1.3 Reasoning
Verbal reasoning is also tested in FIB questions. In such cases, you can arrive at the correct option by understanding the message being conveyed in the sentence(s). While the options might not have difficult words, their selection is based on your correct understanding of the sentence itself. These type of questions will typically have more than one blank.
Let us look at examples to illustrate this point.
Example 13
Choose the words that best fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
Diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement resume today after a two-week __________.
(1) hiatus
(2) spell
(3) breach
(4) lull
Solution
The author is telling us that diplomatic efforts are resuming today. As resume means to begin again or continue after a pause or interruption, we can assume that diplomatic efforts were not on for a two-week period. Therefore, we can select hiatus, which means a pause or break in some activity.
One meaning of the word spell is a short period. However, this word is not appropriate as it does not convey the break or gap. Similarly, lull (meaning to soothe or a pause, respite) is not suitable. This is because lull is typically used to signify a pause or break in something negative, such as fighting or a storm.
Breach (meaning break, rupture or violation) is unrelated and can be eliminated. Therefore, option (1) is the correct choice.
Answer: (1) hiatus
Example 14
Choose the words that best fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
The top crime fighting agency, also known as the CBI, is under the administrative control of the ________ government and has often been accused of being manipulated by successive ruling parties to ________ scores against their opponents.
(1) federal, settle
(2) state, settle
(3) federal, decide
(4) Indian, reconcile
Solution
In this question, we learn that the CBI is controlled by the government, and therefore, is accused of being manipulated by the ruling party. As the CBI is called India's top crime fighting agency, we can infer that the body must be controlled by the Central government and not State governments. Therefore, we can select either federal or Indian for the first blank, eliminating option (2).
For the second blank, we can select settle from a grammatical perspective. To settle a score is to punish someone for something wrong which they did in the past (e.g. the government can use the CBI to punish a rival party which was in power earlier).
Decide scores and reconcile scores do not make sense, and hence can be eliminated.
As we have eliminated option (2), option (1) is the correct choice.
Answer: (1) federal, settle
Example 15
Fill in the blank in the following sentence with the most suitable option.
The late Swedish academic Hans Rosling has identified a worrying trend: not only do many people across advanced economies have no idea that the world is becoming a much better place, but they actually even think the ________________ .
(1) most
(2) worst
(3) opposite
(4) reverse
Solution
In this sentence, the author tells is that the world is becoming a much better place, but people do not know this. As this is being described as a worrying trend, we can infer that that blank must be filled with something which signifies that what people think is negative.
Based on this, we can choose opposite or reverse for the blank – this, then helps us understand that people in advanced economies think that the world is becoming worse, when it is actually becoming better. Opposite is more suitable from a grammatical standpoint, and therefore, we can select option (3) as the correct choice for the blank.
Answer: (3) opposite
Let us look at some logical sequences which will help you to choose the appropriate word.
1.3.1 Cause & effect
In such cases, there will be an event or occurrence (the cause), and its impact (the effect). The relationship could occur in the following ways:
1) Direct impact of the event
E.g., a forest fire destroys the trees - in this example, the forest fire is the cause and the impact is the destruction of the trees, which is directly caused by the fire.
2) Event as a catalyst for another
E.g., thieves broke into our house because we were away – in this example, our absence (cause) is not the direct cause of our house being robbed (impact). However, our absence acted as a catalyst, because the robbery would possibly have not occurred without this event.
3) An event occurs because of another event
E.g., Nick fell over his bike and his bag fell from his hand and knocked me on my head – in this example, Nick's bag falls from his hand because he fell over his bike. This causes an impact on the narrator, as the bag hit him/her on the head.
Note that the difference between an event acting as a catalyst and as a cause is that the event acting as a catalyst is not impacted by the other occurrence.
4) Indirect impact
E.g., the rise in fuel prices resulted in an increase of food prices – in this example, rising fuel prices is the cause. Food prices increased (indirect impact) because the cost of transporting food increased (direct impact).
You will have to understand the entire context and occurrence to select the correct option. Take grammatical correctness into account. Because the effect will occur after the cause, you must keep tenses in mind while selecting the correct option.
Example 16
There are two blanks in the following sentence. From the pairs of words given, choose the one that fills the blanks most appropriately.
[CAT 2003]
Early ___________ of maladjustment to college culture is ___________ by the tendency to develop friendship networks outside college which mask signals of maladjustment.
(1) treatment, compounded
(2) detection, facilitated
(3) identification, complicated
(4) prevention, helped
Solution
From the sentence, we can infer that college students' maladjustment (inability to react satisfactorily to one's environment) is masked or hidden when these students have friends outside college. This means that these friendships hinder us from finding out that they are maladjusted.
Using this, we can infer that we should select either detection (meaning identifying something which is concealed or unknown) or identification for the first blank.
Similarly, we can understand that compounded (meaning worsen) or complicated is appropriate for the second blank, words which are similar to hinder. Thus, we can select option (3), which is the only option with both the acceptable words.
Answer: (3) identification, complicated
1.3.2 Similarity
This occurs in FIB questions with two blanks. Sometimes, you will have two or more sentences, together conveying a central idea. You must select the options for both the blanks in such a way that they both bolster the central idea. This is especially useful when more than one word is suitable for a blank – you can select the correct option based on the suitable word for the other blank. Sometimes, you will find that the second sentence emphasises the first.
Example 17
Read the following sentences and fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the options given for the respective blanks.
The book starts out simple, with different objects that were used to _______A_______ in the past. From cowrie shells in Asia to salt in Africa, cacao beans in Mexico, even tobacco, these items were all ________B________ forms of “money” used to buy other things.
Blank A
(1) barter
(2) exchange
(3) sell
(4) trade
Blank B
(1) common
(2) different
(3) illegal
(4) legitimate
Solution
We need to look at the entire sentence in order to determine the solution. Note that this question is more difficult, because we have to make each choice separately, instead of word pairs in the options.
In the first sentence, we learn about different objects, but not their function. We can only infer that barter (meaning exchange of items instead of money) is the suitable option after reading that these objects are used as “money” in the second sentence. This is because barter is the exact term which means exchange of items instead of money in the form of notes or coins. Thus, it is the more suitable than exchange and trade.
Sell is not appropriate as it does not convey the meaning of barter or exchange.
The second blank can then be filled by legitimate, as we can infer that the author is talking about items that were legally permitted to be used as money (shells, salt, beans, tobacco). Illegal can be eliminated as it would be logically incorrect – since these items were used, they could not have been illegal.
Common and different can be eliminated for two reasons – first, the use of even before tobacco signifies that these money-substitutes are being emphasised – only legitimate emphasises these, common or different do not. Secondly, these two words can be interchangeably used in this sentence, and therefore, we cannot choose one from the other.
Answer:
A – (1) barter
B – (4) legitimate
1.3.3 Contrast
This also occurs in FIBs with two blanks. Sometimes, you will have two or more sentences in such a way that they provide a contrast to each other. This could be in the following ways:
1) Parallelism
The author could describe an event or practice, and then provide two separate reasons for it. While the reasons might be dissimilar, you can understand the key message of the paragraph.
For instance,
India has more than seven million victims of modern slavery. It is an alarmingly high number, which is increasing exponentially. The number of victims is increasing each year, while the conviction rate of perpetrators continues to be abysmally low.
There are two reasons for the increase in slavery in India – rising victims and the reduced conviction of perpetrators (meaning criminals).
For instance,
The internet boom has produced several Indian startups with multi-billion dollar valuations that are more than holding their own. Ola operates its ride-hailing service in about 110 Indian cities — 80 more than Uber. Flipkart controls an estimated 40% of India's online retail market, compared to Amazon's 32% share. And Paytm, India's leading digital payments firm, has racked up more than 300 million users in eight years.
The author supports the first sentence with three examples – Ola, Flipkart and Paytm. You can understand the context from the first sentence.
2) Opposition or contrast
In some paragraphs, the author might introduce an idea or practice, and then oppose it, usually with data. Alternatively, the author might show that this idea or practice is no longer valid.
Let us look at some examples to get a better idea.
For instance,
One of India’s perennially low-hanging fruits that has been infuriatingly just out of grasp is the development of the north-eastern states.
The underlined part of the sentence is unexpected because one does not expect low-hanging fruit (meaning easy win) to be out of grasp (meaning difficult to reach).
For instance,
The idea of blockchain for identity is so intriguing. In theory, it will soon be possible to store our personal data on the blockchain, using biometrics to grant access only to those who ask for permission to see it. This could mean a day will come when we no longer need to rely on credit agencies to collect and store troves of our personal information. More ambitious visions of identity envision using blockchain as a way to help the world's refugees and poor people obtain citizenship and immigration records. Best of all, the security features of blockchain could mean hacking and identity theft will become much harder. All of this sounds wonderful but horribly complicated.
The author points out his/her opinion of blockchain-based identification only in the last sentence. The rest of the paragraph is positive.
3) An unexpected occurrence
Sometimes one sentence can change the paragraph's meaning, tone or expected message. The last sentence in a paragraph might veer in a different direction than expected. Such sentences are tricky - we could make mistakes while selecting the right word or phrase for the blank. Words such as but, however, despite, although, on the other hand, contrary, yet, etc. provide a clue for this type of effect.
For instance,
The Belt and Road Initiative has increased China’s influence while casting yet another shadow over the many uncertainties in the world order.
A sentence beginning with a positive tone (China's strength) typically would not end with uncertainties in the world.
For instance,
The word “doxx” has become quite a bit overused of late, but this is an interesting case of it.
The author starts by criticising “doxx” subtly, and then surprises us by finding one case praiseworthy.
The objective of explaining this is so that you are aware of the different paragraph structures. You should not assume that all paragraphs will follow a straight-forward structure. Read the paragraph, glean the key message and then choose the appropriate word(s) for the blank(s).
Example 18
The sentence below contains blank spaces, each indicating an omitted word or phrase. Beneath the sentence are four sets of words. Choose the set that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
This can explain the _____________ contrast between the overwhelmingly positive assessment of globalisation by economists and the _____________ revealed by public opinion polls.
(1) stark, opinions
(2) obvious, nonconformism
(3) dreadful, allusions
(4) marked, ambivalence
Solution
The author is referring to a contrast between the opinions of the economists and the public. Let us consider the first blank.
The most suitable words seem to be stark (meaning clear or absolute) and marked (meaning clearly noticeable). As the author is referring to some reason for this contrast, we can eliminate obvious. If the reason for the contrast was obvious, the author need not have explained it. We can also eliminate dreadful (meaning terrible or horrible), as this word is too strong in this context.
Therefore, we must choose between opinions (meaning view or belief) and ambivalence (meaning uncertainty and indecision) for the second blank. We can select ambivalence, as this word showcases the contrast with overwhelmingly positive assessment. Opinions, on the other hand, does not highlight any contrast.
Thus, we can select option (4) as the suitable choice.
Answer: (4) marked, ambivalence
Example 19
The sentence below contains blank spaces, each indicating an omitted word or phrase. Beneath the sentence are four words. Choose the set that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
[FMS 2010]
Although for centuries literature was considered something that would instruct as well as entertain, the modern reader has little patience with _____________ works and seeks only to be _____________ .
(1) fiction, enlightened
(2) didactic, distracted
(3) voluminous, absorbed
(4) philosophical, entertained
Solution
The word although suggests that the modern reader wants something different from literature, instead of both instruction and entertainment. We also learn that the modern reader has no patience (little patience means practically no patience). This helps us infer that the modern reader probably prefers entertainment to instruction.
Based on this, we can eliminate fiction for the first blank, because fiction is likely to be entertaining (hence the modern reader would not feel impatient). Additionally, the correct usage would have been works of fiction. Similarly, we can eliminate absorbed (completely understood or greatly interested) for the second blank.
Therefore, we must choose from options (2) and (4). Let us consider the words themselves. Didactic (meaning instructive) and philosophical are both suitable for the first blank.
However, entertained is more suitable than distracted for the second blank. This is because we have already inferred that modern readers would prefer to be entertained instead of being instructed.
Thus, we can select option (4) as the correct choice.
Answer: (4) philosophical, entertained
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