reading comprehensions for CAT

  • Reading comprehension involves a proof reading of a passage of about 300 – 1000 words and answering the questions that follow.
  • RC forms an important part of the verbal ability section. This section mainly focuses on to check the ability to understand the language and the underlying concept of the passage. The main focus should be to have a good command over the language as well as time management.
  • Make sure you attempt these passage on a regular basis and with complete seriousness.
  • Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
  • Once you are finished, click the ‘Get Results’ button below. Any items you have not completed will be marked incorrect.

Passage:

In the real world, the US global planning has always been sophisticated and careful, as you’d expect from a major superpower with a highly centralized and class conscious dominant social group. Their power in turn, is rooted in their ownership and management of the economy, as is the norm in most societies. During Second World War, American planners were well aware that the United States was going to emerge as a world-dominant power, in a position of hegemony that had few historical parallels, and they organized and met in order to deal with this situation. From 1939 to 1945, extensive studies were conducted by the Council on Foreign Relations and the State Department. One group was called the War-Peace Studies Group, which met for six years and produced extensive geopolitical analyses and plans. The Council on Foreign Relations is essentially the business input to foreign policy planning. These groups also involved every top planner in the State Department, with the exception of the Secretary of State. The conception that they developed is what they called ‘Grand Area’ planning. The Grand Area was a region that was to be subordinated to the needs of the American economy. As one planner put it, it was to be the region that is “strategically necessary for world control.” The geopolitical analysis held that the Grand Area had to include at least the Western Hemisphere, the Far East, and the former British Empire, which we were then in the process of dismantling and taking over ourselves. This is what is called ‘anti-imperialism’ in American scholarship. Detailed plans were laid for particular regions of the Grand Area and also for international institutions that were to organize and police it, essentially in the interests of this subordination to the US domestic needs. The Grand Area was also to include western and southern Europe and the oil-producing regions of the Middle East; in fact, it was to include everything, if that were possible.

Reading Comprehension: Passage 11

Congratulations - you have completed Reading Comprehension: Passage 11.You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%.Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%
Your answers are highlighted below.
Question 1
What "does the author mean when he says, "position of hegemony that had few historical parallels"?
A
America had no good history to be remembered
B
America would win the Second World War to become the super power
C
America would become one of the predominant countries, something which had not happened earlier
D
America would emerge a class conscious social group, which no country had ever been before
Question 1 Explanation: 
The word hegemony means dominance, control or leadership. So the sentence means that America would be in a such high and dominant position, that has never happened in the past. So option (C ) is the answer.
Question 2
The passage supports the following statements, except
A
a detailed planning was done for regions of the Grand Area
B
America had always been a super power, even before the Second World War
C
the Secretary of State was not a part of the planning involved for the Grand Area
D
America's power lies in its ownership and management of economy
Question 2 Explanation: 
According to the passage, during the second world war American planners were aware that America is going to emerge as a super power, in a position of hegemony that had few historical parallels. It means America has never been in that position before. So option (B) is the answer.
Question 3
What led the planners to think of the Grand Area concept?
A
The sheer talent of managing their economy well
B
To fulfill certain US needs
C
The need for imperialism
D
Their intuition about America's rise after the Second World War
Question 3 Explanation: 
As given in the passage, American Planners had predicted that America was going to emerge as a super power, so they organized and met in order to deal with this situation. The Grand Area was a region that was to be subordinated to the needs of the American economy. It was to be the region that was "strategically necessary for world control. So Grand Area concept was a kind of a preparation done for the future when America gains hegemony and was based on a prediction that America was the future super power.
Question 4
What could be the most suitable title for the passage?
A
The Grand Area
B
American Global Planning
C
An Example of Anti-imperialism
D
The Making of the American Super Power
Question 4 Explanation: 
The passage opens up highlighting the features of American planning and that during second world war, America was predicted to be the next super power which led to creation of Grand Area region, which was considered strategically necessary for world control. So the passage mainly highlights the story of America becoming a major super power. So the answer is option (D)
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