READING COMPREHENSION PASSAGES FOR MBA ENTRANCE EXAMS

Sir most of the students find difficult to handle quantitative section.plz suggest to improve it and make it strength for the exam.

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Is the engineering studnt will face the problem in doing the MBA degree in Finance . Is teaching will also be countend for work exp In MBA

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Let us look at confusable words. In these questions, four sentences are given which are not related to each other. Each sentence will have two answer options. We will take one question: (1) Though the story was centered on some (A) historic \ (B) historical figures, it was mainly fiction (2) The accused made a passionate effort before the judge to (A) ensure \ (B) assert his innocence (3) The authorities (A) complemented \ (B) complimented her for completing the project well in time (4) The invasion was (A) preceded \ (B) proceeded by a massive mobilization of forces along the borders 1) ABBB 2) BBBA 3) BABA 4) BAAA The correct answer is option (2), as in, BBBA

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Let us now look at Cloze Test. A Cloze test is basically a paragraph, which has anywhere between 4 - 8 blanks. Five answer options are given to fill up each of the blanks. As I have mentioned before, it is imperative to understand the message or idea the paragraph is trying to convey. Before solving the question, it is advisable to read the paragraph twice. The first reading can be a general one, to understand the gist of the passage. During the second reading, the focus should be on filling in the blanks and seeing whether it goes with the sentence We will take one Cloze test: The reality of the world's epic . is well known. We have seen how financial engineering in the United States can . economic growth in every part of the world; how carbon dioxide emissions from China end up . crop yields and livelihood in Vietnam, Bangladesh, the Maldives, and beyond; how an epidemic in Mexico endangers the rhythm of public life in the U.S; or how volcanic ash from Iceland . travel across Europe (1) calamities, tragedy, problems, recession, interdependence (2) undermine, determine, encourage, accelerate, complicate (3) ameliorating, acculturating, among, influencing, emending (4) prevents, affects, boosts, augments, ramifies The correct answer options for the above blanks are: 1) interdependence 2) determine 3) influencing 4) affects

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Chewing tobacco has many benefits. However, the primary benefits occur in the area of mental health. The habit originates in a search for contentment. The life expectancy of our people has increased greatly in recent years; it is possible that the relaxation and contentment and enjoyment produced by tobacco chewing has lengthened many lives. Hence, chewing tobacco is beneficial. Which of the following, if true, would weaken the above conclusion? (a) The government earns millions of dollars from the sale of chewing tobacco (b) The evidence cited in the statement covers only one example of the effects of tobacco chewing (c) There is as yet no statistical evidence to prove a link between chewing and longevity (d) None of these (e) Chewing tobacco satiates the longing in a person The answer option is obviously (c)

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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 was emulated by IA and JA immediately. The general belief was that the volume of air travel between Delhi and Mumbai would increase as a result. 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 travelers in India are price-conscious (d) A study that shows that as much as 80% of air travels in India are company-sponsored The question asks you to pick out the answer option, which would support the decision taken by the airlines to reduce the air fare. The correct answer option is (c)

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Cellular phone services are being provided by two companies in each telecom circle. These companies were awarded the contracts based on the licence fees they agreed to pay the government and were selected on a competitive basis. Cellular phone service providers have found that their profits are much less than they expected - in fact, in most cases they are losing money Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage? (a) All the cellular phone service providers have been operating inefficiently (b) The government was wrong in allowing private provision of cellular services (c) Cellular service providers have been unable to match performance to plan (d) Paging services have eaten into the revenue of the cellular service The first two answer options, as in, (a) and (b) can be ruled out because the companies were selected on the basis of two parameters, as in, they agreed to pay the licence fee and the selection was made on a competitive basis. The last answer option (d) can also be ruled out, because nothing has been mentioned about pagers in the paragraph. The correct answer option is (c)

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In the Panchatantra, a woodpecker offered the following words of consolation to a hen sparrow whose eggs had been crushed by an elephant with spring fever: For the lost and dead and past The wise have no laments: Between the wise and fools Is just this difference. This stanza highlights an important lesson that: (a) wisdom is a direct function of retaining the lessons contained in the past (b) there is no end to the reward of discriminating judgement (c) one must be sensitive to the past only in so far as it offers wisdom, not as an object of brooding or regret (d) Joy results from resolute yet circumspect use of the active powers; only the foolish would do otherwise At first glance, we can straightaway eliminate options (b) and (d). Option (a) may seem to fit in. However, the stanza, clearly sends a strong message that people who keep on regretting, by thinking about the mistakes they made in the past, will not be able to make effective use of the present and the future. So the correct answer option is (c)

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We will take another question People who regularly put in overtime and work 10 or 11 hours per day increase their heart disease risk by nearly two thirds, research suggests. The findings come from a study of 6000 British civil servants, published online in the European Heart Journal. After accounting for known heart risk factors such as smoking, doctors found those who worked three to four hours of overtime a day ran a 60% higher risk. In many ways it confirms what occupational health doctors already know - that work \ life balance plays a vital role in well-being. All of the following can be advanced for supporting the above argument EXCEPT? (a) People who spend more time at work have less time to exercise, relax and unwind (b) People who spend more time at work are more likely to be stressed, anxious or have depression (c) People are likely to spend more time at work when they are not happy in their personal lives (d) A career-minded person tends to be highly driven, aggressive or irritable (e) Employees who work overtime are likely to be reluctant to be absent from work despite illness In the above question, we are given five answer options and asked to pick the one which is not in tune with the main idea The correct answer option is (c)

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We will now look at critical reasoning. In this, a paragraph is given followed by a single question. Going by the past CAT papers, the commonly asked questions has been mentioned below, by way of three question types. However, there are other questions, which falls outside the three categories mentioned below Question asking you to select the assumption which strengthens the argument Question asking you to select the assumption which weakens the argument Question asking you as to what can be inferred from the paragraph Let us look at a few questions: President Barack Obama remains popular in most parts of the world, although his job approval rating in the United States has declined sharply since he first took office. Which of the following helps explain the above seeming paradox? (a) Barack Obama's performance as a president has made him unpopular in the United States (b) Barack Obama's foreign policy has been widely criticized in the United States (c) Barack Obama's domestic policies in dealing with the internal recession have been widely acclaimed by people in most parts of the world (d) Barack Obama's popularity outside the United States is largely affected by his negative image in the Muslim countries (e) Barack Obama's foreign policy is perceived to be far better than his domestic policy 'Paradox' is a statement that seems contradictory, but is actually true. In the above question, ideally Barack Obama has to be popular in the United States, but is the other way round. To pick up the correct answer option, let us analyze the answer options.The first option seems to be right, but looks at only side of the picture. The second option is out of context. The third option gives a totally different picture. The fourth option can also be ruled out, because the statement is the opposite of what is mentioned in the passage. The correct answer option is (e) because it gives a valid reason for his popularity abroad

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Sir, I agree with you. Everyone looks at short cuts, but it never works. People have to go through the grind. Tuition centers give a false sense of comfort to students. The English Language is an ocean by itself and unless and until one is prepared to be a student of the English Language throughout life, all effort will go down the drain

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An avid reader naturally increases the speed of his reading. He also improves his comprehension and active vocabulary. So, the suggestion here is to read more and more. Tuition centres don't lead us no where.

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We will now look at Sentence Correction. I will take questions from past CAT papers There is a sentence which is given followed by four answer options. You have to identify the answer option which can replace the original sentence without changing the meaning Poor product quality angers Mr. Garbole, who wonders if it is part of a strategy by marketers (a) Poor product quality angers Mr. Garbole, who wonders if it is part of a strategy by marketers (b) Poor product quality angers Mr. Garbole, who wonders if marketers are part of the strategy (c) Poor product quality angers Mr. Garbole, that wonders if it is part of a strategy by marketers (d) Poor product quality angers Mr. Garbole, who wonders if they are part of a strategy by marketers (e) Poor product quality angers Mr. Garbole, who wonders if it are part of a strategy It is evident that option (a) is the correct answer option For each of the following question find the sentence\s that are correct (A) When you look up a word, the main thing that you want to know was its basic meaning (B) It's time to winding up the discussion now (C) A great many various words in English have more than one meaning (D) That wasn't a very fair thing to say! (a) D only (b) A and D (c) A, B and D (d) All of the above are correct (e) None of the above The correct answer option is (a)

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I will now come to paragraph jumbles. In this, four sentences are jumbled and you have to choose the right answer option, which forms a coherent paragraph The best way to solve questions under this category, is to use your common sense and not go into the grammatical side. You have to identify the sentence which either introduces the idea or the one which concludes. A paragraph essentially revolves around one main theme Let us take some questions from past CAT papers A) He felt justified in bypassing Congress altogether on a variety of moves B) At times, he was fighting the entire congress C) Bush felt he had a mission to restore power to the presidency D) Bush was not fighting just the democrats E) Representative democracy is a messy business and a CEO of the White House does not like a legislature of second guessers and time wasters (a) CAEDB (b) DBAEC (c) CEADB (d) ECDBA If we take answer option (d) , the order of the sentence is ECDBA. It is evident that sentence (E) introduces the paragraph. It is also pertinent to note, that there is only one answer option with sentence (E) , as the introductory sentence. To confirm our choice is correct, we put the sentence together in the order given in the answer option, as in, (d) ECDBA. The correct answer option is (d) Let us take another question A) But this does not mean that death was the Egyptian's only preoccupation B) Even papyri come mainly from pyramid temples C) Most of our traditional sources of information about the old kingdom are monuments of the rich like pyramids and tombs D) Houses in which ordinary Egyptians lived have not been preserved, and when most people died, they were buried in simple graves E) We know infinitely more about the wealthy people of Egypt that we do about the ordinary people, as most monuments were made for the rich (a) CDBEA (b) ECDAB (c) EDCBA (d) DECAB We can easily identify sentence (E) as the introductory sentence of the paragraph. We have two answer options with sentence (E) as the first sentence. as in, (b) and (c) . We have to analyze both the options and narrow down on the right answer option. If we take answer option (b) the order is ECDAB. The first sentence talks about the wealthy people of Egypt and the second sentence (as per the answer option) , gives information, which reinforces the idea, mentioned in the first sentence. The correct answer option is (b)

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I would like to mention the various types of relationship questions which can be expected in Analogy, as in, Synonyms (words having the same meaning), Antonyms (words having the opposite meaning), level or degree (smile is to laugh) , cause & effect (shiver is to cold) , collective nouns (elephants is to herd), profession (cobbler is to shoe) , houses (dog is to kennel) and so on Let us now come to fill in the blanks. This is again a high scoring area but demands that the candidate be very prudent in the answer selection. As I have mentioned before, command over vocabulary is a prerequisite though intelligent guesses can be made. Since each right answer literally determines your career, nothing should be left to chance I am taking three questions from past CAT papers The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what . a) he makes out of it b) he gets for others c) he has overcome through it d) he becomes by it In the above question, the word 'toil' means hard work. Ultimately, the purpose of a job apart from the monetary angle, is the learning and growth which happens. The correct answer option is (d) Though one eye is kept firmly on the . the Company now also promotes . contemporary art a) present, experimental b) future, popular c) present, popular d) market, popular On understanding the sentence, it is very clear that any company has to necessarily take the 'future' into account. We can directly select option (b) as the correct option. Another clue is given at the start of the sentence itself, as in, 'though one eye is kept.' Their achievement in the field of literature is described as .; sometimes it is also called . a) magnificent, irresponsible b) insignificant, influential c) significant, paltry d) unimportant, trivial It is very clear from the sentence, that both the blanks has to be necessarily filled in by two positive words (synonyms) or two negative words (antonyms). The only option which qualifies is option (d) which is the correct answer option. All the other answer options, as in, (a) , (b) and (c) have words which are a combination of a positive and negative word or vice versa

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I will now come to Analogies. These are again huge scoring opportunities but the candidate has to be extremely careful while establishing the relationships. Let us take a few examples BOTANY : PLANTS as . 1) GEOLOGY : EARTH 2) TEACHER : CLASS 3) STARS : ASTRONOMY 4) FERTILIZER : GROWTH In the above example, the relationship can be, Botany is the study of plants in the same way as geology is the study of the earth. Another relationship which can be established can be, The study of plants is called Botany whereas the study of the earth is called geology. Hence option (1) is the correct answer KANGAROO : JOEY as . 1) LION : PRIDE 2) GOOSE : GOSLING 3) BEVY : BEAUTIES 4) FOAL : HORSE In the above example, the relationship is, the young one of a kangaroo is called joey or joey is the young one of a kangaroo whereas the young one of a goose is called gosling, or gosling is the young one of a goose. In this question, we can see that the relationship does not change in the answer option. We have taken two kinds of relationship and used the same relationship to pick the right answer option. If we take the other options, we can do away with it at one glance. In the first option, the relationship is, a group of lions is called pride (collective noun). Likewise, if we take the third option, a group of beautiful girls is called bevy. If we take the fourth option, the relationship is opposite, as compared with that given in the question. If we try to establish a relationship, it will not match. The young one of a kangaroo is called joey whereas the young one of a foal is a horse, which is a wrong relationship. It is in fact the other way round. The young one of a horse is called foal SUAVE : BLUNT as . 1) REFINED : CULTURED 2) PURE : ADULTERATED 3) SEVERE : INTENSE 4) ELIGIBLE : QUALIFY The relationship between the words given in the question is an antonym, as in, words which are opposite in meaning to each other. Suave means a person who is refined, polished and knows how handle different situations. Blunt means a person, who does not try to hide his feelings, irrespective of the situation. He is 'on the face' kind of a person. The right answer option is (2) . The meaning of the word 'adulterated' means something which is not original or pure, as in, when water is added to milk, the milk becomes adulterated

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I will now focus on phrasal verbs. All the three questions are from previous CAT papers. You have to identify the sentence where the usage of the word is inappropriate or wrong RUN 1) I must run fast to catch up with him 2) Our team scored a goal against the run of play 3) You can't run over him like that 4) The newly released book is enjoying a popular run 5) This film is a run of the mill production The correct answer option is (3). You cannot run over a person ROUND 1) The police fired a round of tear gas shells 2) The shop is located round the corner 3) We took a round on merry go round 4) The doctor is on a hospital round 5) I shall proceed further only after you come round to admitting it The correct answer option is (5). 'after you come around' FILE 1) You will find the paper in the file under C 2) I need to file an insurance claim 3) The cadets were marching in a single file 4) File your nails before you apply nail polish 5) When the parade was on, a soldier broke the file The correct answer option is (5). Soldiers break ranks and not files

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I will now come to summary questions. These questions present a huge scoring opportunity. However lot of candidates throw caution to the wind. A summary is nothing but the gist of the passage. The primary point to be kept in mind is whether the answer option captures all the information When the next full scale global financial crisis hits, let it not be said that the International Monetary Fund never took a stab at forestalling it. Recently, the IMF proposed a new global tax on financial institutions loosely in proportion to their size, as well as a tax on banks' profits and bonuses 1) The IMF has proposed a new global tax on financial institutions and banks in an attempt to forestall future financial crisis 2) The IMF's new global tax on financial institutions and banks will prevent future financial crises 3) The IMF has proposed a new global tax on financial institutions and banks which will forestall financial crises 4) The IMF has proposed a tax on financial institutions and banks' profit and bonuses that will prevent financial crises 5) The proposed tax on profits and bonuses of financial institutions and banks is an attempt to forestall future financial crises Let us take the answer options.The second option can be ruled out because the global tax is purely for financial institutions whereas the answer option includes both the financial institutions and banks. The third option also talks of the IMF proposing global tax on both financial institutions and banks which is not the case. The fourth answer option does not mention 'global tax' for financial institutions. Apart from this, options 2, 3 and 4 mention that these steps 'will' prevent financial crises which is not mentioned in the main question. The fifth option leaves out IMF. Option number one captures the gist without any ambiguity and is therefore the right answer option

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In the above example, I have used the word 'inference' to explain the various answer options. The point I want to make is that, the right answer option should not introduce new ideas nor should it in any way continue the passage. This is precisely why I mentioned earlier, that the right answer option should bring the paragraph to a smooth close We will take one more question The basic principle in magic is that if you believe in the magic you do, the audience will too. Secondly, magic does not happen on stage, but in the minds of the audience 1) Magic is like a tree that you water and nurture 2) There is psychology in magic 3) A successful magician just triggers off the magic 4) A little alteration to a card, a coin, or napkin can create magic If we take options 1 , 2 and 4, it either continues the idea expressed in the passage or tries to reinforce it The correct answer option is (3)

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I will now come to questions with regards to identifying the last sentence which completes the paragraph. Each paragraph is built or revolves around one main idea only. Therefore it becomes imperative for the candidate to understand the content. This means that the candidate should be able to identify or understand the purpose of the paragraph. The last sentence always concludes the paragraph and brings it to a smooth end. The candidate is not expected to analyze the paragraph and add on new points. I would like to draw an analogy with public speaking over here. A speech is divided into three parts, introduction, main body and conclusion. When the speaker uses the word 'end' or 'conclude' the audience is waiting for the speaker to end the speech. This is what you should keep in mind while answering these type of questions We will take a few questions some of which are from past CAT papers Thirty years ago the bosses of Americas car industry were shocked to learn that Japan had overtaken America to become the world's largest car producer. They were even more shocked when they visited Japan to find out what was going on. They found out that the secret of Japan's success did not lie in cheap labor or government subsidies - their preferred explanations - but in what was rapidly dubbed 'lean manufacturing'. While Detroit slept, Japan had transformed itself from a low wage economy into a hotbed of business innovation 1) Soon every factory around the world was lean - or a ruin 2) Management gurus are always glibly proclaiming revolutions 3) Now something comparable is taking place in the developing world 4) The rich world is losing its leadership in the sort of breakthrough ideas that transform industries 5) Western car makers learned the techniques of lean production from their Japanese rivals Let us take each answer option. The first option is ruled out because the paragraph is talking only about Japan and America. The second answer option finds no mention in the passage nor can be inferred. The third option talks about the developing world. There is no mention or hint about 'developing world' . The fourth option talks about the 'rich world' which again does not find any mention nor can be inferred The answer option which smoothly concludes the paragraph is the fifth answer option, as in, option (5)

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