CAT (VARC) PYQs

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Paragraph: Wedding season is upon us and – after two years of Covid chaos that saw nuptials scaled back- you may think the temptation would be to go all out ___ (1) ___ . But instead of expanding the guest list, many couples are opting to have entirely secret ceremonies. With Covid case numbers remaining high and the cost-of-living crisis meaning that many couples are feeling the pinch, it's no wonder that some are less than eager to send out invites ___ (2) ___ . Plus, it can't hurt that in celebrity circles getting married in secret is all the rage ___ (3) ___ . "I would definitely say that secret weddings are becoming more common," says Landis Bejar, the founder of a therapy practice, which specialises in helping brides and grooms manage wedding stress. "People are looking for ways to get out of the spotlight and avoid the pomp and circumstance of weddings ___ (4) ___ . They just want to get to the part where they are married."

Sentence: Easing the anxiety and pressure of having a "big day" is part of the appeal for many couples who marry in secret.

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Paragraph: ___ (1) ___ At the core of development economics lies the idea of 'productive dualism': that poor countries' economies are split between a narrow 'modern' sector that uses advanced technologies and a larger 'traditional' sector characterized by very low productivity ___ (2) ___ . While this distinction between developing and advanced economies may have made some sense in the 1950s and 1960s, it no longer appears to be very relevant. A combination of forces have produced a widening gap between the winners and those left behind ___ (3) ___ . Convergence between poor and rich parts of the economy was arrested and regional disparities widened ___ (4) ___ . As a result, policymakers in advanced economies are now grappling with the same questions that have long pre-occupied developing economies: mainly how to close the gap with the more advanced parts of the economy.

Sentence: Dualism was long held as the defining feature of developing countries in contrast to developed countries, where frontier technologies and high productivity were assumed to prevail.

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Paragraph: The horrifying photograph of children fleeing a deadly napalm attack has become a defining image not only of the Vietnam War but the 20th century. ___ (1) ___. Dark smoke billowing behind them, the young subjects' faces are painted with a mixture of terror, pain and confusion. ___ (2) ___. Soldiers from the South Vietnamese army's 25th Division follow helplessly behind. ___ (3) ___. The picture was officially titled "The Terror of War," but the photo is better known by the nickname given to naked 9-year-old at its centre "Napalm Girl". ___ (4) ___.

Sentence: Taken outside the village of Trang Bang on June 8, 1972, the picture captured the trauma and indiscriminate violence of a conflict that claimed, by some estimates, a million or more civilian lives.