CAT 2022 Question Paper | VARC Slot 1

CAT Questions

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The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

Stories concerning the Undead have always been with us. From out of the primal darkness of Mankind's earliest years, come whispers of eerie creatures, not quite alive (or alive in a way which we can understand), yet not quite dead either. These may have been ancient and primitive deities who dwelt deep in the surrounding forests and in remote places, or simply those deceased who refused to remain in their tombs and who wandered about the countryside, physically tormenting and frightening those who were still alive. Mostly they were ill-defined-strange sounds in the night beyond the comforting glow of the fire, or a shape, half-glimpsed in the twilight along the edge of an encampment. They were vague and indistinct, but they were always there with the power to terrify and disturb. They had the power to touch the minds of our early ancestors and to fill them with dread. Such fear formed the basis of the earliest tales although the source and exact nature of such terrors still remained very vague.

And as Mankind became more sophisticated, leaving the gloom of their caves and forming themselves into recognizable communities-towns, cities, whole cultures-so the Undead travelled with them, inhabiting their folklore just as they had in former times. Now they began to take on more definite shapes. They became walking cadavers; the physical embodiment of former deities and things which had existed alongside Man since the Creation. Some still remained vague and ill-defined but, as Mankind strove to explain the horror which it felt towards them, such creatures emerged more readily into the light.

In order to confirm their abnormal status, many of the Undead were often accorded attributes, which defied the natural order of things-the power to transform themselves into other shapes, the ability to sustain themselves by drinking human blood, and the ability to influence human minds across a distance. Such powers-described as supernatural-only [lent] an added dimension to the terror that humans felt regarding them.

And it was only natural, too, that the Undead should become connected with the practice of magic. From very early times, Shamans and witchdoctors had claimed at least some power and control over the spirits of departed ancestors, and this has continued down into more "civilized" times. Formerly, the invisible spirits and forces that thronged around men's earliest encampments, had spoken "through" the tribal Shamans but now, as entities in their own right, they were subject to magical control and could be physically summoned by a competent sorcerer. However, the relationship between the magician and an Undead creature was often a very tenuous and uncertain one. Some sorcerers might have even become Undead entities once they died, but they might also have been susceptible to the powers of other magicians when they did.

From the Middle Ages and into the Age of Enlightenment, theories of the Undead continued to grow and develop. Their names became more familiar-werewolf, vampire, ghoul-each one certain to strike fear into the hearts of ordinary humans.

Question 15 : All of the following statements, if false, could be seen as being in accordance with the passage, EXCEPT:

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Video Explanation

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Explanatory Answer

Trickily worded question, combining the "if false" condition with "all of the following ...except". As it is easier to evaluate true statements than false, let us re-frame the question as "All the following statements, if true, are not in accordance to the passage except one".

Option A, if true, is not in accordance to the passage: "And as Mankind became more sophisticated, ... Now they began to take on more definite shapes. Some still remained vague and ill-defined but, as Mankind strove to explain the horror which it felt towards them, such creatures emerged more readily into the light."

Option B, if true, is also not in accordance to the passage: 'However, the relationship between the magician and an Undead creature was often a very tenuous and uncertain one."

Option C, if true, is also clearly not what the passage says. The passage says even as Man became sophisticated, he continued to believe in the Undead.

Option D, if true, is in accordance to the passage: "From the Middle Ages and into the Age of Enlightenment, theories of the Undead continued to grow and develop." So, option D is the correct answer.

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The question is " All of the following statements, if false, could be seen as being in accordance with the passage, EXCEPT: "

Hence, the answer is 'the transition from the Middle Ages to the Age of Enlightenment saw new theories of the Undead.'

Choice D is the correct answer.

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