RC Elimination technique

Contents
1. IMPORTANCE OF OPTION ELIMINATION
2. OPTION TRAPS
1. VERBOSITY
2. VAGUENESS
3. CONTRADICTION
4. IRRELEVANCE
5. EXAGGERATION
6. REPETITION
7. INCOMPLETENESS
8. WRITING STYLE
3. IDENTIFYING THE INCORRECT OPTION
4. SOLVED EXAMPLES
Elimination Techniques
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1. IMPORTANCE OF OPTION ELIMINATION




It is of paramount importance to select the correct answer option when attempting RC questions. By exercising the concepts learnt, the student can select and attempt an appropriate RC passage as follows: First, preview the questions to identify the question type. Then read and comprehend the passage, assimilating ideas and analysing content, while simultaneously retaining the relevant portions of the passage in relation to the questions. Lastly, diligently select the correct answer option.
Another useful idea that can be used to effectively narrow down the choices is the elimination of incorrect options. Often a situation may arise where more than one option seems to be the correct answer. In such cases these elimination techniques will help in identifying the options that only appear to be the right choice but are actually incorrect; by recognizing in the option some defect, kink or just by virtue of it being incomplete in some way or the other. These elimination techniques will help you locate the key differentiating points between the options and will especially come in handy in cases where the options are very close or long or both.
The next section will elaborate on the concept of elimination and list several features that are typical of incorrect options. The factors (that make an incorrect option seem correct) are introduced by the examiner on purpose - to confuse the test taker or make him spend more time thinking about the question. Elimination techniques are based on the test taker’s ability to identify these kinks in the incorrect options and this feature will be illustrated with actual examples later.
2. OPTION TRAPS




The main option trap in RC questions is ambiguity.
A test taker will encounter considerable difficulty in identifying the correct answer when the options are similar, and more than one option seems to be inherently correct.
However, the trained candidate would know how to scrutinize the options in such a way that certain inconsistencies are revealed, indicating that such options can be safely eliminated.
Once the test taker has studied the kinds of traps introduced in the options, he will find it much easier to root them out and eliminate them. The following is a list of inconsistencies or kinks that a test taker can be on the lookout for while analysing the options:
1. VERBOSITY




Certain options are too verbose to be correct. These options will unnecessarily elaborate upon the actual idea and add a few redundant or repeated ideas to give the appearance of a more complete answer. Verbose options, which can be recognised by their extra length, are a direct indicator of this type of trap and are to be avoided/ eliminated. The correct option is always the one that gives the complete picture in the most precise manner.
2. VAGUENESS




Some options use short sentences and impressive words to give the appearance of being terse and apt at the same time. However, they end up being vague and incomplete. The best answer is not judged by its length or the quality of words used but by its clarity and completeness of idea. Never select an option if its implication is unclear or not pertaining to the question.
3. CONTRADICTION




These options are the easiest to eliminate because they tend to contradict the passage, either explicitly or implicitly. Detecting an explicit contradiction is just a question of reading the passage thoroughly. Implicit contradictions, too, are easy to discover but they require a clear understanding of the passage and its implications.
4. IRRELEVANCE




Options that are not related to the question are usually used to fill up the void. These options might be based on an unrelated part of the same passage or might not be related to the entire passage at all. Like vague options, these options, too, are framed using impressive words and phrases that give an intellectual feel to them. These traps can be identified easily if you have comprehended the question correctly.
5. EXAGGERATION




These options are extreme in nature. They are biased and will take the idea (although it may be the correct idea) a bit too far. One needs to understand that even though the author’s views might support an idea very enthusiastically, the options have to remain relevant to the question and not mirror the author’s enthusiasm. In most cases, exaggerated options can be identified by the use of extreme terms, adjectives and a strong bias towards a specific idea. Look out for words like ‘all, none, never, always, only, must, should’ that indicate extremity. Also, the degree with which the author agrees should remain consistent. For example - ‘More’ in the passage can’t become ‘most’ in the option.
6. REPETITION




This set of options will have certain phrases in common with the correct option thus leading to confusion in the students’ mind. The best approach to take, in case of questions where the options have repeated phrases, is to read the options without these phrases or simply take these common phrases out and analyze the remaining part of the option. Repetition is generally used to increase the option length so that it becomes difficult to read.
7. INCOMPLETENESS




Options can be partially correct or furnish incomplete information. The information provided by such an option may be true as per the passage but might be incomplete with respect to the question. Such options are always eliminated in favour of a better option which does not contradict data given in the passage.
8. WRITING STYLE




These options are the hardest to eliminate. They will have a lot in common with the actual answer but will not be framed in the same style as the passage. Generally, the correct option is synchronized with the passage in terms of style. In such cases, the out-of-style options fall short only on this one count. These options are typical examples of the case where there are two correct answers but one is more appropriate than the other. Eliminating these correct but inappropriate options requires a complete understanding of the way in which the author has presented his views in the passage.
There are many other methods of distinguishing between correct and incorrect options but as they are obvious, simple or quite easy to spot, no instruction is required. The above mentioned differences, however, are more subtle and require some practice before you can attain proficiency at identifying them. Putting in this additional effort towards practicing elimination makes a lot of sense as it will be the differentiating factor between passing with an average score and a test taker who passes with flying colours.
3. IDENTIFYING THE INCORRECT OPTION
This section will illustrate the above mentioned ways of eliminating options. Although the questions and the options are meant only to give examples of all eight types of incorrect options, in order to make sense of the illustrations, you are expected to go through the passage on which the questions are based.
Passage 1
Read the passage, and answer the questions that follow:
Charles Baudelaire could be said to be the father of avant-garde modernity. By avant-garde modernity is meant: “the popular realization of the will of the masses, a will that is represented as art”. Art now is said to belong to the masses, it no longer belongs to the elites. It is the masses that have seized the art world. The elites have thus gone through a process of deconstruction. From henceforth there is no going back into history. One has to embrace the masses in order to understand, if not art per se, then at least modern art. But for Baudelaire art represents principally madness. His poem ‘The Flowers of Evil’ talks of the insanity of the human condition, an insanity where the masses are depicted in its most vulgar manner. If classical and romantic art had religious idioms, modern art used anti-religious symbols. If in the former, purity and chastity were symbolised in the form of the virgin figure, in modern art it is the flaneur - the prostitute and the rag picker - who come into the centre stage of the art world. Popular art, like popular philosophy, claims that this philosophy of the ‘popular’ has to seize the masses. Then art becomes “a material weapon”. The signature tune of modern art is no longer ‘good art’ but ‘mass art’, no longer necessity but freedom. The march-past of human history is carried out on the legs of human freedom.
But the genre of the popular art and popular philosophy has not to be confused with populism. Populism does not have to be confused with aesthetics as neither the ideas of the ‘good’ and the ‘beautiful’- ideas central to classical art - or the art and science of ‘sensations’ - the idea central to any art form - enters into its domain. Aesthetics after all is the art of arousing sensations. Indian art calls this ‘rasa’, loosely translated as ‘taste’. Ananda Coomaraswamy, the famous art historian, disagreed with this identification of art with aesthetics, as he understood the latter to be materialist and the former to be idealist in nature.
Modern art, as is modern philosophy, or the modern world itself, is rigorously distinct not only from the traditional life-world, but also distinct from the classical world. In modernity art is not measured in terms of the ‘good’ and the ‘beautiful’ (Plato is the best representative of the classical writer) but in terms of the arousal of sensations and the affirmation of individualism. The individual is depicted to have broken free from all fetters of community based social restraints. That is why the bohemian or the artistic representative of the plebeian is so important in modernity.
The difference between the traditional world and the modern world is based on the distinction between a God-centric world and a human-centric world, a world that recalls Nietzsche’s dictum: “God is dead”. The bohemian does not require God, in fact God is a fetter for the development of the plebeian. In Nietzsche’s ‘The Science of Happiness’ a mad man with a lantern is portrayed rushing into the streets and shouting “Where is God! Where is God!” The people assembled at the market place - here the people are the bohemians - burst out laughing and ask the mad man where God has gone. “Has God immigrated to a foreign land?” or “has God run away somewhere?” the bohemians ask the mad man. And then the mad man looks at the crowd and says, “I shall tell you. God is dead! We have killed him”.
Now for the bohemian the theme of the death of God is of central importance. In the Italian opera ‘La Boheme’, the composer Puccini, portrays a poet, a painter and a singer burning their works of art in order to get some warmth from the fire. If God is dead, for the bohemian, then so too is art. But that does not mean that art is nonsense. What is meant is that there can be nothing called ‘autonomous art’ or ‘art for the sake of art’. On the contrary art is said to pass over to life itself.
Questions:
1. Which of the following options best captures the essence of the text?
1. Modern art is a representation of the masses, not the classes.
2. Modern art is not restricted to classical ideals, nor does it adhere to religion and the concept of God; it is art as perceived by the soul of the ordinary human being and not ‘Art for the sake of Art’.
3. Modern art differs from traditional and classical art as it works on arousal of senses.
4. Modern art, like modern philosophy, is a human-centric depiction of the life as perceived by the masses, not to please the senses but arouse them.
5. The purpose of God has been served; hence modern philosophy and art do not underline His importance.
Explanation:
Option A is eliminated on account of being vague. It might be in tune with the passage but presents a very incomplete and half-baked view of the passage. It surely does not capture the essence of the passage in any way.
Option B is eliminated for its verbosity. If this option is stripped down to a simpler point of view, then one will realize that it really contains no valid information. The use of long phrases and words is to cover up the lack of relevant information.
Option C is true as per the passage, however it is incomplete. It does not talk about the human-centricity of modern art, nor does it mention the relevance of the masses in shaping modern philosophy.
Option E is very extreme. It is an exaggeration of the author’s point of view and can be easily eliminated on account of the language used and the extremity of the idea.
Hence, the correct answer is option D.
2. According to the passage, why do prostitutes and rag-pickers take centre stage in the world of modern art?
1. They are representatives of the ultimate levels of purity and chastity that form the cornerstone of the modernistic movement.
2. These characters are aimed at arousal of senses - the necessary condition for art to be modern.
3. They represent real-world characters and not ideals of chastity - socially and morally correct individuals.
4. These characters make the common man relate to art and they release him from the pressures of being aesthetically correct.
5. Modern art is all about understanding the masses and these characters constitute the masses.
Explanation:
Option A contradicts the ideas mentioned in the passage. Chastity and purity are the cornerstones of classical art, not modern art.
Option B is irrelevant with respect to this particular question. Although it uses a phrase (arousal of senses) taken from the passages, it has been used in a manner that is not synchronized with the ideas of the passage.
Option D comes quite close to being the correct option but has an altogether different writing style. Whereas the correct option sticks to the author’s explanation (of purity and chastity), this option looks at the idea from a different perspective and does not completely answer the question asked.
Option E is quite vague considering the question asked is very specific and not meant in the general way in which this option tries to answer it.
Hence, the correct answer is option C.
3. As per the passage, what can be inferred about the populism?
1. Populism conforms to neither the classical nor the traditional patterns of art and philosophy.
2. Populism does not represent the ‘good’ and ‘beautiful’ way of living; it is merely a depiction of an individualistic way of life.
3. Populism is the dictum of popular philosophy - a set of rules by which the common man exists.
4. Populism and aesthetics are like chalk and cheese.
5. Populism is the only form of art that can exist and be understood in a world that is devoid of God.
Explanation:
Option B is both incomplete and irrelevant at the same time. Incomplete because it leaves the correct idea midway and irrelevant because the second half is based on an incorrect inference that is not at all related to the question.
Option C firstly contradicts data given in the passage - populism and popular philosophy are two different things as per the passage. The second half of the option just manages to add irrelevant information to the contradiction of the first half.
Option D is much too vague to be the correct answer of the question. The option merely touches upon the subject and leaves it open-ended and unexplained.
Option E is exaggerated and contorts the author’s point of view by mixing different ideas mentioned by him at different places in the passage.
Hence, the correct answer is option A.
4. What is the main idea behind the opera ‘La Boheme’?
1. The Italian opera, ‘La Boheme’ depicts the life and struggles of the common man - it strives to show how the elite of the world have deconstructed and this degeneration has led to artists having to choose between their work and their survival.
2. ‘La Boheme’ paints a picture of a Godless world where the circumstances have led people to choose survival over their ambitions.
3. The opera is a depiction of a dystopian world where lack of belief in God has led to the demise of ideals among the masses.
4. ‘La Boheme’ strives to show that art is not nonsense but a way of life.
5. The different categories of art form the binding theme of ‘La Boheme’ - an opera that teaches the artist not to give up on his work irrespective of his circumstances.
Explanation:
Option A is too verbose to be the most appropriate answer. Irrelevant and incorrect information has been used to furnish this option, which, in the end, doesn’t even get to the point.
Option C exaggerates the author’s point of view by assuming that the world created by the opera is devoid of belief in God and that the characters in it have let go of their ideals.
Option D is vague and uses the lines following the description of the opera to add to its length. The result is an incorrect combination of vagueness and irrelevance.
Option E is partially true as the first half is clearly mentioned in the passage. The second half, however, is an assumption. Also, the first half is true as an inference but not relevant as the main idea of the opera.
Hence, the correct answer is option B.
5. According to Ananda Coomaraswamy, what is the underlying difference between aesthetics and art?
1. Ananda Coomaraswamy, the accomplished art historian, is of the opinion that aesthetics is the basic essence of art.
2. Ananda Coomaraswamy, the accomplished art historian, is of the opinion that aesthetics and art are not related at all as the former is spiritualistic while the latter is materialistic.
3. Ananda Coomaraswamy, the accomplished art historian, is of the opinion that art and aesthetics are paradoxically related, one being representative of the materials whims of the masses while the other sticking to the traditional mindset of the elite.
4. Ananda Coomaraswamy, the accomplished art historian, is of the opinion that art and aesthetics are unrelated as art is idealistic in nature while aesthetics appeal to the materialistic part of our mind.
5. Ananda Coomaraswamy, the accomplished art historian, is of the opinion that aesthetics can never reach the high ideals of art as it is highly materialistic in nature.
Explanation:
Firstly, all the options have the repeated phrase ‘Ananda Coomaraswamy, the accomplished art historian, is of the opinion that’ and thus, this phrase can be stripped down to get to the basic idea of each option. Once this is done, elimination becomes easier.
Option A is explicitly contradicting Ananda Coomaraswamy’s ideas as it states that aesthetics form the essence of art whereas he believes that they are unrelated.
Option B is contradictory to the point of view of the said historian as it states that art is materialistic while aesthetics is spiritualistic. Both these judgements are quite different from the actual point of view.
Option C is both verbose and irrelevant. Ananda Coomaraswamy does not talk about the masses and the elite at all. The option mixes two different points and attempts to cause confusion.
Option E may be partially true but the writing style is very biased and actually looks down upon aesthetics. This bias definitely cannot be inferred from the ideas put forth by Ananda Coomaraswamy.
Hence, the correct answer is option D.
SUMMARY:
Look for the following qualities in an option while trying to eliminate:
• The option is too verbose, too wordy and looks made up.
• The option is vague and uses impressive words without driving home the point.
• The option, explicitly or implicitly, contradicts data given in the passage.
• The option contains irrelevant information which might be true but not related to the question. The option might be an exaggeration of the author’s point of view.
• The option may be partially true or incomplete with respect to the question.
• The option may contain repeated phrases to hamper readability.
4. SOLVED EXAMPLES
Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow.
Passage 2:
[JMET 2010]
Let us take a look at the pressures building up. To start off, there is the long term rise in the cost of energy. Every time the cost of transportation goes up, employers are compelled to increase wages accordingly. They may resist for a time, but if they want their workers to show up, they eventually have to provide a transportation subsidy. It is built right into the wage structure.
Next, the entire system of commuting implies hidden costs. Companies that bring employees to a central location wind up paying more for real estate; they pay higher taxes, maintenance costs and salaries. They often have to provide cafeterias, locker rooms, and in suburban locations, parking facilities - there is a whole infrastructure that supports the commuting process. All of these costs have been skyrocketing.
By contrast, as we all know, the cost of telecommunications and computing and video equipment, and other tools for "telecommuting" are plummeting. So you have two powerful economic curves about to intersect. But even more importantly, we all worry about productivity. Without doubt, the single most anti productive thing that we do is to shift millions of people back and forth across the landscape everyday. A waste of time, of human creativity, of millions of barrels of non-renewable fuel, a cause of pollution, crowding and god knows what else.
We worry about the human effects of home-work. But how human is commuting itself? For most workers commuting is the unpaid part of the job, being isolated for hours at a time. Commuting was important when most workers had to handle physical goods in factories. Today, as the Third Wave industries expand, many workers travel to work to handle information, ideas, numbers, programs, formulas, designs and symbols and it is a lot cheaper to move the information to the workers than the workers to the information.
There are all kinds of parallel cultural and value shifts as well that support the idea. The new emphasis on revived family life. The decentralist push - nothing is more decentralized than working at home. The resistance to forced mobility - you do not have to move your family when you change your job. Environmental conceal- nothing pollutes more than centralized production.
Add all these pressures together, and you understand why this transfer of certain jobs into the home seems so likely. Moreover, you have to see this development not by itself, but as linked to the demassification of production and distribution; decentralization towards the regions: rising importance of information; the appearance of wholly new, unprecedented industries; the breakdown of national tools for economic regulation or management, and the rising importance of co-production and non-market production.
We are restructuring the economy on all these fronts at once. No wonder our economic vocabulary is outdated. No wonder our economic maps no longer reflect the terrain. A new Third Wave economy is taking shape.
1. The above passage DOES NOT talk about:
(1) The essential nature of commuting.
(2) Additive costs of commuting.
(3) Changing nature of social values.
(4) Rise of the knowledge economy.
2. Which of the following can be the MOST APPROPRIATE title for the passage?
(1) To Commute or to Produce?
(2) The future of work
(3) The “Third Wave Economy”
(4) In support of “home-work”
3. Which of the following statements can be deduced from the given passage'?
(1) Rise in transportation costs leads to loss in productivity.
(2) Commuting is the least productive aspect of today's economy.
(3) Renewed emphasis on family life is pushing down telecommuting costs.
(4) Physical production in factories has been replaced by information, design and symbols.
4. As per the passage, which of the following is NOT a reason for working from home?
(1) increasing energy costs
(2) decreasing telecommuting costs
(3) increasing levels of social diversity
(4) regional decentralization
Explanations:
1. Option 3 has been indicated in paragraph five of the passage: “There are all kinds of parallel cultural and value shifts….the new emphasis on renewed family life”
Option 2 has been mentioned in paragraph one.
Option 4 has been mentioned in paragraph four.
Option 1 has not been stated in the passage, nor can be implied.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
2. The passage makes a strong case of working from home. The entire case has been made with the background of the emergence of the third wave economy. The mention of third wave industries, two powerful economic curves about to intersect, and the mention of how things are fundamentally about to change in the last two paragraphs make a strong case for option 3.
Options 1 and 2 are narrow. They touch upon parts of the passage without encompassing the entire passage.
Option 4 comes tantalizingly close to the right answer except for the last two paragraphs of the passage.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
3. The rise in transportation has been associated with rise in costs and waste of non-renewable fuel, waste of human creativity and time, crowding etc. This data as well as the passage implies that community wastes a lot of time and resources which could have otherwise been utilized effectively- in effect commuting is the least productive aspect. This is stated in option 2.
However, least productive aspect has not been connected with transport costs. The passage merely states that increased transport costs compel companies to pay higher wages to their employees. Eliminate option 1.
Reduced telecommunications costs and renewed emphasis on family life have been mentioned independently of each other. The cause-effect relationship is missing. Eliminate option 3.
Similarly, physical production in factories, information design and symbols have been mentioned independently in the passage. Eliminate option 4.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
4. The entire passage makes a case for working from home and provides various reasons for it. ‘Increased energy costs’ have been mentioned in paragraph one, ‘decreased telecommunications costs’ have been mentioned in paragraph two, and ‘regional decentralization’ has been mentioned in paragraph four.
‘Increasing levels of social diversity’ has not been mentioned in the passage.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Passage 3:
[FMS 2010]
FDI can promote diffusion of international technology if the technological advantages of multinational firms do not remain restricted to one firm or its affiliates. Technological spillover may take place in the recipient country through demonstration effects (imitation), labour turnover, or increased com¬petition. The channels for spillover can be horizontal (originating in the entry of the multinational-investor in the same sector) or vertical (originating in backward links when local suppliers supply multinational inves¬tors or in forward links when local customers buy from multinational investors).
Because a multinational has more incentive to promote local suppliers, backward links may be more widely observed than horizontal links, which inherently are associated with increased competition Research by Javorcik (2004) finds a positive effect of FDI on Lithuanian local suppliers work though backward links. Another finding is that greater productivity gains are associated with projects partially owned by foreign entities (joint ventures), suggesting that domestic capital participation increases produc¬tivity spillover. That could serve as an interesting model for Russia might be able to attract FDI top complement domestic firms' market share to direct foreign competition.
The evidence from Russia indicates that FDI inflows are lagging behind those of some BRICS comparators (see box 3-1), suggesting that the benefits from international technology diffusion have flowed to only a few economic sectors, with FDI heavily concentrated in oil and natural resources. At the same time, the large increases in FDI observed since 2002 suggest a growing balance within manufacturing and between the manufacturing and service sectors, indication that the growing domestic demand for consumer goods is driving a consistent share of total FDI flows in Russia.
Russian multinationals continue to dominate the outward FDI of the south¬ eastern Europe and CIS region for FDI in joint ventures and mergers, accounting for 87 percent of the total in 2005.Iinvestment includes large deals to acquire and create joint ventures with enterprises in developed economics - notably Lukoil's purchase of Nelson Resources, a Canadian based oil company, and the recently announced merger of the aluminium and alumina assets of RUSAL, the SUAL Group, and Glencore Interna¬tional. Such partnerships are likely to gain in importance, given evidence that foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) have been important for increasing labour productivity and export competitiveness in such countries as China.
One of the most powerful channels for technology' diffusion is the information and communications technology (ICT) channel. Usually, a good indicator of a country's capacity to leverage the ICT channel is the amount of FDI in communications, which in Russia remains extremely low (0.4 percent of total annual FDI in 2004-05). Moreover, according to various private sources, such as WITSA (2006), the amount of ICT investment in Russia, as a percent of GDP, is substantially lower than that in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries.
Note that neither trade in capital goods nor FDI inflows are sufficient for the successful diffusion of technology. A country must be ready to absorb foreign knowledge and manufacturing and sales methods. In Russia vertical knowledge spillover could be hampered by the central planning legacy of large industrial plants, -which were more vertically integrated than 'Western plants. Moreover, local R& D, domestic research laboratories, and workers with the right skills are key aspects of the process. Trade competition and R&D expenditures are closely interrelated: unless a country is also well endowed in R&D and invests in R&D , spillover is not likely.
Box 3-1. Gain from Reducing Barriers to Trade and to FDI Flows in Russia
Russia stands only to gain by reducing its barriers to trade and FDI inflows and thus reaping the benefits of global integration, increased competitiveness, and improved access to business services.
Tariff barriers: The CIS has high average tariff and nontariff barriers, which would need to be reduced in the medium term in order to gain from international integration. For Russia in particular, Rutherford and Tarr (2006) shows that the average tariff increased between 2001 and 2003 from 11.5 percent to between 13 and 14.5 percent, placing its tariff rates (unweighted, or weighed averages) at a higher level than those of other middle-income countries, which average 10.6 percent. A reduction in the import tariff by 50 percent will produce gains to the economy on two counts: one, improved domestic resource allocation due to a shift in production to sectors where the value of production is higher, based on world market prices, and two, an increase in Russian productivity as a result of Russian businesses being able to import modern technologies. The second impact is more important for Russia.
Trade Restrictiveness Index: Kee, Nicita, and Olarreage (2006) com¬putes indicators of trade restrictiveness that include measures of tariff and nontariff barriers for ninety-one developing and industrial countries. Of the indicators for the manufacturing sector, one focuses on the trade distortions imposed by each country on imports and another focuses on market access for exports in the rest of the world. It is interesting to note that the trade restrictiveness index (TRI) for imports .for Russia (.19) is lower than that for
Brazil (.22) and India (.20) but higher than that for South Africa (.06). China (.12) and the European Union (.08).
Russia's TRI is the highest in the Europe and Central Asia region, a reflection of the high tariff and nontariff barriers that it imposes on its imports. On the other hand, Russia faces less trade distortion on its• exports from the rest of the world, China being the only country facing a lower level of restrictiveness.
Barriers to FDI: Russia fares worse than other countries in the region, attracting one of the lowest levels of FDI inflows. Among the key restrictions on foreign service providers in Russia are the monopoly of Rostelecom on fixed-line telephone services, the prohibition of affiliate branches of foreign banks, and the restricted quota on the share multinationals in the insurance sector. The reduction barriers to FDI in services alone would result in a gain of the order of 3.7 percent of GDP, accounting for about three-quarters of the total gains to Russia from WTO accession. The reduction in barriers to FDI in the service sector would allow multinationals to obtain greater post tax benefits on their investments, encouraging them to increase FDI to supply the Russia market. That in turn would lead to an increase in total service providers in Russia, giving Russian users improved access to telecommunication, banking, insurance, and other business services; lowering the cost of doing business and increasing the productivity of Russian forms using those services; and providing a growth impetus to the economy.
1. Which of the following is a correct statement?
(1) Local suppliers promote multinationals
(2) Horizontal links are associated with increased competition
(3) Backward links are associated with increased competition
(4) Multinationals promote backward links
2. According to the passage,
(1) FDI inflows into Russia are the highest amongst BRICS
(2) FDI inflows into Russia are the lowest amongst BRICS
(3) Some BRIC countries are ahead of Russia in terms of FDI inflows
(4) All BRIC countries are ahead of Russia in terms of FDI inflows
3. Since the year 2002,
(1) FDI was made largely into oil and natural resources
(2) All sectors in Russia have received nearly equal amount of FDI inflow
(3) Manufacturing sector has received far more FDI inflow than service sector
(4) Service sector has received far more FDI inflow than the manufacturing sector
4. Russian multinationals
(1) receive most of FDI from South-eastern Europe
(2) invest most of FDI into South-eastern Europe
(3) invest largely in CIS countries
(4) do not receive much FDI from CIS countries
5. According to the passage,
(1) Russian MNCs have created large partnerships
(2) Russian MNCs have refrained from entering into JVs and Mergers
(3) Large European and US MNCs have deliberately kept Russian MNCs out of all major deals
(4) None of the above
6. The most suitable title for the above passage is
(1) Russian MNCs
(2) Multinational investments
(3) Foreign Direct Investment
(4) Diffusion of International Technology
7. The passage suggests that
(1) Russia has benefited from information and communication technologies (lCT) as a powerful channel
(2) Compared to Russia, Central and Eastern European countries have received far less amount of ICT investment
(3) Central and Eastern European countries have received far more of ICT investment
(4) Russia was found ready to absorb vertical knowledge spill-over
Explanations:
1. Option 1 is incorrect. The passage states that a positive effect of FDI on Lithuanian local suppliers working through backward links was found. From this, we cannot make a conclusion that local suppliers promote multinationals.
Option 3 is an incorrect statement. The passage has nothing to say with regard to backward links and increased competition.
Option 4 is partially correct. The passage states that “because a multinational has more incentives to promote local suppliers, backward links may be more widely observed…”
The following extract, “… backward links may be more widely observed than horizontal links, which inherently are associated with increased competition” determines option 2 to be the correct statement. Hence option 2 scores over option 4.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
2. The following extract, “The evidence from Russia indicates that FDI inflows are lagging behind those of some BRICs comparators…” determines option 3 to be the correct answer option.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
3. The following extract, “At the same time, the large increases in FDI observed since 2002 suggest a growing balance within manufacturing and between the manufacturing and service sectors…” points to option 2 as being the correct answer option.
Option 1 can also be eliminated since it pertains to FDI made prior to 2002.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
4. The following extract, “Russian multinationals continue to dominate the outward FDI of the South-Eastern Europe and CIS region for FDI in joint ventures and mergers, accounting for 87 percent of the total in 2005” point to option 1 as being the correct answer option.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
5. The following extract, “Investment includes large deals to acquire and create joint ventures with enterprises…” establishes the fact that Russian MNCs have created large partnerships. The passage goes on to give two examples of such large partnerships. This establishes option 1 to be the correct answer option.
In light of the above explanation, we can eliminate option 2.
Option 3 has not been explicitly mentioned nor can it be implied from the passage.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
6. Option 1 can be eliminated since the passage mentions Russian MNCs only in one paragraph.
Option 2 can be eliminated as multinational investments in are a part, but not the essence of the passage.
It is a close choice between options 3 and 4.
The first and the last paragraphs are entirely about diffusion of international technology and the paragraphs in-between move on to FDI and how FDI inflow is necessary. The idea of FDI inflow emanates from the need to promote diffusion of international technology. Infact the last paragraph is entirely about how FDI inflows are not a sufficient factor for diffusion of technology. Thus the entire passage makes a case for a builds up factors that would help the diffusion of international technology.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
7. The following extract, “… the amount of ICT investment in Russia, as a percent of GDP, is substantially lower than that in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries” establishes option 3 to be the correct answer option.
In light of the above extract, option 2 can be eliminated.
The following extract, “… is the amount of FDI in communications, which in Russia remains extremely low (0.4 percent of total annual FDI in 2004-05)” establishes option 1 to be incorrect.
Option 4 is incorrect since the passage implies that since Russian plants were more vertically integrated than Western ones, absorption of technology was slow.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Passage 4:
[IIFT 2009]
"All raw sugar comes to us this way. You see, it is about the color of maple or brown sugar, but it is not nearly so pure, for it has a great deal of dirt mixed with it when we first get it."
"Where does it come from?" inquired Bob.
"Largely from the plantations of Cuba and Porto Rico. Toward the end of the year we also get raw sugar from Java, and by the time this is refined and ready for the market the new crop from the West Indies comes along. In addition to this we get consignments from the Philippine Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, South America, Formosa, and Egypt. I suppose it is quite unnecessary to tell you young men anything of how the cane is grown; of course you know all that."
"I don't believe we do, except in a general way," Bob admitted honestly. "I am ashamed to be so green about a thing at which Dad has been working for years. I don't know why I never asked about it before. I guess I never was interested. I simply took it for granted."
"That's the way with most of us," was the superintendent's kindly answer. "We accept many things in the world without actually knowing much about them, and it is not until something brings our ignorance before us that we take the pains to focus our attention and learn about them. So do not be ashamed that you do not know about sugar raising; I didn't when I was your age. Suppose, then, I give you a little idea of what happens before this raw sugar can come to us."
"I wish you would," exclaimed both boys in a breath.
"Probably in your school geographies you have seen pictures of sugar-cane and know that it is a tall perennial not unlike our Indian corn in appearance; it has broad, flat leaves that sometimes measure as many as three feet in length, and often the stalk itself is twenty feet high. This stalk is jointed like a bamboo pole, the joints being about three inches apart near the roots and increasing in distance the higher one gets from the ground."
"How do they plant it?" Bob asked.
"It can be planted from seed, but this method takes much time and patience; the usual way is to plant it from cuttings, or slips. The first growth from these cuttings is called plant cane; after these are taken off the roots send out ratoons or shoots from which the crop of one or two years, and sometimes longer, is taken. If the soil is not rich and moist replanting is more frequently necessary and in places like Louisiana, where there is annual frost, planting must be done each year. When the cane is ripe it is cut and brought from the field to a central sugar mill, where heavy iron rollers crush from it all the juice. This liquid drips through into troughs from which it is carried to evaporators where the water portion of the sap is eliminated and the juice left; you would be surprised if you were to see this liquid. It looks like nothing so much as the soapy, bluish-gray dish-water that is left in the pan after the dishes have been washed."
"A tempting picture!" Van exclaimed.
"I know it. Sugar isn't very attractive during its process of preparation," agreed Mr. Hennessey. "The sweet liquid left after the water has been extracted is then poured into vacuum pans to be boiled until the crystals form in it, after which it is put into whirling machines, called centrifugal machines that separate the dry sugar from the syrup with which it is mixed. This syrup is later boiled into molasses. The sugar is then dried and packed in these burlap sacks such as you see here, or in hogsheads, and shipped to refineries to be cleansed and whitened."
"Isn't any of the sugar refined in the places where it grows?" queried Bob.
"Practically none. Large refining plants are too expensive to be erected everywhere; it therefore seems better that they should be built in our large cities, where the shipping facilities are good not only for receiving sugar in its raw state but for distributing it after it has been refined and is ready for sale. Here, too, machinery can more easily be bought and the business handled with less difficulty."
1. Which one of the following is not a essential condition for setting up sugar refining plants?
(1) Facilities for transportation of machinery
(2) Facilities for import of raw material
(3) Facilities for transportation of finished products
(4) Proximity to the raw material sources
2. Which of the following is the correct sequence of sugar preparation process?
(1) Cutting Crushing Evaporation Boiling Whirling.
(2) Boiling Crushing Evaporation Whirling Cutting.
(3) Cutting Boiling Evaporation Crushing Whirling.
(4) Whirling Crushing Boiling Evaporation Cutting.
3. Which of the following statements, as per the paragraph, is incorrect?
(1) Sugar in its raw from is brownish in colour due to the presence of dirt
(2) After evaporation, cane juice looks bluish – gray in colour
(3) Molasses is obtained as a bye-product from the process of sugar production
(4) Cane plantation and sugar production process is widely and equally spread across the countries.
Explanations:
1. The last paragraph states that sugar refining plants can be set up in large cities which provide- good shipping facilities for receiving raw material and transporting the finished product and easy transport of machinery.
Hence, the correct answer is option D.
2. The correct sequence of sugar preparation is explained in the last three paragraphs of the passage – Cutting Crushing Evaporation Boiling Whirling.
Hence, the correct answer is option A.
3. Option A is mentioned in the first paragraph of the passage.
Option B is mentioned in “It looks like nothing so much as the soapy bluish-gray dish water that is left in the pan after the dishes have been washed”.
Option C is stated in the penultimate paragraph of the passage which states that the process of whirling separates the dry sugar from the syrup. The syrup is later boiled into molasses. This eliminates option C.
Option D has no supporting data in the passage.
Hence, the correct answer is option D.
Passage 5:
[XAT 2009]
The greens’ success has clear policy implications, especially on issues of nuclear power, ecological tax reform, and citizenship rights. But success also has implications for parties themselves. Greens have always faced a unique ‘strategic conundrum’ arising from their unique beliefs and movement roots. Put simply, how can they reconcile their radical alternative politics with participation in mainstream or ‘grey’ parliamentary and government structures? Throughout the 1990s most parties shed their radical cloth in an attempt to capture votes, even at the expense of party unity and purity. Most were rewarded with electoral success well beyond what had been imaginable in the 1980s. The price to pay has been tortured internal debates about strategy, and new questions about green party identity and purpose. Today the key questions facing green parties revolve around not whether to embrace power, but what to do with it. More specifically, green parties face three new challenges in the new millennium: first, how to carve out a policy niche as established parties and governments become wiser to green demands, and as green concerns themselves appear more mainstream. Second, how to make green ideas beyond the confines of rich industrialised states into Eastern Europe and the developing world where green parties remain marginal and environmental problems acute. Third, how to ensure that the broader role of green parties- as consciousness raisers, agitators, conscience of parliament and politics- is not sacrificed on the altar of electoral success. Green parties have come a long way since their emergence and development in the 1970s and 1980s. They have become established players able to shape party competition, government formation, and government policy. But this very ‘establishment’ carries risk for a party whose core values and identities depend mightily on their ability to challenge the conventional order, to agitate and to annoy. For most green parties, the greatest fear is not electoral decline so much as the prospect of becoming a party with parliamentary platform, ministerial voice, but nothing to say.
1. Which out of the following is closest in meaning to the first three challenges mentioned in the paragraph?
(1) Niche of green parties is being eroded by mainstream parties.
(2) Green parties are finding it difficult to find new strategy.
(3) Green parties have become stronger over a period of time.
(4) Some green parties are becoming grey.
(5) Non green parties are becoming less relevant than green parties.
2. Which of the following is the most important point that author highlights?
(1) Challenges before green parties to change their strategy from green activism to green governance.
(2) How should green parties win confidence and support of governments?
(3) Transformation of green parties in recent decades.
(4) Green movement is not strong in developing countries.
(5) Non green parties are becoming less relevant than green parties.
3. How best can mainstream political parties, in India, keep green parties at bay?
(1) By imposing a green tax.
(2) By allowing carbon trading.
(3) By including green agenda in their governance.
(4) By hiring Al Gore, the Nobel prize winner, as an ambassador.
(5) By not letting green parties fight elections.
Explanations:
1. The first of three challenges is, “… how to carve out a policy niche as established parties and governments become wiser to green demands, and as green concerns themselves appear more mainstream”. This means that established parties are espousing the same ideologies as the Green parties.
Option B is incorrect since the challenge is focus is on creating a niche, and not new strategy.
Option C, while true, is incorrect since it does not answer the question stem.
Option D mentions that ‘some green parties are becoming grey’, which is not relevant in the context of the passage.
Option E is not relevant to the challenge.
The challenge refers to the fact that the green parties need to create their own niche. From this it can be inferred that this need has arisen because their current niche is being eroded.
Hence, the correct answer is option A.
2. The focus of the passage is on the success of the greens’, and the resulting challenges that they face. Hence, we look for an option that comes closest to this.
The aim of green parties was never to win confidence and support of governments: “… carries risk for a party whose core values and identities depend mightily on their ability to challenge the conventional order, to agitate and to annoy”. Hence, option B is an incorrect statement and is eliminated.
Option C is incorrect because it talks of ‘transformation’. This is not the focus of the passage.
Option D, while true is not the most important point that the author highlights.
Option E is irrelevant in the context of this question.
Option A comes closest to the focus stated above. It highlights the point made by the author that success has brought new challenges to the greens’.
Hence, the correct answer is option A.
3. We are looking for an option that reduces the importance and the requirement of green parties in India. We get a clue from the passage, “how to carve out a policy niche as established parties and governments become wiser to green demands, and as green concerns themselves appear more mainstream.”
Options A, B and D, while perhaps feasible steps, in themselves, are too specific in nature.
Option E is not feasible in a democratic set up and is eliminated.
Option C is a broad step, which takes away the platform that the green parties have or may raise. The passage also states that this is currently happening to green parties. Hence, this is the best alternative to combat green parties.
Hence, the correct answer is option C.
Passage 6:
[CAT 2006]
Fifteen years after communism was officially pronounced dead, its spectre seems once again to be haunting Europe. Last month, the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly voted to condemn the crimes of totalitarian communist regimes,“ linking them with Nazism and complaining that communist parties are still legal and active in some countries." Now Goran Lindblad, the conservative Swedish MP behind the resolution, wants to go further. Demands that European Ministers launch a continent-wide anti-communist campaign - including school textbook revisions, official memorial days, and museums - only narrowly missed the necessary two-thirds majority. Mr. Lindblad pledged to bring the wider plans back to the Council of Europe in the coming months.
He has chosen a good year for his ideological offensive: this is the 50th anniversary of Nikita Khrushchev‘s denunciation of Josef Stalin and the subsequent Hungarian uprising, which will doubtless be the cue for further excoriation of the communist record. Paradoxically, given that there is no communist government left in Europe outside Moldova, the attacks have if anything, become more extreme as time has gone on. A clue as to why that might be can be found in the rambling report by Mr. Lindblad that led to the Council of Europe declaration. Blaming class struggle and public ownership, he explained different elements of communist ideology such as equality or social justice still seduce many “and a sort of nostalgia for communism is still alive." Perhaps the real problem for Mr. Lindblad and his right-wing allies in Eastern Europe is that communism is not dead enough - and they will only be content when they have driven a stake through its heart.
The fashionable attempt to equate communism and Nazism is in reality a moral and historical nonsense. Despite the cruelties of the Stalin terror, there was no Soviet Treblinka or Sorbibor, no extermination camps built to murder millions. Nor did the Soviet Union launch the most devastating war in history at a cost of more than 50 million lives - in fact it played the decisive role in the defeat of the German war machine. Mr. Lindblad and the Council of Europe adopt as fact the wildest estimates of those killed by communist regimes (mostly in famines) from the fiercely contested Black Book of Communism, which also underplays the number of deaths attributable to Hitler. But, in any case, none of this explains why anyone might be nostalgic in former communist states, now enjoying the delights of capitalist restoration. The dominant account gives no sense of how communist regimes renewed themselves after 1956 or why Western leaders feared they might overtake the capitalist world well into the 1960s. For all its brutalities and failures, communism in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere delivered rapid industrialization, mass education, job security, and huge advances in social and gender equality. Its existence helped to drive up welfare standards in the West, and provided a powerful counterweight to Western global domination.
It would be easier to take the Council of Europe’s condemnation of communist state crimes seriously if it had also seen fit to denounce the far bloodier record of European colonialism - which only finally came to an end in the 1970s. This was a system of racist despotism, which dominated the globe in Stalin‘s time. And while there is precious little connection between the ideas of fascism and communism, there is an intimate link between colonialism and Nazism. The terms lebensraum and konzentrationslager were both first used by the German colonial regime in south-west Africa (now Namibia), which committed genocide against the Herero and Nama peoples and bequeathed its ideas and personnel directly to the Nazi party.
Around 10 million Congolese died as a result of Belgian forced labour and mass murder in the early twentieth century; tens of millions perished in avoidable or enforced famines in British-ruled India; up to a million Algerians died in their war for independence, while controversy now rages in France about a new law requiring teachers to put a positive spin on colonial history. Comparable atrocities were carried out by all European colonialists, but not a word of condemnation from the Council of Europe. Presumably, European lives count for more.
No major twentieth century political tradition is without blood on its hands, but battles over history are more about the future than the past. Part of the current enthusiasm in official Western circles for dancing on the grave of communism is no doubt about relations with today‘s Russia and China. But it also reflects a determination to prove there is no alternative to the new global capitalist order - and that any attempt to find one is bound to lead to suffering. With the new imperialism now being resisted in the Muslim world and Latin America, growing international demands for social justice and ever greater doubts about whether the environmental crisis can be solved within the existing economic system, the pressure for alternatives will increase.
1. Among all the apprehensions that Mr. Goran Lindblad expresses against communism, which one gets admitted, although indirectly, by the author?
(1) There is nostalgia for communist ideology even if communism has been abandoned by most European nations.
(2) Notions of social justice inherent in communist ideology appeal to critics of existing systems.
(3) Communist regimes were totalitarian and marked by brutalities and large scale violence.
(4) The existing economic order is wrongly viewed as imperialistic by proponents of communism.
(5) Communist ideology is faulted because communist regimes resulted in economic failures.
2. What, according to the author, is the real reason for a renewed attack against communism?
(1) Disguising the unintended consequences of the current economic order such as social injustice and environmental crisis.
(2) Idealising the existing ideology of global capitalism.
(3) Making communism a generic representative of all historical atrocities, especially those perpetrated by the European imperialists.
(4) Communism still survives, in bits and pieces, in the minds and hearts of people.
(5) Renewal of some communist regimes has led to the apprehension that communist nations might overtake the capitalists.
3. The author cites examples of atrocities perpetrated by European colonial regimes in order to
(1) compare the atrocities committed by colonial regimes with those of communist regimes.
(2) prove that the atrocities committed by colonial regimes were more than those of communist regimes.
(3) prove that, ideologically, communism was much better than colonialism and Nazism.
(4) neutralise the arguments of Mr. Lindblad and to point out that the atrocities committed by colonial regimes were more than those of communist regimes.
(5) neutralise the arguments of Mr. Lindblad and to argue that one needs to go beyond and look at the motives of these regimes.
4. Why, according to the author, is Nazism closer to colonialism than it is to communism?
(1) Both colonialism and Nazism were examples of tyranny of one race over another.
(2) The genocides committed by the colonial and the Nazi regimes were of similar magnitude.
(3) Several ideas of the Nazi regime were directly imported from colonial regimes.
(4) Both colonialism and Nazism are based on the principles of imperialism.
(5) While communism was never limited to Europe, both the Nazis and the colonialists originated in Europe.
5. Which of the following cannot be inferred as a compelling reason for the silence of the Council of Europe on colonial atrocities?
(1) The Council of Europe being dominated by erstwhile colonialists.
(2) Generating support for condemning communist ideology.
(3) Unwillingness to antagonize allies by raking up an embarrassing past.
(4) Greater value seemingly placed on European lives.
(5) Portraying both communism and Nazism as ideologies to be condemned.
Explanations:
1. It has been clearly stated in the passage at two places. “Despite the cruelties of the Stalin terror, there was no Soviet Treblinka or Sorbibor, no extermination camps built to murder millions.” Still later on, “For all its brutalities and failures, communism in the Soviet union, …” No option other than option 3 merits evaluation.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
2. From the last paragraph: “Part of the current enthusiasm in official western circles for dancing on the grave of communism is no doubt about relations with today’s Russia and China. But it also reflects a determination to prove there is no alternative to the new global capitalist order – and that any attempt to find one is bound to lead to suffering.”
From the second paragraph: “Blaming class struggle and public ownership … and they will only be content when they have driven a stake through its heart.” This part of the passage also gives certain reasons which will answer the above question.
Based on these two parts of the passage, the options to be evaluated are option 2 and option 4. Option 4 gets eliminated because the question asks the ‘real’ reason. If communism did not pose a threat to capitalism, there is no need to destroy it completely. Mere survival of something cannot be sufficient reason to destroy it, unless it is a threat to something else. As a result option 2 becomes the real reason and not option 4.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
3. The reason why the writer cites examples of colonial atrocities has to be inferred from the passage. The writer’s apparently pro-communism stand is attributable to his comparison of communism, colonialism, and Nazism. Comparing these three the writer argues that communism is the least evil of the three. The writer compares Colonialism to Nazism because the Council of Europe (Mr. Lindblad) and the ‘anti-communists’ compare communism to Nazism. The writer argues that colonialism is closer to Nazism than is communism because of the motives of each. The writer terms colonialism and Nazism as ‘racist despotism’ whereas communism had helped a large number of people. He states: “It would be easier to take the Council of Europe’s condemnation of communist state crimes seriously if it had also seen fit to denounce the far bloodier record of European colonialism …” The atrocities attributed to colonialism neutralizes the arguments of Lindblad against communism, and calls for an objective evaluation of communism, colonialism, and Nazism as mentioned in option 5.
The other options may appear close when the comprehension of the passage is not adequate. One may mistakenly choose option 4 in this case. However, option 4 though correct in the light of the passage is not the writer’s purpose in citing the example.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.
4. The writer, in the passage, establishes greater similarity between colonialism and Nazism than communism and Nazism because “the fashionable attempt (by Lidblad) to equate communism and Nazism is in reality a moral and historical nonsense.” If communism has less to do with Nazism the question actually is what makes colonialism closer to Nazism?
Option 3 may be chosen mistakenly if one is trying to find one of the intimate links between Nazism and colonialism without any reference to communism. Also, note that the options states “imported from colonial regimes”, whereas the text below shows that it was the German colonial regime.
From the fourth and fifth paragraphs of the passage:
“The terms lebensraum and konzentrationslager were both first used by the German colonial regime in south - west Africa (now Namibia), which committed genocide against the Herero and Nama peoples and bequeathed its ideas and personnel directly to the Nazi party.
Around 10 million Congolese died as a result of Belgian forced labour and mass murder in the early twentieth century; tens of millions perished in avoidable or enforced famines in British-ruled India; up to a million Algerians died in their war for independence, while controversy now rages in France about a new law requiring teachers to put a positive spin on colonial history.”
Option 1 answers the question by covering the gist of the two paragraphs that are relevant to the question: that both are examples of tyranny …. or ‘racist despotism’.
The other options are not supported by the passage.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
5. All options are compelling reasons for the silence of the Council of Europe about colonial atrocities, whereas option 4 is the compelling reason for its (council of Europe’s) condemnation of communism.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
Passage 7:
[CAT 2005]
A game of strategy, as currently conceived in game theory, is a situation in which two or more "players" make choices among available alternatives (moves). The totality of choices determines the outcomes of the game, and it is assumed that the rank order of preferences for the outcomes is different for different players. Thus the "interests" of the players are generally in conflict. Whether these interests are diametrically opposed or only partially opposed depends on the type of game.
Psychologically, most interesting situations arise when the interests of the players are partly coincident and partly opposed, because then one can postulate not only a conflict among the players but also inner conflicts within the players. Each is torn between a tendency to cooperate, so as to promote the common interests, and a tendency to compete, so as to enhance his own individual interests.
Internal conflicts are always psychologically interesting. What we vaguely call "interesting" psychology is in very great measure the psychology of inner conflict. Inner conflict is also held to be an important component of serious literature as distinguished from less serious genres. The classical tragedy, as well as the serious novel, reveals the inner conflict of central figures. The superficial adventure story, on the other hand, depicts only external conflict; that is, the threats to the person with whom the reader (or viewer) identifies stem in these stories exclusively from external obstacles and from the adversaries who create them. On the most primitive level this sort of external conflict is psychologically empty. In the fisticuffs between the protagonists of good and evil, no psychological problems are involved or, at any rate, none are depicted in juvenile representations of conflict.
The detective story, the "adult" analogue of a juvenile adventure tale, has at times been described as a glorification of intellectualized conflict. However, a great deal of the interest in the plots of these stories is sustained by withholding the unraveling of a solution to a problem. The effort of solving the problem is in itself not a conflict if the adversary (the unknown criminal) remains passive, like Nature, whose secrets the scientist supposedly unravels by deduction. If the adversary actively puts obstacles in the detective's path toward the solution, there is genuine conflict. But the conflict is psychologically interesting only to the extent that it contains irrational components such as a tactical error on the criminal's part or the detective's insight into some psychological quirk of the criminal or something of this sort. Conflict conducted in a perfectly rational manner is psychologically no more interesting than a standard Western. For example, Tic-tac-toe, played perfectly by both players, is completely devoid of psychological interest. Chess may be psychologically interesting but only to the extent that it is played not quite rationally. Played completely rationally, chess would not be different from Tic-tac-toe.
In short, a pure conflict of interest (what is called a zero-sum game) although it offers a wealth of interesting conceptual problems, is not interesting psychologically, except to the extent that its conduct departs from rational norms.
1. According to the passage, internal conflicts are psychologically more interesting than external conflicts because
(1) internal conflicts, rather than external conflicts, form an important component of serious literature as distinguished from less serious genres.
(2) only juveniles or very few "adults" actually experience external conflict, while internal conflict is more widely prevalent in society.
(3) in situations of internal conflict, individuals experience a dilemma in resolving their own preferences for different outcomes.
(4) there are no threats to the reader (or viewer) in case of external conflicts.
2. Which, according to the author, would qualify as interesting psychology?
(1) A statistician's dilemma over choosing the best method to solve an optimisation problem.
(2) A chess player's predicament over adopting a defensive strategy against an aggressive opponent.
(3) A mountaineer's choice of the best path to Mt. Everest from the base camp.
(4) A finance manager's quandary over the best way of raising money from the market.
3. According to the passage, which of the following options about the application of game theory to a conflict-of-interest situation is true?
(1) Assuming that the rank order of preferences for options is different for different players.
(2) Accepting that the interests of different players are often in conflict.
(3) Not assuming that the interests are in complete disagreement.
(4) All of the above
4. The problem solving process of a scientist is different from that of a detective because
(1) scientists study inanimate objects, while detectives deal with living criminals or law offenders.
(2) scientists study known objects, while detectives have to deal with unknown criminals or law offenders.
(3) scientists study phenomena that are not actively altered, while detectives deal with phenomena that have been deliberately influenced to mislead.
(4) scientists study psychologically interesting phenomena, while detectives deal with "adult" analogues of juvenile adventure tales.
Explanations:
1. Option 1 is eliminated because it states that ‘internal conflicts’ are found in serious literature.
Option 2 states that ‘internal conflict is widely prevalent in society.
Option 4 talks about threat to the reader (which is ridiculous). None of these will address the query why internal conflicts are more interesting than external conflicts.
Answer is derived from: “Psychologically, most interesting situations arise when the interests of the players are partly coincident and partly opposed, because then one can postulate not only a conflict among the players but also inner conflicts within the players. Each is torn between a tendency to cooperate, so as to promote the common interests, and a tendency to compete, so as to enhance his own individual interests.”
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
2. To be considered ‘interesting psychology’, the passage states that internal conflicts are essential. Bereft of internal conflicts a situation does not qualify to be psychologically interesting. In that case, the only example available in the options which includes internal conflict is in option 2.
Comparing the options, you notice that only in option 2 is there is a living adversary. Another clue is provided in option 4 – “the finance manager’s quandary” – in options 1, 3, and 4 they face confusion rather than ‘conflict’ – confusion cannot be equated with internal conflict – which is when, like in serious literature the adversary is not passive. In all three options the adversary is passive, and once the best choice is made (it may not be best owing to confusion) the ‘quandary’ ends. But in chess one understands that one’s choice triggers an array of options for the other, and the dynamism or unpredictability of the adversary’s reaction causes not confusion but ‘internal conflict”, which cannot end even after a choice is made.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
3. All the options are given in the first paragraph itself. “... the rank order of preferences for the outcomes is different for different players. Thus the 'interests' of the players are generally in conflict. Whether these interests are diametrically opposed or only partially opposed depends on the type of game.” As a result, option 4 is a straightforward choice.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
4. The difference is stated in this part of the passage: For the detective “the effort of solving the problem is in itself not a conflict if the adversary (the unknown criminal) remains passive, like Nature, whose secrets the scientist supposedly unravels by deduction.” The basic difference is that scientist deals with passive nature, whereas the detective has to deal with a criminal who may put obstacles (active) in his path. If the criminal remains passive there is no conflict. The reason for the difference in the problem solving process is then because of the difference in the object of the study. The objects of the scientist do not alter themselves because they (phenomena) are being observed. The object of the detective being aware that it (the criminal) is being observed/or may be observed tries to hide or mislead the detective. This is the reason for the difference in the problem solving process.
Option 1 states the difference as merely “inanimate vs. living”. Option 2 states the difference as “known vs. unknown” – not sufficient to change the process. What we are looking for is active vs. passive. Options 1 and 2 can both be passive.
Option 4 states that scientists study psychologically interesting phenomenon. This is contrary to the passage.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.