Wednesday, 12 August 2015

CAT 2015 - THE VA ESSENTIALS

Directions for questions 31 to 34: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

Microfinance in India started in the early 1980s with small efforts at forming informal self-help groups (SHG) to provide access to much-needed savings and credit services. From this small beginning, the microfinance sector has grown significantly in the past decades. 

National bodies like the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) are devoting significant time and financial resources to microfinance.

The strength of the microfinance organizations (MFOs) in India is in the diversity of approaches and forms that have evolved over time. In addition to the home-grown models of SHGs and mutually aided cooperative societies (MACS), the country has learned from other microfinance experiments across the world, particularly those in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, and Bolivia, in terms of delivery of microfinancial services. Indian organizations could also learn from the transformation experiences of these microfinance initiatives.

Robinson (2001) defines microfinance as "small-scale financial services—primarily credit and savings— provided to people who farm, fish or herd" and adds that it "refers to all types of financial services provided to low-income households and enterprises." In India, microfinance is generally understood but not clearly defined. For instance, if a SHG (Self-Help Group) gives a loan for an economic activity, it is seen as microfinance. But if a commercial bank gives a similar loan, it is unlikely that it would be treated as microfinance.

In India, microfinance is done by organizations having diverse orientations. NGOs in India perform a range of developmental activities; microfinance usually is a sub-component. Some of these NGOs organize groups and link them to an existing provider of financial services. In some cases NGOs have a "revolving fund" that is used for lending. But in either of these cases, microfinance is not a core activity for these NGOs. An example is the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India (AKRSP-I). For AKRSP-I, the microfinance component is incidental to its work in natural resource management. Examples like MYRADA and the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) fall in the same category. However, as their microfinance portfolios grew, both organizations decided to form separate entities for microfinance. MYRADA set up an MFO called Sanghamitra Rural Financial Services (SRFS), while SEWA set up the SEWA Cooperative Bank.

At the next level, we find NGOs helping the poor in economic activities. Their purpose is developmental. They see microfinance as an activity that feeds into economic activities. For instance, the South Indian Federation of Fishermen's Societies (SIFFS) started as a support organization for fishermen, providing technical and marketing support. It then arranged for loans to its members through banks. When the arrangement was not effective, it started providing loans itself. At the third level, we have organizations with microfinance at the core. They have developmental roots, but are diverse in their operational details, orientation, and form of incorporation.

31. The style used by the author in this passage is

(a) descriptive 
(b) instructional 
(c) critical 
(d) analytical

32. Which one of the following is the strength of the microfinance organizations in India?

(a) In India, microfinance is provided by NGOs that help the poor in economic activities.
(b) In India, microfinance is done by organizations having diverse orientations.
(c) In India, diverse approaches have been used and there is learning from other microfinance experiments across the world.
(d) In India, microfinance is generally understood but not clearly defined.

33. "If an SHG gives a loan for an economic activity, it is seen as microfinance. But if a commercial bank gives a similar loan, it is unlikely that it would be treated as microfinance." Which of the following options would help understand the above statement?

(a) In India, microfinance is defined by 'who gives the loan' and not by 'why it is given'.
(b) In India, microfinance is defined by 'why the loan is given' and not by 'who gives the loan'.
(c) Microfinance is generally understood but not clearly defined.
(d) None of the above

34. According to the passage, the South Indian Federation of Fishermen's Societies (SIFFS) independent microfinance activity provides

(a) support to farmers when loan arrangements through banks were not effective.
(b) support to fishermen when loan arrangements through banks were not effective.
(c) supplementary support to the banks that were unable to effect loan arrangements.
(d) support to organizations with microfinance at the core.

Directions for questions 35 and 36: The passage given below is followed by a set of two questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

Civilization cannot exist without spoken language, but it can without written communication. The Greek poetry of Homer was at first transmitted orally, stored in the memory, as were the Vedas, the Sanskrit hymns of the ancient Hindus, which were unwritten for centuries. The South American Empire of the Incas managed its administration without writing. Yet eventually, almost every complex society – ancient and modern – has required a script or scripts. Writing, though not obligatory, is a defining marker of civilization.
Without writing, there can be no accumulation of knowledge, no historical record, no science (though simple technology may exist), and of course no books, newspapers, emails, or World Wide Web.

The creation of writing in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) and Egypt in the late 4th millennium BC permitted the command and seal of a ruler like the Babylonian Hammurabi, the Roman Julius Caesar, or the Mongol Kublai Khan, to extend far beyond his sight and voice and even to survive his death. If the Rosetta Stone had never been inscribed, for example, the world would be virtually unaware of the nondescript Greco- Egyptian king Ptolemy V Epiphanes, whose priests promulgated his decree upon the Rosetta Stone in 196 BC written in three scripts:  sacred hieroglyphic, administrative demotic, and Greek alphabetic.

Writing and literacy are generally seen as forces for good. All modern parents want their children to be ableto read and write. But there is a negative side to the spread of writing that is present throughout its more than 5,000-year history, if somewhat less obvious. In the 5th century BC, the Greek philosopher Socrates (who famously never published a word) pinpointed our ambivalence towards 'visible speech' in his story of the Egyptian god Thoth, the mythical inventor of writing.

Thoth came to see the king seeking royal blessing on his enlightening invention. But instead of praising it, the king told

Thoth: "You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant." In a 21st-century world saturated with written information and surrounded by information technologies of astonishing speed, convenience, and power, these words of Socrates recorded by his disciple Plato have a distinctly contemporary ring.

35. Author has used the examples of Homer and The South American Empire of the Incas to illustrate which of the following?

1. The inevitability of resorting to written communication.
2. The importance of spoken language.
3. The possibility of civilization without the tool of written form of language.

(a) Only 1           (b) Both 1 and 2            (c) Only 3         (d) Only 2

36. According to the passage, which of the following is true?

(a) Writing is a tool not of knowledge but of reminding.
(b) Socrates was against the written mode of communication.
(c) The teachings of Socrates are timeless and are still relevant.
(d) Writing has an important place in modern world.

Directions for questions 37 to 39: The passage given below is followed by a set of three questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.

Tom O'Riordan for example, in his 1976 book, Environmentalism, distinguished four ideologically diverse propositions for tackling the current environmental crisis by means of institutional reform. For the sake of clarity, these four propositions can be ordered as follows. In the first place, a distinction can be made between statist and anti-statist propositions. The anti-statist propositions can then be divided into proposals for global or for local (communal or regional) policies. Finally, the proposals for local policies can be divided into authoritarian and anti-authoritarian solutions.

But O'Riordan considers only one position, one centred on the nation-state, centralised authoritarianism. This is the position represented in particular by William Ophuls who, together with Paul Ehrlich and Garret Hardin, ranks as a prominent advocate of so-called 'lifeboat ethics' according to which rich countries should not be too ready to help poor countries lest the world population continue to grow and put even greater pressure on already scarce food supplies and strategic resources. In the light of ecological scarcity, frugality is a must, says Ophuls; we should be aiming for a 'steady-state society' in which the population and the means of subsistence are in balance. Liberal democracy is not equipped to achieve this aim, however; what is needed is a Hobbesian sovereign, a 'green Leviathan'. Ophuls leaves us in no doubt as to who shall be in charge of this future state.

"The ecological complex steady-state society may… require, if not a class of ecological guardians, then at least a class of ecological mandarins who possess the esoteric knowledge needed to run it well…. The steady-state society will not only be more authoritarian and less democratic than the industrial societies of today…but it will also in all likelihood be much more oligarchic as well, with only those possessing the ecological and other competences to make prudent decisions allowed full participation in the political process."

In view of the authority enjoyed by ecologists in Ophuls' steady-state society, his position could also be described as 'eco-cratic.'

37. What is the primary purpose of the author in this passage?

(a) To advocate O'Riordan's approach to address the environmental crisis through institutional reforms.
(b) Discuss at length an approach to institutional reform that addresses environmental concerns.
(c) Describe different approaches to creating an "eco-cratic" society.
(d) Identify the steps needed for institutional reform with an eye to the environmental crisis.

38. Which of the following statements is true in light of the passage?

(a) According to Ophuls, judicious decisions cannot be taken in a democratic society.
(b) Ophul's ideology is described as a "green Leviathan" since it proposes a sovereign state with no democratic leanings.
(c) In a steady-state society, individual accountability will be proportional to individual capability.
(d) Riordan's book largely deals with a single authoritarian approach to institutional reform.

39. Which of the following is an assumption in Ophuls' formulation of a steady-state society?

(a) In a steady-state society, resources will not be limited.
(b) There won't be any resistance to the shift from a democratic to an eco-cratic society.
(c) In general, humans are not ecologically aware by nature.
(d) Ecological knowledge is all it takes to run a steady-state society.

40. Five sentences are given below, labeled A, B, C, D and E. They need to be arranged in a logical order to form a coherent paragraph. From the given options, choose the most appropriate one.

A. Was it evidence that science and religion are inevitably locked in ideological and institutional combat?
B. Unsurprisingly, there was more to it than that.
C. On all sides of the case there was agreement that it was proper and rational both to seek accurate knowledge of the world through observation of nature and also to base one's beliefs on the Bible.
D. When Galileo recanted his Copernicanism in 1633, what did that signify?
E. Was it a victory for religious obscurantism and a defeat for free scientific inquiry?

(a) DEABC           (b) CDEBA          (c) CBDAE            (d) DEACB

41. There are two gaps in the sentence given below. From the pairs of words given, choose the one that fills the gaps most appropriately.

An atmosphere that ________ the value and growth of individuals as well as the organization is important, and _________between individuals and the organization must be a team effort.

(a) exudes, discussion 
(b) encompasses, agglomerate
(c) promotes, collaboration 
(d) assesses, links

42. There are two gaps in the sentence given below. From the pairs of words given, choose the one that fills the gaps most appropriately.

A/an _________professional can help you establish a budget for your children's extracurricular activities based on your _______income and savings goals.

(a) knowledgeable, current 
(b) qualified, retirement
(c) experienced, desired 
(d) recommended, projected

43. The word given below has been used in sentences in four different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

AGREE

(a) Do you agree to the conditions?
(b) The food did not agree with me.
(c) Our views on religion agree.
(d) I agree to her analysis of the situation.

44. The word given below has been used in sentences in four different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

BY

(a) Can I pay by credit card?
(b) Do you prefer to travel by air or by train?
(c) They traveled by the 6.45 train.
(d) Come and sit by me.

45. Given below are a few sentences. Identify the sentence(s)/ part(s) of the sentence(s) that is/are correct in terms of grammar and usage (including spelling, punctuation and logical consistency). Then choose the most appropriate option.

1. Imagine you are in a train carriage waiting at station.
2. Out of the window you see a second train standing alongside your's.
3. The whistle blows, and at last you are on your way.
4. You glide smoothly past the other train.

(a) 1 and 3         (b) 2 and 4            (c) 3 and 4         (d) 1 and 4

46. Given below are a few sentences. Identify the sentence(s)/ part(s) of the sentence(s) that is/are correct in terms of grammar and usage (including spelling, punctuation and logical consistency). Then choose the most appropriate option.

1. He'll give you a call as soon as he arrive.
2. A museum is a good place to look for ancient Greece and Rome.
3. Do you think he knows what does he want?
4. Religion in the context of philosophy is particularly significant.

(a) 1 and 4         (b) 1 and 2            (c) 2 and 4             (d) 1 and 3

47. Given below are a few sentences. Each sentence has a pair of words that are italicized. From the italicized words, select the most appropriate words (A or B) to form correct sentences. The sentences are followed by options that indicate the words, which may be selected to correctly complete the set of sentences. From the options given, choose the most appropriate one.

I hope they don't ask me anything about politics. I haven't the slightest (A) / smallest (B) idea about it.
I knew David could always be trusted (A) / relied (B) on in times of crisis.
I would like to make a request (A) / demand (B) to the hotel management that they allow people to choose the TV program they want to watch.
The business has lost a lot of orders recently and is going through a thin (A) / poor (B) time.
It was not the ideal (A) / idyll (B) solution to the problem.

(a) ABAAA            (b) ABABB           (c) ABBAA              (d) BBAAB

48. Given below are a few sentences. Each sentence has a pair of words that are italicized. From the italicized words, select the most appropriate words (A or B) to form correct sentences. The sentences are followed by options that indicate the words, which may be selected to correctly complete the set of sentences. From the options given, choose the most appropriate one.

In his position as (A) / of (B) managing director, he is responsible for more than 300 employees.
He planned the event so meticulously that the outcome was entirely causal (A) / casual (B).
They created a custom (A) / costume (B) design for a diwali card.
I suspect (A) / expect (B) his motives are not entirely good.
The economics (A) / economic (B) of the project are very encouraging.

(a) ABAAB        (b) AAAAA             (c) BAAAB             (d) BBAAA

49. A paragraph is given below from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

 I was a man who stood in symbolic relations to the art and culture of my age. I had realised this for myself at the very dawn of my manhood, and had forced my age to realise it afterwards. Few men hold such a position in their own lifetime, and have it so acknowledged. It is usually discerned, if discerned at all, by the historian, or the critic, long after both the man and his age have passed away. With me it was different. I felt it myself, and made others feel it. Byron was a symbolic figure, but his relations were to the passion of his age and its weariness of passion.

(a) I ceased to be lord over myself.
(b) Mine were to something more noble, more permanent, of more vital issue, of larger scope.
(c) I was no longer the captain of my soul, and did not know it.
(d) He had discerned it himself.

50. A paragraph is given below from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

In an age of hurry like ours the appearance of an epic poem that is more than five thousand lines in length cannot but be regarded as remarkable. Whether such a form of art is the one most suited to our century is a question. Edgar Allan Poe insisted that no poem should take more than an hour to read, the essence of a work of art being its unity of impression and of effect. Still, it would be difficult to accept absolutely a canon of art, which would place the Divine Comedy on the shelf and deprive us of the Bothwell of Mr. Swinburne.

(a) For even on ortolans who could endure oratory?
(b) The subject of a work of art has, of course, nothing to do with its size.
(c) A work of art is to be estimated by its beauty, not by its size.
(d) We cannot help this.

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