• These tests are a check for your learning and are meant to serve as tools for assessment.
  • The test is designed to check your current understanding of the language and whether you are able to logically infer the relationships between different parts of the paragraph.
  • Directions for individual questions: The questions in this section are based on the reasoning contained in brief statements or passages. For some questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. However, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question.

Critical Reasoning: Test-2

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Question 1
1. The dominant modern belief is that the soundest foundation of peace would be universal prosperity. One may look in vain for historical evidence that the rich have regularly been more peaceful than the poor but then it can be argued that they have never felt secure against the poor, that their aggressiveness stemmed from fear; and that the situation would be quite different if everybody were rich.It can be inferred from the above passage that
A
A lot of aggression in the world stems from the desire of the haves to defend themselves against the have-nots.
B
Universal prosperity as a foolproof measure of peace can no longer be accepted.
C
Both 1 and 2
D
Neither 1 nor 2
Question 1 Explanation: 
Explanation: Option 1 is the correct answer because it has been clearly mentioned in the passage that the aggressiveness of the rich is stemmed from fear or insecurity because of the poor. Option 2 is not correct as the phrase ‘no longer be accepted’ does not fit in because in the passage it has not been mentioned that it ‘Universal prosperity’ was accepted as a measure earlier.
Question 2
2. Whether we look at the intrinsic value of our literature, or at the particular situation of this country, we shall see the strongest reason to think that of all foreign tongues, the English tongue is that which would be the most useful to our native subjects.It can inferred that
A
The speaker is a die-hard colonist.
B
The speaker has the good of the nation at heart.
C
The speaker is addressing an issue related to a colonial empire.
D
4. None of the above.
Question 2 Explanation: 
Explanation: The answer is option 4. The passage is very vague and doesn’t explicitly or implicitly refer to colonization as the subject of discussion so option 1 and 3 are cancelled. Option 2 cannot be justified in the passage either because it hasn’t been mentioned that English in any way can be good to the nation.
Question 3
3. Where the film Bombay loses out is where every commercial film congenially goes awry-becoming too simplistic to address serious issues and failing to translate real life to reel.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A
The film’s director aimed at recreating real life on the silver screen.
B
The film was too simplistic for the audience’s taste.
C
The film was successful in spite of its shortcomings.
D
None of these.
Question 3 Explanation: 
Explanation: The passage clearly suggests that the film Bombay was too simplistic to address a serious issue and fails to translate real life into reel life. So option 1 and 3 don’t agree with the passage. Option 2 says that the film is simplistic which is true but not for the audience’s taste but to address a serious issue. Therefore Option 4.
Question 4
4. Aspiration is nothing new. Neither is the debate over what the Indian middle class is, what it wants and what it buys. Since the mid-80s, that has been the focus of the economic policy papers, so called pro and anti-poor budgets and marketing strategies that have successfully broken the barrier of urban selling and reached deeper into rural India with increasing income levels and aspirations.Based on the above passage, it can be inferred that
A
The Indian middle class has been the focus of economic policies for a long time.
B
The Indian middle class has graduated from being the ‘deprived’ middle class to the ‘pampered’ middle class.
C
Both 1 and 2
D
Neither 1 nor 2
Question 4 Explanation: 
Explanation: It has been clearly mentioned in the passage that the middle class is the focus of the economic policies since the 80s, therefore the first option is correct. Even though the passage suggests that the condition of the Indian middle class has improved but we cant yet say if it has become ‘pampered’ as mentioned in option 2. So Option 1 is the answer.
Question 5
5. Three airlines IA, JA and SA-operate on the Delhi-Mumbai route. To increase the number of seats sold, SA reduced its fares and this way was emulated by IA and JA immediately. The general belief was that the volume of air travel between Delhi and Mumbai would increase.Which of the following, if true, would add credence to the general belief?
A
Increase in profitability of the three airlines.
B
Extension of the discount scheme to other routes.
C
A study that shows that air travellers in India are price-conscious.
D
A study that shows that as much as 80 percent of air travel in India is company-sponsored.
Question 5 Explanation: 
Explanation: The general belief is that the volume of air travel will increase if the fares are reduced. If the air travelers in India are price-conscious then they will go for cheaper airlines and therefore this adds credence to the belief and hence Option 3 is the answer.
Question 6
6. According to McNeill, a Brahmin priest was expected to be able to recite at least one of the Vedas. The practice was essential for several centuries when the Vedas had not yet been written down. It must have had a selective effect, since priests would have been recruited from those able or willing to memorize long passages. It must have helped in the dissemination of the work, since a memorised passage can be duplicated many times.Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage?
A
Reciting the Vedas was a Brahmin’s obligation.
B
The Vedic priest was like a recorded audio cassette.
C
McNeill studied the behavior of Brahmin priests.
D
Vedic hymns had not been scripted.
Question 6 Explanation: 
Explanation: The passage suggests that the Vedic priest was supposed to memorize long passages of the Vedas so that he could recite it whenever needed implying that the Vedic priests were like a ‘recorded audio cassette’ i.e. to be played whenever wanted. So option 2 is the right answer.
Question 7
7. Developed countries have made adequate provisions for social security for senior citizens. State insurers (as well as private ones) offer Medicare and pension benefits to people who can no longer earn. In India, with the collapse of the joint family system, the traditional shelter of the elderly has disappeared. And the state faced with a financial crunch is not in a position to provide social security. So, it is advisable that the working population give serious thought to building a financial base for itself.Which one of the following, if it were to happen, weakens the conclusions drawn in the above passage the most?
A
The investible income of the working population, as a proportion of its total income, will grow in the future.
B
The insurance sector is underdeveloped and trends indicate that it will be extensively privatised in the future.
C
India is on a path of development that will take it to a developed country status, with all its positive and negative implications.
D
If the working population builds a stronger financial base, there will be a revival of joint family system.
Question 7 Explanation: 
Explanation: We are looking for an option which will thwart the argument that the working population needs to build a financial base. Option 3 suggests that if India will become a developed country then it will be able to provide social security to its citizens because the financial crunch won’t be present then. So if that happens then people don’t have to build a financial base. Therefore option 3 is the answer.
Question 8
8. Various studies have shown that our forested and hilly regions and, in general, areas where biodiversity…. (As reflected in the variety of flora) is high, are the places where poverty appears to be high. And these same areas are also the ones where educational performance seems to be poor. Therefore, it may be surmised that, even disregarding poverty status, richness in biodiversity goes hand in hand with educational backwardness.Which one of the following statements, if true, can be said to best provide supporting evidence for the surmise mentioned in the passage?
A
In regions where there is little variety in flora, educational performance is seen to be as good as in regions with high variety in flora when poverty levels are high.
B
Regions which show high biodiversity also exhibit poor education performance at low levels of poverty.
C
Regions which show high biodiversity reveal high levels of poverty and poor educational performance.
D
In regions where there is low biodiversity at all levels of poverty, educational performance is seen to be good.
Question 8 Explanation: 
Explanation: As explained in the passage richness in biodiversity and educational performance are inversely proportional to each other. Now the conclusion suggests that richness in biodiversity goes hand in hand with educational backwardness whatever be the poverty status. So only option 4 can be the answer as all levels of poverty are taken there.
Question 9
9. Cigarettes constitute a mere 20 percent of tobacco consumption in India, and fewer than 15 percent of the 200 million tobacco users consume cigarettes. Yet these 15 percent contribute nearly 90 percent of the tax revenues to the exchequer from the tobacco sector. The punitive cigarette taxation regime has kept the tax base narrow and reducing taxes will expand this base.Which of the following best bolsters the conclusion that reducing duties will expand the tax base?
A
The cigarette manufactures’ association has decided to indulge in aggressive promotion.
B
There is a likelihood that tobacco consumers will shift to cigarette smoking if cigarette prices were to reduce.
C
The cigarette manufacturers are lobbying for a reduction on duties.
D
An increase in duties on non-cigarette tobacco may lead to a shift in favor of cigarette smoking.
Question 9 Explanation: 
Explanation: The conclusion is that if the taxes are reduced the tax base i.e. the consumption of cigarette will increase. The assumption in this is that tobacco customers will shift to cigarette if the prices are reduced and that is how the tax base will increase. This is mentioned in option 2 so that is the answer.
Question 10
10. Thomas Malthus, the British clergyman turned economist predicted that the planet would not be able to support the human population for long. His explanation was the human population grows at a geometric rate, while the food supply grows only at an arithmetic rate.Which one of the following, if true, would not undermine the thesis offered by Malthus?
A
Population growth can be slowed down by the voluntary choices of individuals and not just by natural disasters.
B
The capacity of the planet to feed a growing human population can be enhanced through biotechnological means.
C
Human systems, and natural systems like food supply, follow natural laws of growth which have remained constant, and will remain unchanged.
D
Human beings can colonize other planetary systems on a regular and ongoing basis to accommodate a growing population.
Question 10 Explanation: 
Explanation: By not undermining it means that which one will strengthen the argument. Option 1, 2 and 4 suggest that human population will find ways to survive for long. But option 3 suggests that human rate and food supply rate follow a natural trend and wont change. So it strengthens the argument. Hence the answer is Option 3.
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