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Summary - 10 Mar 2025
Sanjana Pani
Module 2 of 8
1. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
Following an incarceration boom that began all over the United States around 1980 and only recently started to level off, reform has become politically popular. But abolitionists argue that many reforms have done little more than reinforce the system. In every state where the death penalty has been abolished, for example, it has been replaced by the sentence of life without parole — to many people a death sentence by other, more protracted means. Another product of good intentions: campaigns to reform indeterminate sentencing, resulting in three-strike programs and mandatory-minimum sentencing, which traded one cruelty for another. Over all, reforms have not significantly reduced incarceration numbers, and no recent reform legislation has even aspired to do so.
(1) US has seen an incarceration boom, which has only recently started to level off, despite reform being politically popular.
(2) Incarceration rates are very high in the US, due to lack of humane reforms and willing legislature.
(3) US Prison abolitionists complain that prison reform has not reduced incarceration rates.
(4) US legislators have not even aspired to reform incarceration, which is why the numbers are booming.
2. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
China’s economy has barely grown in the past two years. The immediate causes, including a decline in property construction and ham-fisted “zero COVID” policies that tanked private-sector investment, are well known. But the roots of the stagnation are systemic, and firms and analysts inside China, as well as governments and businesses around the world, have waited with anticipation for Beijing to clarify its plans to put the country’s economy on a more stable track. Between 2010 and 2019—not long ago—China’s annual GDP growth averaged 7.7 percent, but today the basic policy reforms necessary to support even three or four percent growth are proving difficult for Beijing to achieve.
(1) China's economy has stagnated despite rapid growth due to property decline and stringent COVID policies.
(2) The systemic issues that China’s economy is currently facing is harsher than the decline brought about declining property construction and strict COVID policies.
(3) Beijing is failing to come up with sustainable economic plans to push forward China’s economy after a period of major decline.
(4) China's economy faces stagnation due to declining property construction, strict COVID policies, and systemic issues that are hindering Beijing's reform efforts.
3. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
The promise of AI is undeniable, offering a beacon of efficiency and insight in an ocean of data. Yet, without human wisdom [to guide us], there’s a risk of being overwhelmed. It’s not the abundance of data that’s daunting, but the discernment to navigate it. It’s like standing at the shore, eyeing the vast potential AI offers, then stepping into the water only to realize the need for a lifeline of wisdom to keep us from drowning in the depths of data overload. Just as Einstein transformed physics, AI has the potential to reshape how industries evolve and thrive, such as in our industry, with the development of new treatments that improve patient outcomes. But left unguided, even the most potent AI technologies will fall short.
(1) AI’s potential to drive progress is remarkable, but without wisdom, there is no hope for effective data management.
(2) There is much to be discovered through AI, but we must never forget that human wisdom is superior to anything that AI can achieve.
(3) AI’s promise, though undeniable, can be misleading and even dangerous if not dealt with with the proper care.
(4) While AI’s potential for abetting significant change is unquestionable, we must proceed with caution and ensure that any related decisions are grounded in wisdom.
4. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
In a new report from WWF, a global environment charity, scientists compiled the migration tracks of over 1,000 whales worldwide, recorded using satellite tags. For the first time, the global scale and extent of the routes whales traverse during their migrations were illuminated. The report adds to the growing understanding among scientists that the routes between critical feeding and breeding habitats are as important to whales as the endpoints themselves. These routes also reveal how perilous the ocean is becoming for these giants. Climate change is shifting the places and times that whales can reliably find food, while fisheries are discarding nets and ropes that can ensnare and drown whales. Six out of the 13 largest whale species are either endangered or vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, even after decades of protection following the end of most commercial whaling in 1986.
(1) Climate change is now negatively affecting the pivotal routes that migrating whales take while moving between critical feeding and breeding habitats.
(2) Migrating whales are facing a lot of difficulties with discarded nets, rope and changing feeding routines.
(3) It has been lately discovered that the routes taken by migrating whales have become impenetrable due to climate change.
(4) A report by WWF has declared that climate change has become threatening for migrating whales because of fisheries and unpredictable weather patterns.
5. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
Across Buddhist areas of the Himalayas, it is widely believed that the landscape is animated by a host of local deities and spirits. When they are angered by human activities, a common form of retaliation is severe weather. This has been termed ‘the Tibetan moral climate’ by anthropologists Toni Huber and Poul Pedersen, in which the weather mimics the character of human communities. Similar beliefs are shared by several indigenous communities in the Arctic and Pacific Islands. As floods batter communities in Nepal, and seas consume the sands of Polynesia, the consequences of decades of unfettered greenhouse gas emissions have left some of the most vulnerable communities in the world wondering how they’ve angered their gods – or displacing the blame onto friends and neighbours within their own villages.
(1) ‘The Tibetan moral climate’ coined by Huber and Pederson describes the superstitious beliefs of interpreting weather patterns as divine interventions.
(2) It's believed in certain regions that severe weather is divine retribution for human actions, leading some to attribute climate change-induced disasters to angering local deities.
(3) In several regions across the world, people believe that by aiding climate change, humans have angered the gods.
(4) Anthropologists believe that climate change disasters have been brought about because of human actions that have angered the gods.
6. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
Mental health issues affect nearly half of the global population, at some point, by age 40. Add to that, recent challenges of the pandemic for maintaining mental wellness, managing fears and uncertainty, and one thing is clear: it’s time to think differently when it comes to how we engage our minds. The arts offer an evidence-based solution for promoting mental health. While practising the arts is not the panacea for all mental health challenges, there’s enough evidence to support prioritizing arts in our own lives at home as well as in our education systems.
(1) The arts are an evidence-based solution to the issue of mental health, which is now affecting our homes and our education systems.
(2) Nearly half of people face mental health issues by age 40, and the arts are now a proven way to promote mental wellness.
(3) Mental health issues have now become a global pandemic because of which there is an urgent need to look for better modes of thinking.
(4) While art cannot solve every mental-health problem, it is still an effective, research-backed tool to help the mentally unstable.
7. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
Pressure is not stress. But the former is converted to the latter when you add one ingredient: rumination, the tendency to keep rethinking past or future events, while attaching negative emotion to those thoughts. Of course, leaders must practice reflection — planning for the future or reviewing past lessons — but this is an analytical, short-term process, with positive fallout. Rumination is ongoing and destructive, diminishing your health, productivity, and well-being. Chronic worriers show increased incidence of coronary problems and suppressed immune functioning. Dwelling on the past or the future also takes us away from the present, rendering us unable to complete the work currently on our plates. If you ask ruminators how they are feeling, none will say “happy.” Most feel miserable.
(1) It’s not pressure but the tendency to ruminate that leads to stress that is harmful for one’s health.
(2) Pressure alone is usually not the cause of the deterioration of someone’s overall health, it is also rumination and stress.
(3) Stress, not pressure, is the cause of rumination, which is the tendency to keep rethinking the past or worrying about the future in never-ending, maddening mental loops.
(4) Most people who ruminate or become excessively stressed about normal life pressures are almost always miserable and unhappy.
8. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
[CAT 2018, Slot 1]
Artificial embryo twinning is a relatively low-tech way to make clones. As the name suggests, this technique mimics the natural process that creates identical twins. In nature, twins form very early in development when the embryo splits in two. Twinning happens in the first days after egg and sperm join, while the embryo is made of just a small number of unspecialized cells. Each half of the embryo continues dividing on its own, ultimately developing into separate, complete individuals. Since they developed from the same fertilized egg, the resulting individuals are genetically identical.
(1) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech and mimetic of the natural development of genetically identical twins from the embryo after fertilization.
(2) Artificial embryo twinning is just like the natural development of twins, where during fertilization twins are formed.
(3) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech unlike the natural development of identical twins from the embryo after fertilization.
(4) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech and is close to the natural development of twins where the embryo splits into two identical twins.
9. The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
[CAT 2021, Slot 1]
Foreign peacekeepers often exist in a bubble in the poor countries in which they are deployed; they live in posh compounds, drive fancy vehicles, and distance themselves from locals. This may be partially justified as they are outsiders, living in constant fear, performing a job that is emotionally draining. But they are often despised by the locals, and many would like them to leave. A better solution would be bottom-up peacebuilding, which would involve their spending more time working with communities, understanding their grievances and earning their trust, rather than only meeting government officials.
(1) The environment in poor countries has tended to make foreign peacekeeping forces live in enclaves, but it is time to change this scenario.
(2) Peacekeeping duties would be more effectively performed by local residents given their better understanding, knowledge and rapport with their own communities.
(3) Peacekeeping forces in foreign countries have tended to be aloof for valid reasons but would be more effective if they worked more closely with local communities.
(4) Extravagant lifestyles and an aloof attitude among the foreigners working as peacekeepers in poor countries have justifiably make them the target of local anger.
10. The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
[CAT 2023, Slot 2]
Heatwaves are becoming longer, frequent and intense due to climate change. The impacts of extreme heat are unevenly experienced; with older people and young children, those with pre-existing medical conditions and on low incomes significantly more vulnerable. Adaptation to heatwaves is a significant public policy concern. Research conducted among at-risk people in the UK reveals that even vulnerable people do not perceive themselves as at risk of extreme heat; therefore, early warnings of extreme heat events do not perform as intended. This suggests that understanding how extreme heat is narrated is very important. The news media play a central role in this process and can help warn people about the potential danger, as well as about impacts on infrastructure and society.
(1) Protection from heat waves is important but current reports and public policies seem ineffective.
(2) Heatwaves pose an enormous risk; the media plays a pivotal role in alerting people to this danger.
(3) People are vulnerable to heatwaves caused due to climate change, measures taken are ineffective.
(4) News stories help in warning about heatwaves, but they have to become more effective.
Solution
1) 2
2) 4
3) 4
4) 1
5) 2
6) 2
7) 1
8) 1
9) 3
10) 2
Following an incarceration boom that began all over the United States around 1980 and only recently started to level off, reform has become politically popular. But abolitionists argue that many reforms have done little more than reinforce the system. In every state where the death penalty has been abolished, for example, it has been replaced by the sentence of life without parole — to many people a death sentence by other, more protracted means. Another product of good intentions: campaigns to reform indeterminate sentencing, resulting in three-strike programs and mandatory-minimum sentencing, which traded one cruelty for another. Over all, reforms have not significantly reduced incarceration numbers, and no recent reform legislation has even aspired to do so.
(1) US has seen an incarceration boom, which has only recently started to level off, despite reform being politically popular.
(2) Incarceration rates are very high in the US, due to lack of humane reforms and willing legislature.
(3) US Prison abolitionists complain that prison reform has not reduced incarceration rates.
(4) US legislators have not even aspired to reform incarceration, which is why the numbers are booming.
2. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
China’s economy has barely grown in the past two years. The immediate causes, including a decline in property construction and ham-fisted “zero COVID” policies that tanked private-sector investment, are well known. But the roots of the stagnation are systemic, and firms and analysts inside China, as well as governments and businesses around the world, have waited with anticipation for Beijing to clarify its plans to put the country’s economy on a more stable track. Between 2010 and 2019—not long ago—China’s annual GDP growth averaged 7.7 percent, but today the basic policy reforms necessary to support even three or four percent growth are proving difficult for Beijing to achieve.
(1) China's economy has stagnated despite rapid growth due to property decline and stringent COVID policies.
(2) The systemic issues that China’s economy is currently facing is harsher than the decline brought about declining property construction and strict COVID policies.
(3) Beijing is failing to come up with sustainable economic plans to push forward China’s economy after a period of major decline.
(4) China's economy faces stagnation due to declining property construction, strict COVID policies, and systemic issues that are hindering Beijing's reform efforts.
3. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
The promise of AI is undeniable, offering a beacon of efficiency and insight in an ocean of data. Yet, without human wisdom [to guide us], there’s a risk of being overwhelmed. It’s not the abundance of data that’s daunting, but the discernment to navigate it. It’s like standing at the shore, eyeing the vast potential AI offers, then stepping into the water only to realize the need for a lifeline of wisdom to keep us from drowning in the depths of data overload. Just as Einstein transformed physics, AI has the potential to reshape how industries evolve and thrive, such as in our industry, with the development of new treatments that improve patient outcomes. But left unguided, even the most potent AI technologies will fall short.
(1) AI’s potential to drive progress is remarkable, but without wisdom, there is no hope for effective data management.
(2) There is much to be discovered through AI, but we must never forget that human wisdom is superior to anything that AI can achieve.
(3) AI’s promise, though undeniable, can be misleading and even dangerous if not dealt with with the proper care.
(4) While AI’s potential for abetting significant change is unquestionable, we must proceed with caution and ensure that any related decisions are grounded in wisdom.
4. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
In a new report from WWF, a global environment charity, scientists compiled the migration tracks of over 1,000 whales worldwide, recorded using satellite tags. For the first time, the global scale and extent of the routes whales traverse during their migrations were illuminated. The report adds to the growing understanding among scientists that the routes between critical feeding and breeding habitats are as important to whales as the endpoints themselves. These routes also reveal how perilous the ocean is becoming for these giants. Climate change is shifting the places and times that whales can reliably find food, while fisheries are discarding nets and ropes that can ensnare and drown whales. Six out of the 13 largest whale species are either endangered or vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, even after decades of protection following the end of most commercial whaling in 1986.
(1) Climate change is now negatively affecting the pivotal routes that migrating whales take while moving between critical feeding and breeding habitats.
(2) Migrating whales are facing a lot of difficulties with discarded nets, rope and changing feeding routines.
(3) It has been lately discovered that the routes taken by migrating whales have become impenetrable due to climate change.
(4) A report by WWF has declared that climate change has become threatening for migrating whales because of fisheries and unpredictable weather patterns.
5. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
Across Buddhist areas of the Himalayas, it is widely believed that the landscape is animated by a host of local deities and spirits. When they are angered by human activities, a common form of retaliation is severe weather. This has been termed ‘the Tibetan moral climate’ by anthropologists Toni Huber and Poul Pedersen, in which the weather mimics the character of human communities. Similar beliefs are shared by several indigenous communities in the Arctic and Pacific Islands. As floods batter communities in Nepal, and seas consume the sands of Polynesia, the consequences of decades of unfettered greenhouse gas emissions have left some of the most vulnerable communities in the world wondering how they’ve angered their gods – or displacing the blame onto friends and neighbours within their own villages.
(1) ‘The Tibetan moral climate’ coined by Huber and Pederson describes the superstitious beliefs of interpreting weather patterns as divine interventions.
(2) It's believed in certain regions that severe weather is divine retribution for human actions, leading some to attribute climate change-induced disasters to angering local deities.
(3) In several regions across the world, people believe that by aiding climate change, humans have angered the gods.
(4) Anthropologists believe that climate change disasters have been brought about because of human actions that have angered the gods.
6. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
Mental health issues affect nearly half of the global population, at some point, by age 40. Add to that, recent challenges of the pandemic for maintaining mental wellness, managing fears and uncertainty, and one thing is clear: it’s time to think differently when it comes to how we engage our minds. The arts offer an evidence-based solution for promoting mental health. While practising the arts is not the panacea for all mental health challenges, there’s enough evidence to support prioritizing arts in our own lives at home as well as in our education systems.
(1) The arts are an evidence-based solution to the issue of mental health, which is now affecting our homes and our education systems.
(2) Nearly half of people face mental health issues by age 40, and the arts are now a proven way to promote mental wellness.
(3) Mental health issues have now become a global pandemic because of which there is an urgent need to look for better modes of thinking.
(4) While art cannot solve every mental-health problem, it is still an effective, research-backed tool to help the mentally unstable.
7. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
Pressure is not stress. But the former is converted to the latter when you add one ingredient: rumination, the tendency to keep rethinking past or future events, while attaching negative emotion to those thoughts. Of course, leaders must practice reflection — planning for the future or reviewing past lessons — but this is an analytical, short-term process, with positive fallout. Rumination is ongoing and destructive, diminishing your health, productivity, and well-being. Chronic worriers show increased incidence of coronary problems and suppressed immune functioning. Dwelling on the past or the future also takes us away from the present, rendering us unable to complete the work currently on our plates. If you ask ruminators how they are feeling, none will say “happy.” Most feel miserable.
(1) It’s not pressure but the tendency to ruminate that leads to stress that is harmful for one’s health.
(2) Pressure alone is usually not the cause of the deterioration of someone’s overall health, it is also rumination and stress.
(3) Stress, not pressure, is the cause of rumination, which is the tendency to keep rethinking the past or worrying about the future in never-ending, maddening mental loops.
(4) Most people who ruminate or become excessively stressed about normal life pressures are almost always miserable and unhappy.
8. This question contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
[CAT 2018, Slot 1]
Artificial embryo twinning is a relatively low-tech way to make clones. As the name suggests, this technique mimics the natural process that creates identical twins. In nature, twins form very early in development when the embryo splits in two. Twinning happens in the first days after egg and sperm join, while the embryo is made of just a small number of unspecialized cells. Each half of the embryo continues dividing on its own, ultimately developing into separate, complete individuals. Since they developed from the same fertilized egg, the resulting individuals are genetically identical.
(1) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech and mimetic of the natural development of genetically identical twins from the embryo after fertilization.
(2) Artificial embryo twinning is just like the natural development of twins, where during fertilization twins are formed.
(3) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech unlike the natural development of identical twins from the embryo after fertilization.
(4) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech and is close to the natural development of twins where the embryo splits into two identical twins.
9. The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
[CAT 2021, Slot 1]
Foreign peacekeepers often exist in a bubble in the poor countries in which they are deployed; they live in posh compounds, drive fancy vehicles, and distance themselves from locals. This may be partially justified as they are outsiders, living in constant fear, performing a job that is emotionally draining. But they are often despised by the locals, and many would like them to leave. A better solution would be bottom-up peacebuilding, which would involve their spending more time working with communities, understanding their grievances and earning their trust, rather than only meeting government officials.
(1) The environment in poor countries has tended to make foreign peacekeeping forces live in enclaves, but it is time to change this scenario.
(2) Peacekeeping duties would be more effectively performed by local residents given their better understanding, knowledge and rapport with their own communities.
(3) Peacekeeping forces in foreign countries have tended to be aloof for valid reasons but would be more effective if they worked more closely with local communities.
(4) Extravagant lifestyles and an aloof attitude among the foreigners working as peacekeepers in poor countries have justifiably make them the target of local anger.
10. The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
[CAT 2023, Slot 2]
Heatwaves are becoming longer, frequent and intense due to climate change. The impacts of extreme heat are unevenly experienced; with older people and young children, those with pre-existing medical conditions and on low incomes significantly more vulnerable. Adaptation to heatwaves is a significant public policy concern. Research conducted among at-risk people in the UK reveals that even vulnerable people do not perceive themselves as at risk of extreme heat; therefore, early warnings of extreme heat events do not perform as intended. This suggests that understanding how extreme heat is narrated is very important. The news media play a central role in this process and can help warn people about the potential danger, as well as about impacts on infrastructure and society.
(1) Protection from heat waves is important but current reports and public policies seem ineffective.
(2) Heatwaves pose an enormous risk; the media plays a pivotal role in alerting people to this danger.
(3) People are vulnerable to heatwaves caused due to climate change, measures taken are ineffective.
(4) News stories help in warning about heatwaves, but they have to become more effective.
Solution
1) 2
2) 4
3) 4
4) 1
5) 2
6) 2
7) 1
8) 1
9) 3
10) 2