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CAT 2025 Lesson : Verbal: Nov '25 to Dec '25-2025 - XAT VA&LR - 29 Dec 2025
Read the following poem and answer the TWO questions that follow.
[XAT 2025]
Look how you turned on
the ceiling fan—it’s too high,
see how it shakes and trembles.
You walk into this room
with your hot ideas
and the ceiling fan has to work harder
to cool down the room
for us. You walk into this room
with your crazy eyes
and the ceiling fan
wants to fly loose. It dreams
of becoming a spider lily.
1) Which of the following statements BEST conveys the theme of the poem?
(1) The poem conveys a subtle art of argumentation and counter-argumentation.
(2) The poem talks about inner conflict resolved by an attempt to restore balance.
(3) The poem talks about a conflict between transformation and escapism.
(4) The poem conveys fear and anxiety due to the loss of stability.
(5) The poem conveys quest for self during emotional turmoil.
2) What does the author BEST mean, when she says, “You walk into this room with your hot ideas and the ceiling fan has to work harder to cool down the room for us?”
(1) That the person brings with him passionate intellectual and emotional energy.
(2) That the person’s presence creates palpable tension in the room.
(3) That the person’s hostile presence makes others feel unwelcomed.
(4) That the person’s presence develops self-doubt in others.
(5) That the person’s presence makes the ceiling fan lose its ability to handle intense energy.
Read the following poem and answer the TWO questions that follow.
[XAT 2024]
In the darkened room
a woman
cannot find her reflection in the mirror
waiting as usual
at the edge of sleep
In her hands she holds
the oil lamp
whose drunken yellow flames
know where her lonely body hides
3) Which of the following statements BEST conveys the theme of the poem?
1. The poem explores the quality of life of a woman.
2. The poem laments the suffering and frustration of a woman.
3. The poem celebrates the woman’s futile and meaningless life.
4. The poem revolves around a woman whose liberty has been throttled.
5. The poem revolves around the woman’s feeling of alienation.
4) What do the lines “the drunken yellow flames/know where her lonely body hides” BEST represent?
1. The lines represent flames as forces that are aware of her solitude.
2. The lines represent flames as turbulent emotions of a nameless woman.
3. The lines represent flames that highlight the location of her body.
4. The lines represent flames as distorted memories that preserve her identity.
5. The lines represent flames as her desperate pursuit for her lost self.
Read the poem and answer the TWO questions that follow.
[XAT 2023]
The slow person you left behind when, finally,
you mastered the world, and scaled the heights you now command,
where is he while you
walked around the shaved lawn in your plus fours,
organizing with an electric clipboard
your big push to tomorrow?
Oh, I have come across him, yes, I have, more than once,
coaxing his battered grocery cart down the freeway meridian,
Others see in you sundry mythic types distinguished
not just in themselves but by the stories
we put in with beginnings, ends, surprises:
the baby Oedipus on the hillside with his broken feet
or the dog whose barking saves the grandmother
flailing in the millpond beyond the weir,
dragged down by her woolen skirt.
He doesn’t see you as a story, though.
He feels you as his atmosphere. When your sun shines,
he chortles. When your barometric pressure drops
and the thunder heads gather,
he huddles under the overpass and writes me long letters with
the stubby little pencil he steals from the public library.
He asks me to look out for you.
5) Which of the following BEST captures the theme of the poem?
A. The poem is analysing a person’s past and present
B. The poem is meaninglessly brooding over the past
C. The poem is examining a loss of trust between old friends
D. The poem is celebrating success and moaning losses
E. The poem is exploring the lives of the rich and the poor
6) Which of the following statements BEST interprets the lines “He doesn’t see you as a story, though/He feels you as his atmosphere”?
(A) You are haunted by your past
(B) You are not a narrative of the past
(C) You are an extension of the past
(D) You are larger than life
(E) Your present subsumes your past
Read the following poem and answer the two questions that follow.
[XAT 2021]
Sit, drink your coffee here; your work can wait awhile.
You're twenty-six, and still have some of life ahead.
No need for wit; just talk vacuities, and I'll
Reciprocate in kind, or laugh at you instead.
The world is too opaque, distressing and profound.
This twenty minutes' rendezvous will make my day:
To sit here in the sun, with grackles all around,
Staring with beady eyes, and you two feet away.
7) Which of the following BEST captures the essence of the poem?
A. Let’s enjoy a moment of peace in this busy life.
B. Let’s eat, drink and be merry in the lap of nature.
C. Let’s celebrate our existence, not our work.
D. Let’s create our own meaning in life, no matter what.
E. Let’s be gibberish, not rational about life.
8) What does the poet BEST convey by mentioning grackles in these lines, “…with grackles all around, /Staring with beady eyes, and you two feet away.”?
A. Grackles love to stare at us; however, they maintain a two-feet distance.
B. We should not care about grackles, but us.
C. A small bird like grackle can give us lots of happiness.
D. Over witty discussions, grackles are the pleasant birds to look at.
E. Grackles, like humans, love to bask in the Sun.
Read the following passage and answer the THREE questions that follow.
[XAT 2022]
What does a good life look like to you? For some, the phrase may conjure up images of a close-knit family, a steady job, and a Victorian house at the end of a street arched with oak trees. Others may focus on the goal of making a difference in the world, whether by working as a nurse or teacher, volunteering, or pouring their energy into environmental activism. According to Aristotlean theory, the first kind of life would be classified as “hedonic”—one based on pleasure, comfort, stability, and strong social relationships. The second is“eudaimonic,” primarily concerned with the sense of purpose and fulfilment one gets by contributing to the greater good. The ancient Greek philosopher outlined these ideas in his treatise Nicomachean Ethics, and the psychological sciences have pretty much stuck with them ever since when discussing the possibilities of what people might want out of their time on Earth. But a new paper, published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychological Review, suggests there’s another way to live a good life. It isn’t focused on happiness or purpose, but rather it’s a life that’s “psychologically rich.”
What is a psychologically rich life? According to authors Shige Oishi, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, and Erin Westgate, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida, it’s one characterized by “interesting experiences in which novelty and/or complexity are accompanied by profound changes in perspective.” Studying abroad, for example, is one way that college students often introduce psychological richness into their lives. As they learn more about a new country’s customs and history, they’re often prompted to reconsider the social mores of their own cultures. Deciding to embark on a difficult new career path or immersing one’s self in avant-garde art(the paper gives a specific shout-out to James Joyce’s Ulysses) also could make a person feel as if their life is more psychologically rich.
Crucially, an experience doesn’t have to be fun in order to qualify as psychologically enriching. It might even be a hardship. Living through war or a natural disaster might make it hard to feel as though you’re living a particularly happy or purposeful life, but you can still come out of the experience with psychological richness. Or you might encounter less dramatic but nonetheless painful events: infertility, chronic illness, unemployment. Regardless of the specifics, you may experience suffering but still find value in how your experience shapes your understanding of yourself and the world around you.
9) Which of the following statements BEST contrasts Hedonic from Eudaimonic?
(1) Hedonic focuses on the emptiness from seeking pleasure, while Eudaimonic focuses onthe fulfilment by giving pleasure to others
(2) Hedonic focuses on what gives pleasure to self, while Eudaimonic focuses on whathe/she believes benefits the society
(3) Hedonic believes that pleasure leads to fulfilment while Eudaimonic believes thatfulfilment leads to pleasure
(4) Hedonic believes in seeking pleasure while Eudaimonic focuses on depriving oneself of pleasure
(5) Hedonic focuses on pleasure to self while Eudaimonic focuses on pleasure to the other
10) Which of the following statements BEST defines a “psychologically rich life”?
(1) A life that offers interesting experiences that makes you question what life is
(2) Any novel experience that affects us cognitively makes us psychologically rich
(3) A life that is filled with learning opportunities that makes us an expert in a particular area
(4) A life that is filled with novel experiences which changes our view of what a good life is
(5) A life where novel experiences result in a fundamental change to our existing views
11) Which of the following statements can be BEST concluded from the passage?
(1) A psychologically rich life is a good life.
(2) A bad experience can enrich someone psychologically.
(3) An unpleasant experience can enable a good life
(4) A good life should not be seen in binary terms.
(5) Life need not be good, but can still be psychologically rich.
Read the following passage and answer the THREE questions that follow.
[XAT 2022]
What Arendt does for us is to remind us that our “publicness” is as important to our flourishing as our sociability and our privacy. She draws a distinction between what it means to act “socially” and what is means to act “politically.” The social realm for Arendt is both the context where all our basic survival needs “are permitted to appear in public” and also the realm of “behaviour.” One of the things she fears about modern societies is that society - focused on how we behave and what we will permit for ourselves and others -becomes the realm of conformism. This is worrying not just because we don’t really get vibrant societies out of conformism and sameness, but also, Arendt says because there is a risk that we think this is all there is to our living together. We lose ourselves in the tasks of managing behaviour and forget that our true public task is to act, and to distinguish ourselves in doing so. The risk, says Arendt, is therefore that we confuse behaviour with action , that in modern liberal societies “behaviour replaces action as the foremost mode of human relationship.” This confusion can happen in any area of our modern lives and institutions, secular or faith-based. None is immune.
Arendt wants to drive home the point that the healthy public life requires that we do not just see ourselves as social actors but also as fully public persons, committed to judging and acting as members of a common world we want to inhabit and pass on. Arendt tells us that public action is action in which we stand out, are individuated, become in some way excellent in a manner that is of service to others and a greater good. This is the space where we take risks, subject our common life to scrutiny, seek justice (that sometimes requires us to transgress what seem like accepted laws) in order to be increasingly open to the claims and needs of other humans - ones who are not our household and our kin.
12) According to the passage, who can be BEST categorised as a “public person”?
(1) An NGO employee who was tasked to lead a campaign against tribal land acquisition.
(2) A wildlife photographer who highlighted the plight of poverty-stricken migrants by posting their pictures.
(3) An online fraud victim who ran a campaign against online fraudsters.
(4) A parent who organized protests against the random fee hike by a local school.
(5) A local politician who filed RTI applications to unearth financial scams by a village panchayat.
13) Based on the passage, which of the following options BEST describes “public action”?
(1) Acting based on our core beliefs while being mindful of what society thinks
(2) Acting for a just cause regardless of what society thinks about it
(3) Acting in a way that is perceived to be anti-social
(4) Acting based on our conviction regardless of what society thinks
(5) Acting in a way that is seen as acceptable to the society
14) Which of the following is the BEST reason for focusing on behaviour instead of acting in public?
(1) We are dependent on each other, leading to focus on what is accepted by others
(2) Our fear of being called out on our imperfect thoughts leads us to behave
(3) Our focus is to survive and not to flourish
(4) To survive is not to distinguish ourselves from others
(5) The foundation of any vibrant society is based on cooperation and not confrontation
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
[XAT 2021]
We stand before this great world. The truth of our life depends upon our attitude of mind towards it - an attitude which is formed by our habit of dealing with it according to the special circumstance of our surroundings and our temperaments. It guides our attempts to establish relations with the universe either by conquest or by union, either through the cultivation of power or through that of sympathy. And thus, in our realization of the truth of existence, we put our emphasis either upon the principle of dualism or upon the principle of unity.
15) Which of the following statements can be BEST inferred from the passage?
(1) Conquest and union are two ways of realising the truth of our life.
(2) Principle of dualism is inferior to the principle of unity.
(3) Our habits and surroundings determine the truth of our life.
(4) War and conquest are a part of the truth of our life.
(5) The truth of our life co-evolved with our quest for sympathetic supremacy.
16) According to the passage, our emphasis on dualism or on unity is BEST guided by:
(1) How we deal with our surroundings and our temperaments
(2) Our desire to achieve versus our focus on contentment
(3) Our deals with the universe, based on special circumstances
(4) How powerful or sympathetic our surroundings and temperament are
(5) Our attitude of mind, formed by our habits
[XAT 2025]
Look how you turned on
the ceiling fan—it’s too high,
see how it shakes and trembles.
You walk into this room
with your hot ideas
and the ceiling fan has to work harder
to cool down the room
for us. You walk into this room
with your crazy eyes
and the ceiling fan
wants to fly loose. It dreams
of becoming a spider lily.
1) Which of the following statements BEST conveys the theme of the poem?
(1) The poem conveys a subtle art of argumentation and counter-argumentation.
(2) The poem talks about inner conflict resolved by an attempt to restore balance.
(3) The poem talks about a conflict between transformation and escapism.
(4) The poem conveys fear and anxiety due to the loss of stability.
(5) The poem conveys quest for self during emotional turmoil.
2) What does the author BEST mean, when she says, “You walk into this room with your hot ideas and the ceiling fan has to work harder to cool down the room for us?”
(1) That the person brings with him passionate intellectual and emotional energy.
(2) That the person’s presence creates palpable tension in the room.
(3) That the person’s hostile presence makes others feel unwelcomed.
(4) That the person’s presence develops self-doubt in others.
(5) That the person’s presence makes the ceiling fan lose its ability to handle intense energy.
Read the following poem and answer the TWO questions that follow.
[XAT 2024]
In the darkened room
a woman
cannot find her reflection in the mirror
waiting as usual
at the edge of sleep
In her hands she holds
the oil lamp
whose drunken yellow flames
know where her lonely body hides
3) Which of the following statements BEST conveys the theme of the poem?
1. The poem explores the quality of life of a woman.
2. The poem laments the suffering and frustration of a woman.
3. The poem celebrates the woman’s futile and meaningless life.
4. The poem revolves around a woman whose liberty has been throttled.
5. The poem revolves around the woman’s feeling of alienation.
4) What do the lines “the drunken yellow flames/know where her lonely body hides” BEST represent?
1. The lines represent flames as forces that are aware of her solitude.
2. The lines represent flames as turbulent emotions of a nameless woman.
3. The lines represent flames that highlight the location of her body.
4. The lines represent flames as distorted memories that preserve her identity.
5. The lines represent flames as her desperate pursuit for her lost self.
Read the poem and answer the TWO questions that follow.
[XAT 2023]
The slow person you left behind when, finally,
you mastered the world, and scaled the heights you now command,
where is he while you
walked around the shaved lawn in your plus fours,
organizing with an electric clipboard
your big push to tomorrow?
Oh, I have come across him, yes, I have, more than once,
coaxing his battered grocery cart down the freeway meridian,
Others see in you sundry mythic types distinguished
not just in themselves but by the stories
we put in with beginnings, ends, surprises:
the baby Oedipus on the hillside with his broken feet
or the dog whose barking saves the grandmother
flailing in the millpond beyond the weir,
dragged down by her woolen skirt.
He doesn’t see you as a story, though.
He feels you as his atmosphere. When your sun shines,
he chortles. When your barometric pressure drops
and the thunder heads gather,
he huddles under the overpass and writes me long letters with
the stubby little pencil he steals from the public library.
He asks me to look out for you.
5) Which of the following BEST captures the theme of the poem?
A. The poem is analysing a person’s past and present
B. The poem is meaninglessly brooding over the past
C. The poem is examining a loss of trust between old friends
D. The poem is celebrating success and moaning losses
E. The poem is exploring the lives of the rich and the poor
6) Which of the following statements BEST interprets the lines “He doesn’t see you as a story, though/He feels you as his atmosphere”?
(A) You are haunted by your past
(B) You are not a narrative of the past
(C) You are an extension of the past
(D) You are larger than life
(E) Your present subsumes your past
Read the following poem and answer the two questions that follow.
[XAT 2021]
Sit, drink your coffee here; your work can wait awhile.
You're twenty-six, and still have some of life ahead.
No need for wit; just talk vacuities, and I'll
Reciprocate in kind, or laugh at you instead.
The world is too opaque, distressing and profound.
This twenty minutes' rendezvous will make my day:
To sit here in the sun, with grackles all around,
Staring with beady eyes, and you two feet away.
7) Which of the following BEST captures the essence of the poem?
A. Let’s enjoy a moment of peace in this busy life.
B. Let’s eat, drink and be merry in the lap of nature.
C. Let’s celebrate our existence, not our work.
D. Let’s create our own meaning in life, no matter what.
E. Let’s be gibberish, not rational about life.
8) What does the poet BEST convey by mentioning grackles in these lines, “…with grackles all around, /Staring with beady eyes, and you two feet away.”?
A. Grackles love to stare at us; however, they maintain a two-feet distance.
B. We should not care about grackles, but us.
C. A small bird like grackle can give us lots of happiness.
D. Over witty discussions, grackles are the pleasant birds to look at.
E. Grackles, like humans, love to bask in the Sun.
Read the following passage and answer the THREE questions that follow.
[XAT 2022]
What does a good life look like to you? For some, the phrase may conjure up images of a close-knit family, a steady job, and a Victorian house at the end of a street arched with oak trees. Others may focus on the goal of making a difference in the world, whether by working as a nurse or teacher, volunteering, or pouring their energy into environmental activism. According to Aristotlean theory, the first kind of life would be classified as “hedonic”—one based on pleasure, comfort, stability, and strong social relationships. The second is“eudaimonic,” primarily concerned with the sense of purpose and fulfilment one gets by contributing to the greater good. The ancient Greek philosopher outlined these ideas in his treatise Nicomachean Ethics, and the psychological sciences have pretty much stuck with them ever since when discussing the possibilities of what people might want out of their time on Earth. But a new paper, published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychological Review, suggests there’s another way to live a good life. It isn’t focused on happiness or purpose, but rather it’s a life that’s “psychologically rich.”
What is a psychologically rich life? According to authors Shige Oishi, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, and Erin Westgate, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida, it’s one characterized by “interesting experiences in which novelty and/or complexity are accompanied by profound changes in perspective.” Studying abroad, for example, is one way that college students often introduce psychological richness into their lives. As they learn more about a new country’s customs and history, they’re often prompted to reconsider the social mores of their own cultures. Deciding to embark on a difficult new career path or immersing one’s self in avant-garde art(the paper gives a specific shout-out to James Joyce’s Ulysses) also could make a person feel as if their life is more psychologically rich.
Crucially, an experience doesn’t have to be fun in order to qualify as psychologically enriching. It might even be a hardship. Living through war or a natural disaster might make it hard to feel as though you’re living a particularly happy or purposeful life, but you can still come out of the experience with psychological richness. Or you might encounter less dramatic but nonetheless painful events: infertility, chronic illness, unemployment. Regardless of the specifics, you may experience suffering but still find value in how your experience shapes your understanding of yourself and the world around you.
9) Which of the following statements BEST contrasts Hedonic from Eudaimonic?
(1) Hedonic focuses on the emptiness from seeking pleasure, while Eudaimonic focuses onthe fulfilment by giving pleasure to others
(2) Hedonic focuses on what gives pleasure to self, while Eudaimonic focuses on whathe/she believes benefits the society
(3) Hedonic believes that pleasure leads to fulfilment while Eudaimonic believes thatfulfilment leads to pleasure
(4) Hedonic believes in seeking pleasure while Eudaimonic focuses on depriving oneself of pleasure
(5) Hedonic focuses on pleasure to self while Eudaimonic focuses on pleasure to the other
10) Which of the following statements BEST defines a “psychologically rich life”?
(1) A life that offers interesting experiences that makes you question what life is
(2) Any novel experience that affects us cognitively makes us psychologically rich
(3) A life that is filled with learning opportunities that makes us an expert in a particular area
(4) A life that is filled with novel experiences which changes our view of what a good life is
(5) A life where novel experiences result in a fundamental change to our existing views
11) Which of the following statements can be BEST concluded from the passage?
(1) A psychologically rich life is a good life.
(2) A bad experience can enrich someone psychologically.
(3) An unpleasant experience can enable a good life
(4) A good life should not be seen in binary terms.
(5) Life need not be good, but can still be psychologically rich.
Read the following passage and answer the THREE questions that follow.
[XAT 2022]
What Arendt does for us is to remind us that our “publicness” is as important to our flourishing as our sociability and our privacy. She draws a distinction between what it means to act “socially” and what is means to act “politically.” The social realm for Arendt is both the context where all our basic survival needs “are permitted to appear in public” and also the realm of “behaviour.” One of the things she fears about modern societies is that society - focused on how we behave and what we will permit for ourselves and others -becomes the realm of conformism. This is worrying not just because we don’t really get vibrant societies out of conformism and sameness, but also, Arendt says because there is a risk that we think this is all there is to our living together. We lose ourselves in the tasks of managing behaviour and forget that our true public task is to act, and to distinguish ourselves in doing so. The risk, says Arendt, is therefore that we confuse behaviour with action , that in modern liberal societies “behaviour replaces action as the foremost mode of human relationship.” This confusion can happen in any area of our modern lives and institutions, secular or faith-based. None is immune.
Arendt wants to drive home the point that the healthy public life requires that we do not just see ourselves as social actors but also as fully public persons, committed to judging and acting as members of a common world we want to inhabit and pass on. Arendt tells us that public action is action in which we stand out, are individuated, become in some way excellent in a manner that is of service to others and a greater good. This is the space where we take risks, subject our common life to scrutiny, seek justice (that sometimes requires us to transgress what seem like accepted laws) in order to be increasingly open to the claims and needs of other humans - ones who are not our household and our kin.
12) According to the passage, who can be BEST categorised as a “public person”?
(1) An NGO employee who was tasked to lead a campaign against tribal land acquisition.
(2) A wildlife photographer who highlighted the plight of poverty-stricken migrants by posting their pictures.
(3) An online fraud victim who ran a campaign against online fraudsters.
(4) A parent who organized protests against the random fee hike by a local school.
(5) A local politician who filed RTI applications to unearth financial scams by a village panchayat.
13) Based on the passage, which of the following options BEST describes “public action”?
(1) Acting based on our core beliefs while being mindful of what society thinks
(2) Acting for a just cause regardless of what society thinks about it
(3) Acting in a way that is perceived to be anti-social
(4) Acting based on our conviction regardless of what society thinks
(5) Acting in a way that is seen as acceptable to the society
14) Which of the following is the BEST reason for focusing on behaviour instead of acting in public?
(1) We are dependent on each other, leading to focus on what is accepted by others
(2) Our fear of being called out on our imperfect thoughts leads us to behave
(3) Our focus is to survive and not to flourish
(4) To survive is not to distinguish ourselves from others
(5) The foundation of any vibrant society is based on cooperation and not confrontation
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
[XAT 2021]
We stand before this great world. The truth of our life depends upon our attitude of mind towards it - an attitude which is formed by our habit of dealing with it according to the special circumstance of our surroundings and our temperaments. It guides our attempts to establish relations with the universe either by conquest or by union, either through the cultivation of power or through that of sympathy. And thus, in our realization of the truth of existence, we put our emphasis either upon the principle of dualism or upon the principle of unity.
15) Which of the following statements can be BEST inferred from the passage?
(1) Conquest and union are two ways of realising the truth of our life.
(2) Principle of dualism is inferior to the principle of unity.
(3) Our habits and surroundings determine the truth of our life.
(4) War and conquest are a part of the truth of our life.
(5) The truth of our life co-evolved with our quest for sympathetic supremacy.
16) According to the passage, our emphasis on dualism or on unity is BEST guided by:
(1) How we deal with our surroundings and our temperaments
(2) Our desire to achieve versus our focus on contentment
(3) Our deals with the universe, based on special circumstances
(4) How powerful or sympathetic our surroundings and temperament are
(5) Our attitude of mind, formed by our habits
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