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CAT 2025 Lesson : Summary - Solved Examples
10. Solved Examples
Example 29
The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
[CAT 2021]
People view idleness as a sin and industriousness as a virtue, and in the process have developed an unsatisfactory relationship with their jobs. Work has become a way for them to keep busy, even though many find their work meaningless. In their need for activity people undertake what was once considered work (fishing, gardening) as hobbies. The opposing view is that hard work has made us prosperous and improved our levels of health and education. It has also brought innovation and labour and time- saving devices, which have lessened life’s drudgery.
(1) While the idealisation of hard work has propelled people into meaningless jobs and endless activity, it has also led to tremendous social benefits from prosperity and innovation.
(2) Hard work has overtaken all aspects of our lives and has enabled economic prosperity, but it is important that people reserve their leisure time for some idleness.
(3) Despite some detractors, hard work is essential in today’s world to enable economic progress, for education and health and to propel innovations that make life easier.
(4) Some believe that hard work has been glorified to the extent that it has become meaningless, and led to greater idleness, but it has also had enormous positive impacts on everyday life.
Only options (1) and (4) detail both opinions. Option (1) clearly summarises both viewpoints. Option (4) is incorrect, as it mentions that the glorification of hard work has led to greater idleness, which is incorrect, as people are working even in leisure time. Thus, we can select option (1).
Option (2) combines both pros and cons (making hard work ambiguous instead of explaining both sides), and incorrectly recommends idleness in leisure time (whereas the first viewpoint cites examples of work as hobbies). Hence, it can be eliminated.
Option (3) can also be eliminated, as it incorrectly assumes that hard work is definitely beneficial, whereas the author has mentioned opposing viewpoints without taking a side.
Therefore, we can select option (1) as the correct choice.
Answer: (1) While the idealisation of hard work has propelled people into meaningless jobs and endless activity, it has also led to tremendous social benefits from prosperity and innovation.
[CAT 2021]
People view idleness as a sin and industriousness as a virtue, and in the process have developed an unsatisfactory relationship with their jobs. Work has become a way for them to keep busy, even though many find their work meaningless. In their need for activity people undertake what was once considered work (fishing, gardening) as hobbies. The opposing view is that hard work has made us prosperous and improved our levels of health and education. It has also brought innovation and labour and time- saving devices, which have lessened life’s drudgery.
(1) While the idealisation of hard work has propelled people into meaningless jobs and endless activity, it has also led to tremendous social benefits from prosperity and innovation.
(2) Hard work has overtaken all aspects of our lives and has enabled economic prosperity, but it is important that people reserve their leisure time for some idleness.
(3) Despite some detractors, hard work is essential in today’s world to enable economic progress, for education and health and to propel innovations that make life easier.
(4) Some believe that hard work has been glorified to the extent that it has become meaningless, and led to greater idleness, but it has also had enormous positive impacts on everyday life.
Solution
In this paragraph, the author describes the changes in work over the years. There are two views – the first is that our relationship with work has worsened over the years as we have come to see industriousness (quality of being hard working), leading to meaningless work and hobbies which would have been considered work previously. The opposing view is that hard work has led to many benefits – prosperity, improved health and education, reduced drudgery (menial or dull work).Only options (1) and (4) detail both opinions. Option (1) clearly summarises both viewpoints. Option (4) is incorrect, as it mentions that the glorification of hard work has led to greater idleness, which is incorrect, as people are working even in leisure time. Thus, we can select option (1).
Option (2) combines both pros and cons (making hard work ambiguous instead of explaining both sides), and incorrectly recommends idleness in leisure time (whereas the first viewpoint cites examples of work as hobbies). Hence, it can be eliminated.
Option (3) can also be eliminated, as it incorrectly assumes that hard work is definitely beneficial, whereas the author has mentioned opposing viewpoints without taking a side.
Therefore, we can select option (1) as the correct choice.
Answer: (1) While the idealisation of hard work has propelled people into meaningless jobs and endless activity, it has also led to tremendous social benefits from prosperity and innovation.
Example 30
The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author's position.
[CAT 2017]
For each of the past three years, temperatures have hit peaks not seen since the birth of meteorology, and probably not for more than 110,000 years. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air is at its highest level in 4 million years. This does not cause storms like Harvey – there have always been storms and hurricanes along the Gulf of Mexico – but it makes them wetter and more powerful. As the seas warm, they evaporate more easily and provide energy to storm fronts. As the air above them warms, it holds more water vapour. For every half a degree Celsius in warming, there is about a 3% increase in atmospheric moisture content. Scientists call this the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. This means the skies fill more quickly and have more to dump. The storm surge was greater because sea levels have risen 20 cm as a result of more than 100 years of human- related global warming which has melted glaciers and thermally expanded the volume of seawater.
(1) The storm Harvey is one of the regular, annual ones from the Gulf of Mexico; global warming and Harvey are unrelated phenomena.
(2) Global warming does not breed storms but makes them more destructive; the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, though it predicts potential increase in atmospheric moisture content, cannot predict the scale of damage storms might wreck.
(3) Global warming melts glaciers, resulting in seawater volume expansion; this enables more water vapour to fill the air above faster. Thus, modern storms contain more destructive energy.
(4) It is naive to think that rising sea levels and the force of tropical storms are unrelated; Harvey was destructive as global warming has armed it with more moisture content, but this may not be true of all storms.
Option (3) has this entire cycle (more water, more evaporation, more intense storms).
Option (1) does not have the key message and is factually incorrect – storms are not unrelated, they are wetter and more powerful now.
Option (2) is factually correct, but explains a relatively unimportant part (Clausius-Clapeyron equation) instead of the key message (how global warming impacts storms).
Option (4) starts out correctly, but meanders into a different direction that is probably false (this may not be true of all storms).
Therefore, we can select option (3) as the correct choice.
Answer: (3) Global warming melts glaciers, resulting in seawater volume expansion; this enables more water vapour to fill the air above faster. Thus, modern storms contain more destructive energy.
[CAT 2017]
For each of the past three years, temperatures have hit peaks not seen since the birth of meteorology, and probably not for more than 110,000 years. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air is at its highest level in 4 million years. This does not cause storms like Harvey – there have always been storms and hurricanes along the Gulf of Mexico – but it makes them wetter and more powerful. As the seas warm, they evaporate more easily and provide energy to storm fronts. As the air above them warms, it holds more water vapour. For every half a degree Celsius in warming, there is about a 3% increase in atmospheric moisture content. Scientists call this the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. This means the skies fill more quickly and have more to dump. The storm surge was greater because sea levels have risen 20 cm as a result of more than 100 years of human- related global warming which has melted glaciers and thermally expanded the volume of seawater.
(1) The storm Harvey is one of the regular, annual ones from the Gulf of Mexico; global warming and Harvey are unrelated phenomena.
(2) Global warming does not breed storms but makes them more destructive; the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, though it predicts potential increase in atmospheric moisture content, cannot predict the scale of damage storms might wreck.
(3) Global warming melts glaciers, resulting in seawater volume expansion; this enables more water vapour to fill the air above faster. Thus, modern storms contain more destructive energy.
(4) It is naive to think that rising sea levels and the force of tropical storms are unrelated; Harvey was destructive as global warming has armed it with more moisture content, but this may not be true of all storms.
Solution
We learn the impact of global warming on storms in this paragraph. We learn that global warming results in greater evaporation, while simultaneously allowing the heated air to hold more water. This increases the frequency and intensity of storms. Another impact of global warming is melting glaciers, which results in more water to be evaporated.Option (3) has this entire cycle (more water, more evaporation, more intense storms).
Option (1) does not have the key message and is factually incorrect – storms are not unrelated, they are wetter and more powerful now.
Option (2) is factually correct, but explains a relatively unimportant part (Clausius-Clapeyron equation) instead of the key message (how global warming impacts storms).
Option (4) starts out correctly, but meanders into a different direction that is probably false (this may not be true of all storms).
Therefore, we can select option (3) as the correct choice.
Answer: (3) Global warming melts glaciers, resulting in seawater volume expansion; this enables more water vapour to fill the air above faster. Thus, modern storms contain more destructive energy.
Example 31
The question below contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
Antitrust laws came into national prominence in the late nineteenth century with the rise of the giant industrial monopolies. Two types of monopolies, horizontal and vertical, were felt to be particularly harmful to competition. In a horizontal monopoly, a single entity owns all or an unreasonable percentage of the firms competing in the same business, such as all the telephone or oil companies. In a vertical monopoly, a single entity owns all or an unreasonable percentage of all levels of business within a single industry, for example, all the forests, logging firms, mills, printing plants, and newspapers.
(1) Antitrust laws came up because monopolies rose in the nineteenth century.
(2) Monopolies can be horizontal (one entity has a high market share) or vertical (one entity has a high market share of all levels of business).
(3) The rise of horizontal and vertical monopolies in the nineteenth century was perceived to be particularly harmful to competition.
(4) Antitrust laws came up because of the rise of monopolies perceived to be harmful to competition, especially horizontal and vertical monopolies.
Option (1) does not explain the issue with monopolies (harmful to competition), and hence, can be eliminated.
Options (2) and (3) do not mention antitrust laws, and hence, can be eliminated.
Therefore, option (4) is the correct choice.
Answer: (4) Antitrust laws came up because of the rise of monopolies perceived to be harmful to competition, especially horizontal and vertical monopolies.
Antitrust laws came into national prominence in the late nineteenth century with the rise of the giant industrial monopolies. Two types of monopolies, horizontal and vertical, were felt to be particularly harmful to competition. In a horizontal monopoly, a single entity owns all or an unreasonable percentage of the firms competing in the same business, such as all the telephone or oil companies. In a vertical monopoly, a single entity owns all or an unreasonable percentage of all levels of business within a single industry, for example, all the forests, logging firms, mills, printing plants, and newspapers.
(1) Antitrust laws came up because monopolies rose in the nineteenth century.
(2) Monopolies can be horizontal (one entity has a high market share) or vertical (one entity has a high market share of all levels of business).
(3) The rise of horizontal and vertical monopolies in the nineteenth century was perceived to be particularly harmful to competition.
(4) Antitrust laws came up because of the rise of monopolies perceived to be harmful to competition, especially horizontal and vertical monopolies.
Solution
In this paragraph, the author explains the reason for anti-trust laws, which is the rise in giant industrial monopolies. She then goes on to describe two types of monopolies which were felt to be particularly harmful to competition – horizontal and vertical monopolies. This has been mentioned in option (4).Option (1) does not explain the issue with monopolies (harmful to competition), and hence, can be eliminated.
Options (2) and (3) do not mention antitrust laws, and hence, can be eliminated.
Therefore, option (4) is the correct choice.
Answer: (4) Antitrust laws came up because of the rise of monopolies perceived to be harmful to competition, especially horizontal and vertical monopolies.
Example 32
The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best summarises the author's position.
Just before the digital age emerged, computers were humans, sitting at tables and doing math laboriously by hand. They powered everything from astronomy to war and the race into space. The rise of human computers began in the early hunt for Halley’s comet. The astronomer Edmond Halley had predicted that the celestial body would return and that the laws of gravity could predict precisely when. But those calculations would be too complex and brutal a task for any single astronomer. So the French mathematician Alexis-Claude Clairaut decided to break the work up — by dividing the calculations among several people. The age of human computers began. By the 19th century, scientists and governments were beginning to collect reams of data that needed to be processed, particularly in astronomy, navigation and surveying. So they began breaking their calculations down into tiny basic math problems and hiring gangs of people to solve them. The work wasn’t always hard, though it required precision and an ability to work for long hours.
(1) Groups of people used to process data and mathematical calculations in multiple fields before computers were invented.
(2) Before computers were invented, humans used to process mathematical calculations for astronomy.
(3) The 19th century was the age of human computers – in astronomy, navigation, surveying – and war.
(4) French mathematician Alexis-Claude Clairaut led to the movement of the Digital Age - human computers - in the 19th century.
Let us consider the options – option (1) covers these points, and is a suitable choice.
Option (2) can be eliminated, but it only mentions astronomy (human computers were prevalent in many fields).
Options (3) and (4) can be eliminated, as these options do not explain human computers or their activities in detail. Therefore, option (1) is the correct choice.
Answer: (1) Groups of people used to process data and mathematical calculations in multiple fields before computers were invented.
Just before the digital age emerged, computers were humans, sitting at tables and doing math laboriously by hand. They powered everything from astronomy to war and the race into space. The rise of human computers began in the early hunt for Halley’s comet. The astronomer Edmond Halley had predicted that the celestial body would return and that the laws of gravity could predict precisely when. But those calculations would be too complex and brutal a task for any single astronomer. So the French mathematician Alexis-Claude Clairaut decided to break the work up — by dividing the calculations among several people. The age of human computers began. By the 19th century, scientists and governments were beginning to collect reams of data that needed to be processed, particularly in astronomy, navigation and surveying. So they began breaking their calculations down into tiny basic math problems and hiring gangs of people to solve them. The work wasn’t always hard, though it required precision and an ability to work for long hours.
(1) Groups of people used to process data and mathematical calculations in multiple fields before computers were invented.
(2) Before computers were invented, humans used to process mathematical calculations for astronomy.
(3) The 19th century was the age of human computers – in astronomy, navigation, surveying – and war.
(4) French mathematician Alexis-Claude Clairaut led to the movement of the Digital Age - human computers - in the 19th century.
Solution
In this paragraph, the author describes the time before the digital age of computers – people doing the work which computers currently do. The author tells us how this came into being, with Alexis-Claude Clairaut dividing the calculations required for Halley's Comet's approach towards Earth among several people. This led to groups of people processing data and calculating maths problems, which were too complex for one person to solve them.Let us consider the options – option (1) covers these points, and is a suitable choice.
Option (2) can be eliminated, but it only mentions astronomy (human computers were prevalent in many fields).
Options (3) and (4) can be eliminated, as these options do not explain human computers or their activities in detail. Therefore, option (1) is the correct choice.
Answer: (1) Groups of people used to process data and mathematical calculations in multiple fields before computers were invented.
11. Recommended Reading
12. Cheatsheet
Summary questions ask you to select the sentence which best summarises a paragraph, from 4 or 5 options. Most of the options will capture some part of the paragraph's message, but only the best option will truly capture the essence of what the writer is trying to convey. Summary questions occur in CAT and can also come up in RCs across all exams.
To solve Summary questions accurately, you must:
1) Read through the paragraph, focussing on each sentence as you read
2) Understand the author's tone and style
3) Understand the context (typically from the first sentence)
4) Highlight the key points
5) Understand the key idea or message based on these points
6) Use any examples to hone your understanding
7) Decide the correct option by means of logical analysis
8) Eliminate any options based on factual inaccuracy, logical flaw, tone and style and precision
Some of the common types of passages are: descriptive, analytical, factual or data-driven, abstract. Highlight the key points for descriptive and factual passages; understand the key message for analytical and abstract passages.
Common tones or styles are: narrative, analytical, educational, humorous, sentimental, argumentative, optimistic, satirical, sarcastic, pessimistic and cynical.
Understanding these types is important, so that you don't take satirical, sarcastic or cynical passages literally.
Read through the first sentence or the first couple of sentences to understand the context (what the paragraph is about). The context should be there in the summary.
Identify key points after you read the paragraph. Use these points along with the context and identify the key message or essence.
Use any examples or data given to double-check your understanding of the key message.
Once you have expressed the essence, go through the options and select the closest one. You should eliminate options based on the following criteria:
1) Factually incorrect options
2) Logically inconsistent options
3) Options not in line with the author's viewpoint
4) Options which are inferential in nature (has an inference or conclusion which is not explicit in the passage)
5) Very long and meandering options (this should only be used if there are more suitable shorter options; never eliminate on the basis of length alone)
6) Options which do not have all the key points (this should be used only when you are comparing two options and one option has an additional important detail)
7) Options that focus on the examples instead of the key message
To solve Summary questions accurately, you must:
1) Read through the paragraph, focussing on each sentence as you read
2) Understand the author's tone and style
3) Understand the context (typically from the first sentence)
4) Highlight the key points
5) Understand the key idea or message based on these points
6) Use any examples to hone your understanding
7) Decide the correct option by means of logical analysis
8) Eliminate any options based on factual inaccuracy, logical flaw, tone and style and precision
Some of the common types of passages are: descriptive, analytical, factual or data-driven, abstract. Highlight the key points for descriptive and factual passages; understand the key message for analytical and abstract passages.
Common tones or styles are: narrative, analytical, educational, humorous, sentimental, argumentative, optimistic, satirical, sarcastic, pessimistic and cynical.
Understanding these types is important, so that you don't take satirical, sarcastic or cynical passages literally.
Read through the first sentence or the first couple of sentences to understand the context (what the paragraph is about). The context should be there in the summary.
Identify key points after you read the paragraph. Use these points along with the context and identify the key message or essence.
Use any examples or data given to double-check your understanding of the key message.
Once you have expressed the essence, go through the options and select the closest one. You should eliminate options based on the following criteria:
1) Factually incorrect options
2) Logically inconsistent options
3) Options not in line with the author's viewpoint
4) Options which are inferential in nature (has an inference or conclusion which is not explicit in the passage)
5) Very long and meandering options (this should only be used if there are more suitable shorter options; never eliminate on the basis of length alone)
6) Options which do not have all the key points (this should be used only when you are comparing two options and one option has an additional important detail)
7) Options that focus on the examples instead of the key message
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