stresses on the sense of loss caused by Stevens’ inability to express himself. And, therefore,
he ends the review by urging us to express our emotions.
Thus, the main conclusion of the review is that the
character of Stevens has effectively shown the reader, the need to express emotions without repressing them.
Q.11) B
Explanation:
Option 1 is incorrect. The author mentions class conditioning as the fundamental reason for why Stevens
prioritized his duty to the point where he stifled his own needs. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that loyalty to
his father was the reason behind his mistaken view of himself. Reject option 1.
Option 3 is incorrect. The job itself was not the cause of his mistaken view of himself. Rather, it was his
status in the society, and the consequences of social hierarchy and class consciousness that had led to this
mistaken view of himself. Reject option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. Similar to option 3, option 4 attributes Steven’s mistaken view of himself to the
particulars of his job. It misses the broader social and personal traits that Ishiguro wants to highlight through
his work of literature. Reject option 4.
Option 2 is correct. Refer to paragraph 5. “The Remains of the Day is a book about a thwarted life. It’s about
how class conditioning can turn you into your own worst enemy, making you complicit in your own
subservience.” Thus, Stevens’ view of himself is basically a product of his class conditioning, of seeing
himself as a butler. He does not feel the need to serve his country because he believes that his duty lies in
serving the men who live in its grand houses.
Q.12) A
Explanation:
Option 1 is correct. Refer the last paragraph. “I once heard that, to make the reader cry, a writer should try to
keep the characters dry-eyed. There are some tears in this novel – yet perhaps not enough, because the tale of
the steadfast, hopelessly mistaken Stevens gets me every time.” There are not enough tears in the book, yet
the book is able to evoke a greater sense of tragedy in its readers, including the reviewer. So the reviewer
comments that the emotions in the novel were far less than what the reader was made to feel. Thus option 1 is
correct.
Option 2 is incorrect. It is incorrect to say that the writer “feels like removing his own restraints”, as there is
no information in the passage to this effect. He merely states that the story gets him every time. Reject option
2.
Option 3 is incorrect. The reviewer’s statement does not relate to Stevens’ character being portrayed as
typically English. Reject option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. He states the need for more tears, because the book gets to him every time. He would
have reacted less emotionally if the story had more tears. Reject option 4.
Thus the correct answer is option 1.
Q.13) C
Explanation:
Option 1 is incorrect because it is not an exception. Stevens is the narrator in the novel. Paragraph 5 talks
about the “protagonist – Stevens himself – who takes four decades to fail to declare his feelings.” Paragraph
3 states how “each journal entry becomes a mannered exercise in avoidance and projection.” The reviewer
portrays Stevens as “wasted life.” So, reject option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect as it is not an exception. Paragraph 3 reads: “Each journal entry becomes a mannered
exercise in avoidance and projection. When Stevens reaches a sensitive subject… he veers off into self-
protective prattling, carrying on for pages before he feels able to continue. … (his) life has come to be so
dominated by a sense of waste.” Eliminate option 2.
Option 4 is incorrect. In Paragraph 1, Stevens is described as “a man so burdened by propriety that he lets the
love of his life slip through his fingers.” Paragraph 4 describes Stevens as “a laughably pompous, party-hat-
refusing, stick-in-the-mud friend.” Hence, option 4 is not an exception. Reject option 4.
Option 3 is correct. Refer paragraph 2 – “Unreliable narrators – those mysterious figures the reader must try
to work out – are ten a penny in fiction. Ishiguro, instead, likes to give us unwitting narrators: speakers who
remain trapped in self-preserving fictions, mysteries even to themselves.” Thus, Stevens is not an unreliable
narrator (someone who is difficult to understand), but an unwitting one. One who is a mystery to himself, but
reveals himself to the reader through his avoidances and projections. In paragraph one, the writer states: “But
Stevens isn’t fooling anyone…”
Thus the correct answer is option 3.
Q.14) B
Explanation:
Refer the fifth paragraph. “The Remains of the Day is a book about a thwarted life. It’s about how class
conditioning can turn you into your own worst enemy, making you complicit in your own subservience. It’s
probably quite an English book – I can’t imagine readers in more gregarious nations will have much patience
with a protagonist who takes four decades to fail to declare his feelings. “Hanging on in quiet desperation is
the English way,” as Pink Floyd sang. It’s a book for anyone who feels they’ve ever held themselves back
when something that truly mattered was within their grasp.” The reviewer, thus, calls it quite an English
book, as the protagonist’s behavior appears to be something the British would identify themselves with.
Option 1 is incorrect. The English are said to be different from gregarious people in their instinctive
understanding of quiet desperation. That does not mean that they find a thwarted or repressed life
‘meaningful’ or appreciable. Reject option 1.
Option 3 is incorrect. The option says that they find Stevens idealistic. The reviewer does not comment on
what the English society would find idealistic or what they idealize. So, the option goes beyond the scope of
the passage. Reject option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. Similar to option 3, option 4 talks about the uniqueness of the English concepts about
idealism and honor, whereas the reviewer does not even remotely make any such suggestion. Reject option 4.
Option 2 is correct. As the passage says in paragraph 5, “Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way,”
as Pink Floyd sang. Thus, the reference to Remains of the Day as “quite an English book” is meant to point
out that it resonates with the English sensibility.
Q.15) A
Explanation:
The fourth paragraph states: “The Remains of the Day does that most wonderful thing a work of literature
can do: it makes you feel you hold a human life in your hands. When you reach the end, it really does seem
as if you’ve lost a friend …You want to give him a hug, except he’d be outraged.” Thus, the reviewer,
notwithstanding other aspects of the novel, finds the portrayal of Stevens’ character the most wonderful thing
about the novel. Hence, option 3 is correct.
Options 1, 2 and 4 are, either directly or indirectly, said to be contributing to the beauty of the novel.
However, since the reviewer has explicitly stated what he found most wonderful about the novel, option 1 is
the correct answer.
Q.16) A
Explanation:
The main points are:
The most popular misconception about tattoos is that ink is injected into the skin, deep enough to preserve it
forever.
In truth, ink is suspended at the tip of the needle.Capillary action draws the ink down into the dermis.
Scientists have discovered that it’s not skin cells, but immune cells that preserve this ink.
Option 1 is correct. All the major points in the paragraph are captured effectively in option 1. Retain option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect. It appears to suggest that the ink injected deep into the skin (during the process of
tattooing) remaining there forever is itself a misconception. The phrase, ‘Sucked by the dermis’ is also a
problematic representation of the passage. Also, the option states, “not the cells, but the macrophages”, and
this gives incomplete information. Eliminate option 2.
Option 3 is incorrect. The summary contains factual errors; that it’s not skin cells, but macrophages (immune
cells) that preserve tattoos is a long-established and, therefore, popular knowledge, as per the summary. In
contrary to this, the passage says that the discovery was made by scientists quite recently. Eliminate Option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. The summary contains factual errors. The ink that is suspended at the tip of the needle
is not injected into dermis, but sucked in by the dermis through capillary action. In fact, this is a significant
point that distinguishes truth from popular belief.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Q.17) C
Explanation:
The main points are:
Writing is a physical act involving the whole body. Quill users, who knew this, chose only the best quills, in
order to write naturally.
From a child sitting hunched while learning to write to a student flapping his wrist after writing fast for long, every act of writing is quite physical.
Option 1 is incorrect. It fails to establish a proper cause-effect link between ‘writing being a physical act’ and
‘quill users using only the best quills to write’. By mentioning the features that made the best quills, a lot of
unnecessary details are included. Also, ‘long passages” is an extrapolation that may not be correct. So,
eliminate option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect. Similar to option 1, this summary fails to mention the relation between the awareness
of quill users and their choice of the best quills. Also, ‘writing a test’ is also not as per the paragraph.
Eliminate option 2.
Option 3 is correct. All the major points in the paragraph are captured effectively in option 3. Retain option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. The phrase ‘different body parts’ is a misrepresentation of the passage.
‘The physical exertion is evident in every act of writing’ is rather too terse. In the absence of any details
regarding the physical action, the option fails to convey the essence.
Hence the correct answer is option 3.
Q.18) B
Explanation:
The major points are:
Pastafarianism started in Kansas with Bobby Henderson’s satirical response to the idea of teaching theory of
intelligent design in public schools.
He argued that the theory that a flying spaghetti monster had created the universe is as valid as the other. The
idea is now popular enough to claim a globally accepted religious identity.
Option 1 is incorrect. In option 1, the focus has been shifted from pastafarianism to the movement’s founder,
Bobby Henderson. Though it includes the essential points, their representation is distorted because the
satirical intent of the founder of Pastafarianism is not mentioned in the précis. Hence option 1 presents the
précis in an altogether different perspective. Eliminate option 1.
Option 2 is correct. All the major points in the paragraph are captured briefly in option 2. Retain option 2.
Option 3 is incorrect. Similar to option 1, Option 3 also misses the satire behind Henderson’s theory. The
theory was introduced as a satirical response, which is not included in the précis, thus making it appear as a
serious theory. The option also states that this event gained enough ground to become a new religious
identity, while the passage states that there is only a claim. Rejection option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. The summary is inconsistent in saying, ‘Now, the religion not only claims global
membership...’, because the text does not say anything about pastafarianism already being an established
religion.
Eliminate option 4.