6. Miscellaneous questions

Now that we have learnt all about answering questions with accuracy, let us practice some more of the miscellaneous questions. Only a few of these occur in exams, but at least 1-2 questions do come up in CAT. Some of the other exams also have these questions.

6.1 Meta questions

Meta means self-referential. By meta questions, we mean questions about the passage itself – source, title, tone, what next, etc. These questions rarely occur in CAT and XAT, but they sometimes occur in other exams.

6.1.1 Source

Identification of the source can be done based on the topic and the style of writing. Common sources from which passages are taken include:

1) Online News journals
2) Blog posts
3) Newspapers
4) Books
5) Preface or Introduction of Books
6) Letter

If you are asked to predict where the passage is from, try answering the following questions:

(1) What is the topic/key idea and where would such a write-up be found?

(2) What is the style of writing?
For instance, a letter is likely to be a descriptive narrative in the first person addressing a specific person. Similarly, a data-driven or analytical passage could be part of a journal or research paper.

(3) What is the tone of the author?
For instance, a humorous article could be from a fictional book, an instructive tone could be a letter and an analytical one could be from a news article or journal. However, make sure you use this along with the earlier questions as this can be misleading. For instance, an impassioned passage could be from a letter, speech or a book.

(4) Have you read passages in a similar vein or style? If so, where?

Please bear in mind that these are general points, and need not always be true. The best way to get such answers right is to read from a variety of sources, and notice the writing style.

Example 14

Analyse the passage given and provide an appropriate answer for the question that follows.
[XAT 2008]

Enunciated by Jung as an integral part of his psychology in 1916 immediately after his unsettling confrontation with the unconscious, the transcendent function was seen by Jung as uniting the opposites, transforming psyche, and central to the individuation process. It also undoubtedly reflects his personal experience in coming to terms with the unconscious. Jung portrayed the transcendent function as operating through symbol and fantasy and mediating between the opposites of consciousness and the unconscious to prompt the emergence of a new, third posture that transcends the two. In exploring the details of the transcendent function and its connection to other Jungian constructs, this work has unearthed significant changes, ambiguities, and inconsistencies in Jung’s writings. Further, it has identified two separate images of the transcendent function: (1) the narrow transcendent function, the function or process within Jung’s pantheon of psychic structures, generally seen as the uniting of the opposites of consciousness and the unconscious from which a new attitude emerges; and (2) the expansive transcendent function, the root metaphor for psyche or being psychological that subsumes Jung’s pantheon and that apprehends the most fundamental psychic activity of interacting with the unknown or other. This book has also posited that the expansive transcendent function, as the root metaphor for exchanges between conscious and the unconscious, is the wellspring from whence flows other key Jungian structures such as the archetypes and the Self, and is the core of the individuation process. The expansive transcendent function has been explored further by surveying other schools of psychology, with both depth and non-depth orientations, and evaluating the transcendent function alongside structures or processes in those other schools which play similar mediatory and/or transitional roles.

The above passage is most likely an excerpt from:

(1) A research note
(2) An entry on a psychopathology blog
(3) A popular magazine article
(4) A scholarly treatise
(5) A newspaper article

Solution

The passage is about Jung's transcendent function. It can be part of a journal or an essay. From the options, it seems most likely to be a scholarly work or treatise.

This is not a research note, as it does not seem to be someone's own research – it describes Jung's theory. Thus, we can eliminate option (1).

It is also not written in the style of a blog or a news paper article, and therefore, we can eliminate options (2) and (5).

This difficult topic is unlikely to come up in a popular magazine, thereby enabling us to eliminate option (3).

Therefore, we can select option (4) as the correct choice.

Answer: (4) A scholarly treatise

6.1.2 Title

This can more difficult to predict than the source, as it is subjective. Here, you should identify the context of the passage and then select the option which seems most suitable or which is actually describing the context. You can also use elimination to eliminate unsuitable topics.

Note the following in mind, while selecting a title:

1) It should cover the context (what the passage is about)
2) It can be a question which is answered in the passage (this should be the main topic or purpose)
3) It should not be one-sided or harsh
4) It should not be very long

Example 15

Analyse the following passage and choose an appropriate title for the passage:

For the past several years, fintech players have caused a significant unbundling of the traditional financial industry. These startups initially appealed to consumers by making it easier and more enjoyable to perform individual banking transactions, such as moving or borrowing money, saving, investing, or trading stocks. They relied on a superior product experience to hook early adopters and build solid user bases. It’s how innovation usually starts, with startups digitizing the best and more vulnerable parts of a traditional business. This year we’re going to see more and more of these early disruptors expand their services and bundle more functionality around their core products, continuing a trend that gained momentum last year.

(1) The evolution of fintech players
(2) What to expect from fintech players
(3) Fintech players in the financial sector
(4) Digitising the financial sector

Solution

The passage is about fintech players in the financial sector. Fintech players are companies in the financial sector, which use technology to provide or enable financial and banking services (e.g. wallet providers, companies who use technology to crunch our data and give loans, etc.). The author explains what these companies have been doing, and then concludes by explaining what can be expected to come.

Based on the latter, we can select option (1) as the correct choice, as it describes the fintech players' journey.

While option (2) can also be appropriate, option (1) is better because it speaks about the entire passage. Option (2) is largely about the last sentence.

Option (3) is very generic and does not tell us what the passage is about. Therefore, we can eliminate it.

Option (4) does not highlight the key message of the paragraph, and hence, can be eliminated.

Thus, option (1) is the correct choice.

Answer: (1) The evolution of fintech players

6.1.3 Author's profession

This question comes up if there is some clue to this in the passage. When this question is asked, you need to focus and read the passage, looking for some mention of the author's profession or what work the author does. If nothing is mentioned, you need to infer this based on what the author is speaking about.

For instance,

1) If the passage is about news, the author could be a politician or a journalist.
2) If the passage is about an organisation (e.g. the UN), the author could be working in that organisation, or could be journalist researching the organisation – try and identify the writing style (whether the author seems to be from the organisation or seems to be observing/reviewing it).
3) If the passage is from a specific source (science, technology, history, geography), the author could be a specialist (scientist, historian, etc.) or a researcher in that field.
4) If the passage seems to be from a book, the author could be just that – that author!

Example 16

Analyse the following passage and select the appropriate profession of the author:

I tend to deal with the past, not with forecasts or behavioural laboratory experiments. But I do know how societies in the past tackled crises and thought about the future. And I can assure you that many of them had more insight, vision, and courage to change their ways of living than we hear today from our leaders and their chosen experts. One of my favourite examples comes from Japan. In 1919, the Everyday Life Reform League (Seikatsu kaizen dōmeikai) was formed. It set out to promote modern living, health, and thrift. League leaders urged homemakers to give up kneeling on the floor and cooking with polluting charcoal, in favour of standing upright in a modern kitchen that ran on clean electricity. Of course, not all of their visions came true, nor should they have. Still, anyone who has visited Japan will instantly recognize the triumph of many elements of the new-normal lifestyle sponsored by the league more than a century ago.

(1) Economist
(2) Politician
(3) Historian
(4) Author

Solution

After reading the paragraph, we know that the author deals with the past. The author has also quoted events in 1919, which is over 100 years back. Therefore, we can infer that the author is probably a historian.

The passage is not about economics, so we can eliminate option (1).

Note that the author is critiquing politicians (many of them had more insight, vision, and courage to change their ways of living than we hear today from our leaders and their chosen experts). They are also mentioned as other people, and hence, we can eliminate option (2) as well.

Historian is more specific than an author, and hence, we can select option (3) as the correct choice.

Answer: (3) Historian

6.1.4 Next paragraph

This question comes up, if the passage is part of an article or book, without a proper conclusion. If we have the conclusion, the passage has an ending. If not, the passage would be covering more topics within the same context. To answer this question, we need to analyse the entire passage – try and look at the initial paragraphs for the context, and map out the rest of the passage – you can summarise the structure or key points. Use these to derive what the author could write next. The last 1-2 paragraphs are the ones which are a guide to solving this question.

For instance, the author could:

1) Provide data or examples for the hypothesis mentioned
2) Discuss against the topic which was covered (e.g. if the author has mentioned one PoV, the next paragraph could look at the opposite PoV)
3) Provide an alternative explanation or sub-topic (e.g. if the author has discussed 1-2 solutions for a problem, the next paragraph could be about another solution)
4) Get in-depth into the sub-topic in the last 1-2 paragraphs (this is quite common)

Example 17

Analyse the following passage and answer the question that follows:

Modern humans (Homo sapiens), the species that we are, means ‘wise man’ in Latin. Our species is the only surviving species of the genus Homo but where we came from has been a topic of much debate. Modern humans originated in Africa within the past 200,000 years and evolved from their most likely recent common ancestor, Homo erectus, which means ‘upright man’ in Latin. Homo erectus is an extinct species of human that lived between 1.9 million and 135,000 years ago.

Historically, two key models have been put forward to explain the evolution? of Homo sapiens. These are the ‘out of Africa’ model and the ‘multi-regional’ model. The ‘out of Africa’ model is currently the most widely accepted model. It proposes that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa before migrating across the world.

On the other hand, the ‘multi-regional’ model proposes that the evolution of Homo sapiens took place in a number of places over a long period of time. The intermingling of the various populations eventually led to the single Homo sapiens species we see today.
Which of the following is most likely to follow this passage?

(1) Another model explaining human evolution.
(2) Additional details about Homo sapiens.
(3) An explanation of the feasibility of the 'out of Africa' model.
(4) More details of humans' migration out of Africa.

Solution

The author introduces the question of Homo sapiens' evolution. Then we learn about the two primary models about our evolution. Notice that the author favours the first model, the 'out of Africa' model. Therefore, it is likely that we will understand why this model is more likely, as we do not know that as yet, based on this passage.

This is mentioned in option (3) and (4). Option (3) is more suitable, as an explanation of the model and why is it suitable (feasible) is more important, than details of how humans migrated.

Option (1) is unlikely, we we have learnt that two key models have been put forward to explain our evolution.

Option (2) is irrelevant in this context. More details about Homo sapiens could have been part of the introduction.

Therefore, we can select option (3) as the correct choice.

Answer: (3) An explanation of the feasibility of the 'out of Africa' model.

6.1.5 Tone of the passage

The tone or writing style used by the author sometimes comes up in RC questions. To answer this, you need to take time to understand how the author writes. Tone and style are independent of the topic/genre of the passage. Some common types are:

6.1.5.1 Instructive or didactic

These passages are written with the intent to teach or instruct. They will typically have one person speaking. Writings by Chanakya and Machiavelli fall into this category. Take the following passage from Machiavelli's The Prince, for instance:

Example:
In examining the character of these principalities it is necessary to consider another point, namely, whether the prince has such a position as to be able in case of need to maintain himself alone, or whether he has always need of the protection of others. The better to explain this I would say, that I consider those capable of maintaining themselves alone who can, through abundance of men or money, put together a sufficient army, and hold the field against any one who assails them; and I consider to have need of others, those who cannot take the field against their enemies, but are obliged to take refuge within their walls and stand on the defensive. We have already discussed the former case and will speak in future of it as occasion arises. In the second case there is nothing to be said except to encourage such a prince to provision and fortify his own town, and not to trouble about the country.

In this paragraph, Machiavelli explains how a ruler must protect himself and his kingdom.

You can read books such as To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee), Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan) and Siddhartha (Herman Hesse) for more instructive writing.

6.1.5.2 Narrative or Descriptive

Generally considered the simplest type of passage, this kind of RC is narrative and usually describes people, occurrences or a sequence of events. Historical, narrative (fiction or factual description) and literary passages are the usual types of descriptive passages.

Example:
Built during a time when Egypt was one of the richest and most powerful civilizations in the world, the pyramids — especially the Great Pyramids of Giza — are some of the most magnificent man-made structures in history. Their massive scale reflects the unique role that the pharaoh, or king, played in ancient Egyptian society. Kings held a unique position in Egyptian society. Somewhere in between human and divine, they were believed to have been chosen by the gods to serve as mediators between them and the people on earth. Because of this, it was in everyone’s interest to keep the king’s majesty intact even after his death, when he was believed to become Osiris, god of the dead. Ancient Egyptians believed that when the king died, part of his spirit remained with his body. To properly care for his spirit, the corpse was mummified, and everything the king would need in the afterlife was buried with him, including gold vessels, food, furniture and other offerings.

The paragraph describes the early Egyptian practices after death.

This type of passage was common in CAT earlier, but analytical and abstract passages are more common now.

6.1.5.3 Humourous

These passages are funny. They are usually narrative in nature, because humorous writing is more common in fiction. A common example is the poem Father William by Lewis Carroll.

Example:
“You are old, Father William,” the young man said,
“And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head –
Do you think, at your age, it is right?”
“In my youth,” Father William replied to his son,
“I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.”

This is a humourous poem about Father William, who performs tasks which are not suited for his age.

Famous humorous authors are Mark Twain, P. G. Wodehouse, Lewis Carroll, Moliere and Jerome K. Jerome. You can also read Jane Austen books, which are parodical and satirical in nature. Modern humorous books include The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend and A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

6.1.5.4 Analytical

Analytical passages tend to analyse data or information, and usually analyse all facets instead of taking a stance. These passages will typically be from the Sciences, Economics, Current Affairs, Legal and Business genres. Statistical passages are also analytical sometimes, being data or number driven.

Example:
In evolutionary biology, the game is always changing. The evolutionary paradox called the Curse of the Red Queen states that what worked yesterday is unlikely to work today. The Red Queen hypothesis is an evolutionary hypothesis which proposes that organisms must constantly adapt, evolve, and proliferate not merely to gain reproductive advantage, but also simply to survive while pitted against ever-evolving opposing organisms in an ever-changing environment. When Alice was busy playing chess in Wonderland, the Red Queen kept changing the game whenever she moved. The same thing occurs in our marketing wonderland. One competitor makes a change and suddenly the entire competitive marketplace is different.

The paragraph explains that the marketing in the marketplace is consistently changing, drawing a parallel to the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland, where one had to run just to maintain one’s position.

6.1.5.5 Argumentative or biased

An argumentative or biased passage, as the name suggests, is biased in favour of an opinion. Instead of analysing all sides (like an analytical passage), an argumentative passage is in favour of one outcome.

Example:
True egoists are not narcissists; they are not preoccupied with grandiose fantasies or obsessed with being the centre of attention and getting constant approval. They are not concerned with self-inflation because they are secure within themselves and confident of their own value. They do not feel they have to disprove an inner sense of worthlessness. Their primary focus is not inward on their inner feelings, but outward on reality. True egoists take the actions needed to succeed on the job. They look at the facts and use reason, not whim, to make decisions. They think and plan long-range. They learn what is going on and persuade others.

The author has already decided the nature of an egoist. You can see that the points are all ipositive.

6.1.5.6 Sentimental

Such passages would be emotional, designed to draw out your emotions. The passage could make you feel happy, inspired, angry, envious – in short, any positive or negative emotion. These are not very common in CAT.

Example:
“If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery–isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.”

This paragraph is designed to inspire the readers.

6.1.5.7 Satirical or sarcastic

Satire is the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices. It is typically used in the context of power, politics and other topical issues. Satire usually utilises irony. Sarcasm is more informal and is used to mock or ridicule someone or something. Satirical or sarcastic passages rarely occur, but some parts of the passage might be in a satirical or sarcastic tone.

Example:
“Tomorrow you're all going to wake up in a brave new world, a world where the Constitution gets trampled by an army of terrorist clones, created in a stem-cell research lab run by homosexual doctors who sterilize their instruments over burning American flags. Where tax-and-spend Democrats take all your hard-earned money and use it to buy electric cars for National Public Radio, and teach evolution to illegal immigrants. Oh, and everybody's high!”

This paragraph is an excerpt of Stephen Colbert's politically satirical show.

6.1.5.8 Cynical

A cynical passage is written by an author with a cynical mindset, i.e. the author believes that people are only motivated by their own interest, or is generally distrustful of positive qualities such as truthfulness, sincerity or integrity in people.

Example:
Thus you find enemies in all those whom you have injured by occupying that dominion, and you cannot maintain the friendship of those who have helped you to obtain this possession, as you will not be able to fulfil their expectations, nor can you use strong measures with them, being under an obligation to them; for which reason, however strong your armies may be, you will always need the favour of the inhabitants to take possession of a province. It was from these causes that Louis XII. of France, though able to occupy Milan without trouble, immediately lost it, and the forces of Ludovico alone were sufficient to take it from him the first time, for the inhabitants who had willingly opened their gates to him, finding themselves deluded in the hopes they had cherished and not obtaining those benefits that they had anticipated, could not bear the vexatious rule of their new prince.

This paragraph, by Machiavelli, is looking out only for the prince's interest, and hence, is cynical.

Other tones include praising/criticising, optimistic/pessimistic, realistic/practical etc. The last sentence in the passage often provides a clue if the author is being humorous, sarcastic or satirical.

6.2 Vocabulary-based questions

These questions test our vocabulary,a s the name implies. We might be asked:

1) Synonym/antonym of a difficult word
2) Meaning of an idiom given in the passage
3) Function of a word/phrase (e.g., idiom, metaphor, analogy, etc.)
We have discussed words and idioms in the Analogies lesson in detail. Please go through that. You must also read the Synonyms and Antonyms lesson, where you will learn how to infer the meaning of new words.

You should also be reading and understanding any new words that you encounter. Try and note down the word, meaning and make your own sentence. Making up your own sentence will ensure that you remember the meaning. You can also try using the word in conversations. Please also go through all the idioms given in the Analogies lesson, so that you remember the meaning of these – try and look at 5 idioms daily, and keep revising.

Many times, you can use the context of the passage to infer the meaning of a word. Let us try an example to understand how to do this.

Example 18

Read the passage given and provide an appropriate answer for the question that follows.

I used to be a fashion editor, which meant I essentially shopped for a living. The habit of browsing, buying, and just looking at what people in other places are purchasing, making, and wearing fascinates me—the Sahara sky-blue scarves nomads wrap around their heads in Morocco, the beachy flip flops on surfers in Hawaii, the finely wrought carpets on every hotel floor in Turkey. When travel starts up again, I know that my magpie nature will, too. However, now I want to be sure anything I purchase is actually crafted or designed in that destination and that nobody was underpaid or overworked in the process.

What does the author mean by “magpie nature”?

(1) Collecting nature
(2) Frugal nature
(3) Eclectic nature
(4) Indecisive nature

Solution

The author speaks about her habit of shopping for a lot of apparel and other items. We can infer that she will restart this when she starts travelling again. This helps us to infer that magpie nature means something similar to shopping a lot, and the only option close to this is collecting nature. This is not necessary if you know that magpies are known to collect objects, especially shiny objects. But we can use logic to infer the meaning of unknown words many times.

We can also eliminate the other options based on the passage – as the author shops a lot, we can eliminate both frugal (not spending much) and indecisive (unable to make a choice) natures. Eclectic (wide ranging) is not relevant in this context.

Thus, we can eliminate the other options and select option (1) as the correct choice.

Answer: (1) Collecting nature

Example 19

Read the passage given and provide an appropriate answer for the question that follows.

The fact that reparations were a centrepiece of the Oxford debate added fuel to my critics’ fire. One Indian commentator argued that the claim for reparation revealed India’s insecurities and low self-esteem; Indians making this argument were transferring responsibility to the British for the subsequent failures of Indian rule. Others pointed out that it would be impossible to identify the beneficiaries who genuinely deserved to receive compensation for colonial exactions.

What is the meaning of the phrase “add fuel to the fire”?

(1) add weight to one's arguments
(2) making a situation contagious
(3) adding insult to injury
(4) escalating a situation or conflict

Solution

The idiom adding fuel to fire means causing a situation or conflict to become more intense.

Therefore, option (4) is the correct choice. We can also partly infer this based on the word critic used alog with the idiom.

This can be inferred from the sentences following the idiom – all of them seem to be argumentative, and do not seem to be in the author's favour. Therefore, we can eliminate option (1) which would be if the arguments supported the author (we can infer that the arguments are negative or citing difficulties).

Option (2) does not seem to make sense in this context. Option (3) is not the appropriate meaning either, and can be eliminated.

Answer: (4) escalating a situation or conflict

6.2.1 Figurative function of a word

Some words are used to help us understand the author better. These can take ordinary statements and make them more interesting, create an impact, or engage the reader. Some examples of these are:

6.2.1.1 Metaphors use another word to make a comparison (typically visual). Metaphors are not literally true, but help us visualise and understand better.

Example – cold feet, couch potato, black sheep, mirror-like calm, battleaxe, when hell freezes over, etc.

6.2.1.2 Analogies are words which have similar functions, and are based on logical comparisons.

Example –
Their opinions are like black and white (implies that two people's opinions are opposites of each other).
I am going through a roller coaster of emotions (implies that I am experiencing multiple feelings).
We need more staff like a pen needs ink (implying that we desperately need staff).
We need more chairs like the Titanic needed more glaciers (implying that we do not need more chairs, probably the speaker already has too many chairs – recall that the Titanic sank after hitting a glacier).

6.2.1.3 Similes compare two different things, both having a similar quality.

Example – as brave as a lion, as fast as a horse, as strong as an ox, as stubborn as a mule, as clever as a fox, as busy as a bee, as blind as a bat, as innocent as a lamb/babe, as bold as brass, as tough as nails, as black as coals, as cool as a cucumber, as shiny as a new pin, as hot as hell, as soft as silk, as clean as a whistle, etc.

6.2.1.4 Personification occurs when the author provides human qualities to non-living beings.

Example – opportunity knocking at the door, time flies, when life hands you lemons, wind howling, the cookie is calling me, the camera loves her, the icy fingers of the wind, etc.
The non-living objects are underlines in these examples.

6.2.1.5 Hyperbole uses exaggeration to emphasize the author's point.

Example – one in a million, I am starving, I am dying (of thirst/in this heat), weighs a ton, he will kill me, costs a million, so hungry that I could eat a horse, you could have knocked me with a feather, etc.

6.2.1.6 Symbolism uses a word to represent something else. This is different from simile, as the word (or object) takes on a representative meaning.

Example – red rose (love), skull and bones (danger), red (danger), book (education), white (virtue, purity), black (evil), flag (patriotism), all eggs in one basket (not diversifying), new blood (young/new people), etc.

6.2.1.7 Ode is a sentence or poem praising something. It usually occurs as poems.

6.2.1.8 Cliché is something which has been overused and has lost its impact.

Example – time heals everything, every cloud has a silver lining, nip it in the bud, walking a mile in someone's shoes, etc.
Note that a cliché will also be another figurative concept, such as a pronoun, adage, symbolism, etc.

6.2.1.9 Onomatopoeia is a word which is spelt as it sounds.

Examples – beep, honk, cuckoo, cheep, zzz, boom, crash, bang, thump, hiss, etc.

6.2.1.10 Metonymy substitutes one word to mean another.

Example – Suits (lawyers, bankers or businesspersons)
Give me a hand (help)
Lend me your ears (listening)
Sword (violence, eg., fell to the sword, live and die by the sword)
Wheels (car)
Crown (royalty or ruler)
White House (US President or US government)
Heart (love)
Silicon Valley (tech industry)
Hollywood/Bollywood (film industry)
Tongue (language, e.g. mother tongue, she speaks in many tongues)

6.2.1.11 Oxymoron combines two words which seem contradictory.

Example – pin cushion, friendly fire, love-hate relationship, deafening silence, seriously funny, living dead, sweet sorrow, honest thief, zero tolerance, big baby, pretty ugly, same difference, minor crisis, student teacher, passive aggressive, good grief, terribly pleased, stand down, etc.