CAT 2025 Lesson : Sentence Insertion - Solving Techniques - I

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: Luckily, there’s a cheap, effective way: “nudging” them to do so by making subtle changes to the context in which they make decisions.

Paragraph: Alongside popular misconceptions that healthy people do not need the flu shot and myths about the harmful side effects of the vaccine, numerous studies have shown that one of the biggest reasons people don’t get vaccinated is that a physician never recommends it. _______(1)________ How can we get more care providers to recommend vaccinations? _______(2)________ Flu vaccinations are a case in point. ______(3)_________ Although the vaccine’s effectiveness appears to have been lower than usual this season, it’s still easily our best bet to save lives. _______(4)________ Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how good of a vaccine we create if most people don’t get vaccinated.

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

In this paragraph, the author explains that people don't take vaccinations because physicians do not recommend them. Upon reading the paragraph, we can easily identify that there is no clear response for the question How can we get more care providers to recommend vaccinations? We can also see that the given sentence can answer the question (budging the doctors or the care providers to recommend vaccinations).

Therefore, we can fit the given sentence in blank (2), where there is an obvious gap.
Blank (1) is not suitable as the question would not follow if the given sentence was already there.
Blank (3) is also not suitable as there is no connection between flu vaccinations and the given sentence.
Blank (4) may seem likely, with the given sentence starting with luckily and the next one starting with unfortunately, but the sentence after blank (4) is in sequence with the one before the blank, and the given sentence does not flow.

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option (2) for this question.

Answer: (2) Option (2)

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: He had “made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of organizations, specifically banks and others, was such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders.”

Paragraph: In 2008, a massive earthquake reduced the financial world to rubble. Standing in the smoke and ash, Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve once hailed as “the greatest banker who ever lived,” confessed to Congress that he was “shocked” that the markets did not operate according to his lifelong expectations. _______(1)________ We are finally beginning to understand that irrationality is the real invisible hand that drives human decision making. ________(2)_______ It’s been a painful lesson, but the silver lining may be that companies now see how important it is to safeguard against bad assumptions. _______(3)________ Armed with the knowledge that human beings are motivated by cognitive biases of which they are largely unaware (a true invisible hand if there ever was one), businesses can start to better defend against foolishness and waste. _______(4)________

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

This paragraph starts with an example where Alan Greenspan, one of the greatest experts, confessed that he was wrong about the financial markets. From this, we move to the general premise that human decisions are irrational and how that companies should incorporate this into their strategies. However, we can infer that there is a blank as we move from Greenspan's example to the general conclusion, in blank (1). The given sentence is suitable here, as it explains what his mistake was.

After fitting the given sentence into blank (1), the rest of the paragraph is more logical. As the sentence is related to Greenspan, it is also suitable in the beginning than in the remaining blanks, which are not referring to him at all.
Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option (1) for this question.

Answer: (1) Option (1)

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.
[CAT 2022 Slot 2]

Sentence: Most were first-time users of a tablet and a digital app.

Paragraph: Aage Badhein’s USP lies in the ethnographic research that constituted the foundation of its development process. Customizations based on learning directly from potential users were critical to making this self-paced app suitable for both a literate and non-literate audience. ___(1)___ The user interface caters to a Hindi-speaking audience who have minimal to no experience with digital services and devices. ___(2)___ The content and functionality of the app are suitable for a wide audience. This includes youth preparing for an independent role in life or a student ready to create a strong foundation of financial management early in her life. ___(3)___ Household members desirous of improving their family’s financial strength to reach their aspirations can also benefit. We piloted Aage Badhein in early 2021 with over 400 women from rural areas. ___(4)___ The digital solution generated a large amount of interest in the communities.

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

In this paragraph, we learn about the Aage Badhein initiative, where users were provided with an app. The app was designed to cater to a wide variety of users – literate or illiterate, Hindi-speaking, with limited digital experience – who all found it useful. We can also infer that this was probably a financial app from a student ready to create a strong foundation of financial management early... Household members desirous of improving their family’s financial strength.

After understanding the paragraph, it becomes easy to fit in this sentence based on context – the sentence mentions that most were first-time users of a tablet and a digital app, so we need to find the people suitable to be referred to as such. From context, this should be the 400 women from rural areas who were the pilot users, and hence, this sentence should be fit in blank (4).

The other blanks are in between the sentences referring to a wide variety of people (literacy, language, different ages), whereas the given sentence is narrower and fits the profile of the rural women.

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option (4) for this question.

Answer: (4) Option (4)

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: It's not experienced via the five physical senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell or taste, so it's not an hallucination.

Paragraph: A felt presence feels as though it's there with you in your personal space. ______(1)______ It's hard to pin down exactly what a felt presence consists of. ______(2)______ Objectively, in reality, there is nothing there at all. Yet they're not quite delusions either, which involve thoughts. ______(3)______ Nor is it the same as imagining someone is there. People sometimes talk of something as nebulous as "a thickness in the air". It's almost like a sixth sense, which feels very real at the time. ______(4)______ As Ben Alderson-Day, professor of psychology, puts it: "It's too empty to be a hallucination, but too tangible to be a delusion."

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

Here, the author explains what a felt presence is (something paranormal, which may or may not exist). The author takes a slightly roundabout route, explaining what it is not as well as what it is. The given sentence is not suitable for the first blank, but it fits into the second blank – the sentence provides a reason for it being hard to pin down the feeling (as it cannot be sensed by our senses), it also leads to the sentence after the blank.

The remaining blanks are not suitable, blank (3) is followed by a sentence which starts with nor but there is no contrast between the given sentence and this one. Blank (4) is not suitable as the five senses have to come first before the sixth sense is spoken of.

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option (2) for this question.

Answer: (2) Option (2)

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: As this theory goes, social elites emerged as some people built up more property than others, driving men to want to make sure their wealth would pass onto their legitimate children.

Paragraph: _______(1)________ Anthropologists and philosophers have asked whether agriculture could have been the tipping point in the power balance between men and women. _______(2)________ Agriculture needs a lot of physical strength. The dawn of farming was also when humans started to keep property such as cattle. _______(3)________ So, they began to restrict women's sexual freedom. The problem with this is that women have always done agricultural work. In ancient Greek and Roman literature, for example, there are depictions of women reaping corn and stories of young women working as shepherds. United Nations data shows that, even today, women comprise almost half the world’s agricultural workforce and are nearly half of the world’s small-scale livestock managers in low-income countries. Working-class women and enslaved women across the world have always done heavy manual labour. _______(4)________

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

This paragraph seeks to validate if agriculture could have led to a inequality between men and women. The author explains that experts feel that this might be so, because agriculture requires strength and can increase wealth and resources to be passed on to one's children. We can infer that restricting women's sexual freedom is an effect, but the cause is not clear. The cause is mentioned in the given sentence – it makes sense for men to restrict women's sexual freedom to establish that their children are their legitimate heirs (i.e., also the men's children). Therefore, the given sentence has to be placed in blank (3).

The other blanks are around sentences are about agriculture requiring physical labour, and thus the given sentence is not relevant in these. We can easily identify the cause and effect relationship and identify the gap in blank (3).

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option 3 for this question.

Answer: (3) Option 3

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.
[CAT 2022 Slot 3]

Sentence: This has meant a lot of uncertainty around what a wide-scale return to office might look like in practice.

Paragraph: Bringing workers back to their desks has been a rocky road for employers and employees alike. The evolution of the pandemic has meant that best laid plans have often not materialised. ___(1)___ The flow of workers back into offices has been more of a trickle than a steady stream. ___(2)___ Yet while plenty of companies are still working through their new policies, some employees across the globe are now back at their desks, whether on a full-time or hybrid basis. ___(3)___ That means we’re beginning to get some clarity on what return-to-office means – what’s working, as well as what has yet to be settled. ___(4)___

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

The words this has meant in given sentence give us a clue that this is a cause and effect relationship, with the given sentence being an effect (as some cause has meant that there is uncertainty).

The paragraph is about people returning to the workplace after the pandemic. The author explains that this has been rocky, with only a small umber of people coming back (The flow of workers back into offices has been more of a trickle than a steady stream.) This sentence can be the cause of uncertainty about a wide-scale return to the office (lots of employees coming back to the office). Therefore, the given sentence can be fit into blank (2). This is also logically in sync with the following sentence, which explains that some employees are back to the office – this is a contrasting sentence, and starts with yet, making it suitable. The rest of the sentences are connected to this contrasting aspect (some clarity around returning to office), and the given sentence cannot be fit into the remaining blanks as it is opposite in meaning.

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option 2 for this question.

Answer: (2) Option 2

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: The green glow of fireflies on a summer evening or the glowing algae along the shore are as close as we get to being surrounded by living light.

Paragraph: Bioluminescence is a novelty to us terrestrial mammals. _______(1)________ But dive down into the ocean’s depths, past the beginning of the midnight zone where no sunlight penetrates, and it is the norm. _______(2)________ “Drag a net behind a ship almost anywhere in the ocean below the edge of darkness, and most of the animals you bring up in that net will make light,” writes oceanographer Edith Widder in her book Below the Edge of Darkness. “We’re talking about a world teeming with light makers.” _______(3)________ Single-celled algae use it to scream in alarm. Crustaceans produce a stream of electric blue vomit to distract their predators. Countless fish use it to lure prey to their fang-toothed maws. It is even said that giant squid can spot the outline of sperm whales on the hunt as they ripple through bioluminescent algae. _______(4)________

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

The paragraph contrasts terrestrial and marine animals – while we are not used to bioluminescence, it is very common in the ocean depths.

The given sentence tells us that fireflies or algae are the only sources of living light, which is an explanation of the first sentence in the paragraph (bioluminescence is a novelty to us). Therefore, we should place it in blank (1). It is also logical as fireflies cannot be described as marine, and therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option 1 for this question.

Answer: (1) Option 1

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: It is the institutions that helped forge modernity that have overseen the preservation of earlier records.

Paragraph: There is an element of truth to the old adage that history is written by the winners. ______(1)______ Whether we like it or not, we view the past from a modern standpoint, privileging (consciously or otherwise) the interests and ideals of the world we know. _______(2)_____ As a result, we tend to treat developments towards modernity as natural – and disparage the apparent dead ends that stood in its path. Yet this is not the only sense in which history is written by the winners. ______(3)______ The collections of the British Library and National Archives tell us at least as much about modern Britain as they do about its medieval and early modern past; the same is true of their counterparts elsewhere in Europe. _______(4)_____ And these trends are themselves nothing new. Already in the ancient and medieval worlds, it was the great religious and governmental libraries and archives that conditioned the preservation of knowledge.

(1) Option 1
(2) Option 2
(3) Option 3
(4) Option 4

Solution

The paragraph explains that it is at least partially true that history is written by winners (history is not facts, but the perspective of the winners). The given sentence is part of the explanation for this, and is most connected to the British Library and National Archives (no other part of the paragraph has institutions which could be relevant).

Placing the given sentence in blank (3) also helps us explain the second reason for history being written by the winners (the first being that we view the past from our modern standpoint).

Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option 3 for this question.

Answer: (3) Option 3