PGDBA 2022 Question Paper | PGDBA VA RC

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The best way to improve your VARC skill is Reading. Read tons of stuff from Bharath's Curated Reading list and get a wonderful VARC score.

PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

Choose the combination of words that appropriately completes this sentence: 'You tried to ___ money from me, and now that I've refused, you _______ and ______ me.
1. Cadge, argue, pester
2. Cadge, braid, approach
3. Cadge, upbraid, reproach
4. Hedge, spank, scold
Choice C
Cadge, upbraid, reproach
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

The four sentences (labelled \( \mathrm { A } , \mathrm { B } , \mathrm { C } \) and \( \mathrm { D } \) ) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Choose the option that would result in the most coherent paragraph:
1. Mr. Hernandez is not the first Latin American head of state to be accused of drug- trafficking.
2. On \( 15 ^ { \text {th } } \) February, 2022, Mr. Juan Orlando Hernandez, the outgoing President of Honduras, was arrested and taken away in handcuffs.
3. But the rot goes particularly deep in Honduras.
4. The arrest was in response to an extradition request from the US relating to a drug trafficking case.
1. \( 2,4,1,3 \)
2. \( 2,1,3,4 \)
3. \( 2,3,4,1 \)
4. \( 2,4,3,1 \)
Choice A
\( 2,4,1,3 \)
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

Fill in the blank with the correct word:
The adjective for metal is metallic. But not for iron, which is ________
1. ironic
2. ferrous
3. strange
4. unlikely
Choice A
ironic
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

The four sentences (labelled A, B, C and D) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Choose the option that would result in the most coherent paragraph:
1. Both at the same level of credibility, both at the same level of fakery.
2. And so, at Disneyland, along with Mickey Mouse and the kindly Bears, there must also be, in tactile evidence, Metaphysical Evil (The Haunted Mansion) and Historical Evil (The Pirates), and in the waxwork museums, alongside the Venuses de Milo, we must find grave robbers, Dracula, Jack the Ripper and the Phantom of the Opera.
3. The ideology of this America wants to establish reassurance through imitation.
4. But profit defeats ideology, because the consumers want to be thrilled not only by the guarantee of the Good but also by the shudder of the Bad.
1. \( 4,3,2,1 \)
2. \( 2,3,4,1 \)
3. \( 3,4,2,1 \)
4. \( 3,2,4,1 \)
Choice C
\( 3,4,2,1 \)
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

The four sentences (labelled \( \mathrm { A } , \mathrm { B } , \mathrm { C } \) and \( \mathrm { D } \) ) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Choose the option that would result in the most coherent paragraph:
1. He pioneered a new method for making such shapes understandable: instead of drawing them as solids, he made them see-through skeletons, as if constructed of wooden beams.
2. Most of Leonardo's drawings for Pacioli's book, which was finished in 1498 , are variations of five shapes known as Platonic solids.
3. He also illustrated more complex shapes such as rhombicuboctahedron, which has twenty-six facets, eight of them equilateral triangles that are bordered by squares.
4. These are polyhedrons that have the same number of faces meeting at each vertex: pyramids, cubes, octahedrons (eight faces), dodecahedrons (twelve) and icosahedrons (twenty).
1. \( 2,4,1,3 \)
2. \( 2,4,3,1 \)
3. \( 2,3,4,1 \)
4. \( 2,1,3,4 \)
Choice B
\( 2,4,3,1 \)

The passage below is accompanied by a set of five questions. Choose the BEST answer to each question
Doomsayers of the past two centuries have blamed, among other things, novels, the radio, jazz, rock ‘n roll, television, horror films, Dungeons & Dragons, video games, the internet, smartphones and social media for the sad decline of the young. John Protzko, a psychologist…wondered whether things might not be quite so gloomy as they seemed. To try to bring some rigour to the question, he went hunting for examples of a cognitive experiment called the marshmallow test. This test, first performed at Stanford University in the 1960s, measures how good young children are at self-control - specifically, whether or not they can defer a small but immediate reward, such as a marshmallow, in favour of a bigger one later. It was one of the first examples of a standardised psychological test, so it gave him plenty of historical data to work with.
The set-up is simple. A child is taken into a room and presented with a choice of sugary snacks. A researcher explains that the child can choose his favourite treat and eat it whenever he likes - but, if he waits 15 minutes, he can have two instead. The researcher then leaves the room. Age is the strongest predictor of successfully resisting the temptation [to take the treat immediately]. Among children of the same age, however, doing well on the test is associated with plenty of good things later in life, from healthy weight to longer school attendance and better exam results.
Dr Protzko…polled 260 experts in child cognitive development, inviting them to predict what he might find. Just over half thought that children would have become worse at delaying gratification - perhaps thinking about a plethora of recent studies into the supposedly deleterious effects of modern technology. Another third predicted no change.
Only 16% of the experts made the correct prediction. This is, that children have become steadily and significantly better at the test over the past half century. In 1967, the average waiting time before succumbing to temptation was around three minutes. By 2017, that had risen to eight minutes - an increase of about a minute a decade. And that increase seems to be happening at all levels of ability. The most impulsive children are improving at the same rate as the most prudent.
The rate of increase caught Dr Protzko’s eye as well. That rate, a fifth of a standard deviation every decade, is about the same improvement as has been seen in IQ tests over the past 80 years…. The cause of this increase in IQ, which is dubbed the Flynn effect after the psychologist who brought it to the world’s attention, remains mysterious - as does whether Dr Protzko’s results are related to it. IQ is associated with the ability to delay gratification, but the correlation is far from perfect.

PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

In the context of the passage, what do doomsayers intend to convey when they talk of 'the sad decline of the young'?
1. The young are lazy and that affects their studies.
2. The young don't live up to their full potential.
3. The young are failing the 'Marshmallow Test'.
4. The young waste a lot of time on social media.
Choice B
The young don't live up to their full potential.
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

From the passage it can be inferred that those doing well in the 'Marshmallow Test' are more likely to do well later in adult life because,
1. they focus more on their studies than on watching television.
2. they can sacrifice short-term gains for higher long-term returns.
3. they are unaffected by social media, and therefore, are more successful in life.
4. they work harder than other children, and therefore, succeed in life.
Choice B
they can sacrifice short-term gains for higher long-term returns.
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

In the context of the passage, what could the 'plethora of recent studies into the supposedly deleterious effects of modern technology' have concluded?
1. There has been a decrease in IQ among children.
2. Children are doing less well in exams when compared to the past.
3. Children are being affected by the 'Flynn Effect'.
4. Children are keen on instant gratification.
Choice D
Children are keen on instant gratification.
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

From the passage what can one infer about the impact of the 'Flynn Effect' on children's performance in the Marshmallow Test?
1. More children would fail the test than earlier.
2. Children's performance would remain the same.
3. Children would do better than earlier.
4. The 'Flynn Effect' would have no impact on children's performance.
Choice C
Children would do better than earlier.
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

Which of the following best reflects the main argument of the passage?
1. Children have become more patient since the 1960 s because of a plethora of distractions.
2. Children have become more patient since the 1960 s despite a plethora of distractions.
3. Children have become less patient since the 1960 s despite a plethora of distractions.
4. Children have become less patient since the 1960 s because of a plethora of distractions.
Choice B
Children have become more patient since the 1960 s despite a plethora of distractions.

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

One of the problems we face in working out where we stand on surveillance is that none of us know exactly how we are being surveilled, and what the coming years might bring. Surveillance technology is developing at breakneck speed, and what seemed science-fiction 10 years ago is today old news. As a thought experiment, consider a hypothetical government that demands that every citizen wears a biometric bracelet that monitors body temperature and heart-rate 24 hours a day. The resulting data is hoarded and analysed by government algorithms. The algorithms will know that you are sick even before you know it, and they will also know where you have been, and who you have met. The chains of infection could be drastically shortened, and even cut altogether. Such a system could arguably stop the epidemic in its tracks within days. Sounds wonderful, right?
The downside is, of course, that this would give legitimacy to a terrifying new surveillance system. If you know, for example, that I clicked on a Fox News link rather than a CNN link, that can teach you something about my political views and perhaps even my personality. But if you can monitor what happens to my body temperature, blood pressure and heart-rate as I watch the video clip, you can learn what makes me laugh, what makes me cry, and what makes me really, really angry.
It is crucial to remember that anger, joy, boredom and love are biological phenomena just like fever and a cough. The same technology that identifies coughs could also identify laughs. If corporations and governments start harvesting our biometric data en masse, they can get to know us far better than we know ourselves, and they can then not just predict our feelings but also manipulate our feelings and sell us anything they want - be it a product or a politician. Biometric monitoring would make Cambridge Analytica’s data hacking tactics look like something from the Stone Age. Imagine North Korea in 2030, when every citizen has to wear a biometric bracelet 24 hours a day. If you listen to a speech by the Great Leader and the bracelet picks up the tell-tale signs of anger, you are done for.
You could, of course, make the case for biometric surveillance as a temporary measure taken during a state of emergency. It would go away once the emergency is over. But temporary measures have a nasty habit of outlasting emergencies, especially as there is always a new emergency lurking on the horizon. My home country of Israel, for example, declared a state of emergency during its 1948 War of Independence, which justified a range of temporary measures from press censorship and land confiscation to special regulations for making pudding (I kid you not). The War of Independence has long been won, but Israel never declared the emergency over, and has failed to abolish many of the “temporary” measures of 1948 (the emergency pudding decree was mercifully abolished in 2011).

PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

What does the author want to convey through the anecdote of the Emergency Pudding Decree?
1. Governments often abuse their power by not abolishing temporary laws sanctioned during a state of emergency.
2. Powerful individuals may take advantage of an emergency to pass laws that are harmful.
3. Surveillance is bad for democracy.
4. Governments in power use measures taken during emergency as an excuse to justify surveillance.
Choice A
Governments often abuse their power by not abolishing temporary laws sanctioned during a state of emergency.
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

Many individuals wear smart watches that monitor heart rate, oxygen level and other physical activity. In the context of the passage, does this imply that governments are already practicing biometric surveillance?
1. No
2. Insufficient information
3. Maybe
4. Yes
Choice A
No
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

How might authoritarian governments use biometric surveillance to remain in power?
1. Monitoring negative emotions like anger or hatred to identify dissenters.
2. Ensuring that no pandemic or health crisis happens.
3. Using biometric data to crack down on opposition leaders and activists.
4. Using biometric data to push products/services that glorify the government.
Choice A
Monitoring negative emotions like anger or hatred to identify dissenters.
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

How does the author define data surveillance?
1. Data surveillance is 'Stone Age' technology, and hence, is being considered outdated and useless.
2. Data surveillance is something that uses data to manipulate our emotions and modify our behaviour.
3. Data surveillance is not as scary as biometric surveillance, and hence, can be conveniently used by governments and corporations.
4. Data surveillance is something that can assist governments and corporations to predict our feelings.
Choice D
Data surveillance is something that can assist governments and corporations to predict our feelings.
PGDBA 2022 Question Paper VA RC

In the context of the passage, which of the following statements about biometric surveillance are TRUE?
1. Biometric surveillance could arguably stop an epidemic very fast.
2. Biometric surveillance turns emotions into data.
3. Biometric surveillance can predict our actions.
4. Biometric surveillance can manipulate our feelings.
1. \( 1,2,3,4 \)
2. \( 1,2,4 \)
3. \( 2,3,4 \)
4. \( 1,3,4 \)
Choice B
\( 1,2,4 \)