The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

I have elaborated . . . a framework for analyzing the contradictory pulls on [Indian] nationalist ideology in its struggle against the dominance of colonialism and the resolution it offered to those contradictions. Briefly, this resolution was built around a separation of the domain of culture into two spheres—the material and the spiritual. It was in the material sphere that the claims of Western civilization were the most powerful. Science, technology, rational forms of economic organization, modern methods of statecraft—these had given the European countries the strength to subjugate the non-European people . . . To overcome this domination, the colonized people had to learn those superior techniques of organizing material life and incorporate them within their own cultures. . . . But this could not mean the imitation of the West in every aspect of life, for then the very distinction between the West and the East would vanish—the self-identity of national culture would itself be threatened. . . .

The discourse of nationalism shows that the material/spiritual distinction was condensed into an analogous, but ideologically far more powerful, dichotomy: that between the outer and the inner. . . . Applying the inner/outer distinction to the matter of concrete day-to-day living separates the social space into ghar and bahir, the home and the world. The world is the external, the domain of the material; the home represents one's inner spiritual self, one's true identity. The world is a treacherous terrain of the pursuit of material interests, where practical considerations reign supreme. It is also typically the domain of the male. The home in its essence must remain unaffected by the profane activities of the material world—and woman is its representation. And so one gets an identification of social roles by gender to correspond with the separation of the social space into ghar and bahir. . . .

The colonial situation, and the ideological response of nationalism to the critique of Indian tradition, introduced an entirely new substance to [these dichotomies] and effected their transformation. The material/spiritual dichotomy, to which the terms world and home corresponded, had acquired . . . a very special significance in the nationalist mind. The world was where the European power had challenged the non-European peoples and, by virtue of its superior material culture, had subjugated them. But, the nationalists asserted, it had failed to colonize the inner, essential, identity of the East which lay in its distinctive, and superior, spiritual culture. . . . [I]n the entire phase of the national struggle, the crucial need was to protect, preserve and strengthen the inner core of the national culture, its spiritual essence. . . .

Once we match this new meaning of the home/world dichotomy with the identification of social roles by gender, we get the ideological framework within which nationalism answered the women's question. It would be a grave error to see in this, as liberals are apt to in their despair at the many marks of social conservatism in nationalist practice, a total rejection of the West. Quite the contrary: the nationalist paradigm in fact supplied an ideological principle of selection.

501.

Which one of the following, if true, would weaken the author's claims in the passage?

• A. 

  Indian nationalists rejected the cause of English education for women during the colonial period.

• B. 

  Forces of colonial modernity played an important role in shaping anti-colonial Indian nationalism.

• C. 

  The Industrial Revolution played a crucial role in shaping the economic prowess of Britain in the eighteenth century.

• D. 

  The colonial period saw the hybridisation of Indian culture in all realms as it came in contact with British/European culture.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

According to the author, during the national struggle, nationalists maintained that European power had 'failed to colonize the inner, essential, identity of the East which lay in its distinctive, and superior, spiritual culture'. If, as mentioned in option D, the colonial period saw the hybridisation of Indian culture in all realms-- if there were no home/world dichotomy on which the author bases his argument-- then, that would seriously weaken the author's claims in the passage.

In the last paragraph, the author says that it would be a grave error to think that the ideological framework within which nationalism answered 'the women's question' did not mean a total rejection of the West. This implies the nationalists embraced some aspects of the West and rejected some aspects, selectively. If option A were true and Indian nationalists rejected the cause of English education for women, that would really not weaken the author's claims in any way.

The author argues that colonial modernity, in terms of science, technology, rational forms of economic organization, and modern methods of statecraft 'had given the European countries the strength to subjugate the non-European people'. It was this domination that the colonized people were trying to overcome. So, option B, if true, strengthens the author's claims in the passage.

Just like option B, option C, if true, strengthens the author's claim that in the material realm, the European powers were ahead and this in turn gave them the strength to subjugate non-European people.

 

502.

Which one of the following best describes the liberal perception of Indian nationalism?

• A. 

  Indian nationalism embraced the changes brought about by colonialism in Indian women's traditional gender roles.

• B. 

  Indian nationalist discourses reaffirmed traditional gender roles for Indian women.

• C. 

  Indian nationalism's sophistication resided in its distinction of the material from the spiritual spheres.

• D. 

  Indian nationalist discourses provided an ideological principle of selection.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

In the matching of the home/world dichotomy with gender-based social roles, the liberals are apt to (likely to), according to the author, see a total rejection of the West by Indian nationalists : ‘It would be a grave error to see in this, as liberals are apt to in their despair at the many marks of social conservatism in nationalist practice, a total rejection of the West.’ In other words, in the liberals’ view Indian nationalist discourses reaffirmed traditional gender roles for Indian women.

503.

On the basis of the information in the passage, all of the following are true about the spiritual/material dichotomy of Indian nationalism EXCEPT that it:

• A. 

  helped in safeguarding the identity of Indian nationalism.

• B. 

  constituted the premise of the ghar/bahir dichotomy.

• C. 

  represented a continuation of age-old oppositions in Indian culture.

• D. 

  was not as ideologically powerful as the inner/outer dichotomy.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

In the second paragraph, the author talks about the material/spiritual dichotomy and states that it 'was condensed into an analogous, but ideologically far more powerful, dichotomy: that between the outer and the inner'. So, option D is true. The author also states that 'Applying the inner/outer distinction to the matter of concrete day-to-day living separates the social space into ghar and bahir, the home and the world'. So, option B is also true.

 

In the third paragraph, the author elaborates on how the material/spiritual dichotomy acquired 'a very special significance in the nationalist mind', as the nationalists asserted that the West 'had failed to colonize the inner, essential, identity of the East which lay in its distinctive, and superior, spiritual culture'. In other words, the spiritual/material dichotomy helped in safeguarding the identity of Indian nationalism. So, option A is true.

 

On the other hand, nowhere in the passage does the author say as mentioned in option C that the spiritual/material dichotomy was a 'continuation of age-old oppositions in Indian culture'.

504.

Which one of the following explains the "contradictory pulls" on Indian nationalism?

• A. 

  Despite its spiritual superiority, Indian nationalism had to fight against colonial domination.

• B. 

  Despite its fight against colonial domination, Indian nationalism had to borrow from the coloniser in the spiritual sphere.

• C. 

  Despite its fight against colonial domination, Indian nationalism had to borrow from the coloniser in the material sphere.

• D. 

  Despite its scientific and technological inferiority, Indian nationalism had to fight against colonial domination.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The author begins the passage by describing the 'contradictory pulls' on Indian nationalist ideology. In science, technology, economic organization and modern methods of statecraft, the West dominated. In fact, to overcome this domination, instead of fighting the colonialists on this front, colonized people 'had to learn those superior techniques of organizing material life and incorporate them within their own cultures'. In other words, despite its fight against colonial domination, Indian nationalism had adopt Western ideas in the material sphere.

 

The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

It's easy to forget that most of the world's languages are still transmitted orally with no widely established written form. While speech communities are increasingly involved in projects to protect their languages – in print, on air and online – orality is fragile and contributes to linguistic vulnerability. But indigenous languages are about much more than unusual words and intriguing grammar: They function as vehicles for the transmission of cultural traditions, environmental understandings and knowledge about medicinal plants, all at risk when elders die and livelihoods are disrupted.

Both push and pull factors lead to the decline of languages. Through war, famine and natural disasters, whole communities can be destroyed, taking their language with them to the grave, such as the indigenous populations of Tasmania who were wiped out by colonists. More commonly, speakers live on but abandon their language in favor of another vernacular, a widespread process that linguists refer to as "language shift" from which few languages are immune. Such trading up and out of a speech form occurs for complex political, cultural and economic reasons – sometimes voluntary for economic and educational reasons, although often amplified by state coercion or neglect. Welsh, long stigmatized and disparaged by the British state, has rebounded with vigor.

Many speakers of endangered, poorly documented languages have embraced new digital media with excitement. Speakers of previously exclusively oral tongues are turning to the web as a virtual space for languages to live on. Internet technology offers powerful ways for oral traditions and cultural practices to survive, even thrive, among increasingly mobile communities. I have watched as videos of traditional wedding ceremonies and songs are recorded on smartphones in London by Nepali migrants, then uploaded to YouTube and watched an hour later by relatives in remote Himalayan villages . . .

Globalization is regularly, and often uncritically, pilloried as a major threat to linguistic diversity. But in fact, globalization is as much process as it is ideology, certainly when it comes to language. The real forces behind cultural homogenization are unbending beliefs, exchanged through a globalized delivery system, reinforced by the historical monolingualism prevalent in much of the West.

Monolingualism – the condition of being able to speak only one language – is regularly accompanied by a deep-seated conviction in the value of that language over all others. Across the largest economies that make up the G8, being monolingual is still often the norm, with multilingualism appearing unusual and even somewhat exotic. The monolingual mindset stands in sharp contrast to the lived reality of most the world, which throughout its history has been more multilingual than unilingual. Monolingualism, then, not globalization, should be our primary concern.

Multilingualism can help us live in a more connected and more interdependent world. By widening access to technology, globalization can support indigenous and scholarly communities engaged in documenting and protecting our shared linguistic heritage. For the last 5,000 years, the rise and fall of languages was intimately tied to the plow, sword and book. In our digital age, the keyboard, screen and web will play a decisive role in shaping the future linguistic diversity of our species.

501.

From the passage, we can infer that the author is in favour of:

• A. 

  "language shifts" across languages.

• B. 

  cultural homogenisation.

• C. 

  an expanded state role in the preservation of languages.

• D. 

  greater multilingualism.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

In the last two paragraphs, the passage speaks of the problems that arise due to monolingualism and the advantages of multilingualism. According to the passage, ‘Multilingualism can help us live in a more connected and more interdependent world.’. So, the correct choice is option D.

502.

The author lists all of the following as reasons for the decline or disappearance of a language EXCEPT:

• A. 

  the focus on only a few languages as a result of widespread internet use.

• B. 

  governments promoting certain languages over others.

• C. 

  people shifting away from their own language to study or work in another language.

• D. 

  a catastrophic event that entirely eliminates a people and their culture.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option A is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The second paragraph details the reasons for decline of languages: 'through war, famine and natural disasters', and language shift 'for complex political, cultural and economic reasons – sometimes voluntary for economic and educational reasons, although often amplified by state coercion or neglect'. Options B, C and D cover these points.
The passage does not attribute the decline of languages to internet use. So, option A is the correct answer choice.

503.

The author mentions the Welsh language to show that:

• A. 

  efforts to integrate Welsh speakers in the English-speaking fold have been fruitless.

• B. 

  while often pilloried, globalisation can, in fact, support linguistic revival.

• C. 

  languages can revive even after their speakers have gone through a "language shift".

• D. 

  vulnerable languages can rebound with state effort.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The passage states that ‘Welsh, long stigmatized and disparaged by the British state, has rebounded with vigor’. Here, the author cites the example of Welsh to show that languages can bounce back after a forced language shift.

504.

We can infer all of the following about indigenous languages from the passage EXCEPT that:

• A. 

  their vocabulary and grammatical constructs have been challenging to document.

• B. 

  they are repositories of traditional knowledge about the environment and culture.

• C. 

  people are increasingly working on documenting these languages.

• D. 

  they are in danger of being wiped out as most can only be transmitted orally.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option A is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

In the first paragraph, the passage states that indigenous languages ‘function as vehicles for the transmission of cultural traditions, environmental understandings and knowledge about medicinal plants’, that ‘ speech communities are increasingly involved in projects to protect their languages – in print, on air and online’ and that ‘most of the world's languages are still transmitted orally with no widely established written form’.

So, options B, C and D can be inferred from the passage.

Though the passage states that indigenous languages have ‘unusual words and intriguing grammar’, it does not say that this makes these languages challenging to document. Option A cannot be inferred from the passage.

The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

It has been said that knowledge, or the problem of knowledge, is the scandal of philosophy. The scandal is philosophy's apparent inability to show how, when and why we can be sure that we know something or, indeed, that we know anything. Philosopher Michael Williams writes: 'Is it possible to obtain knowledge at all? This problem is pressing because there are powerful arguments, some very ancient, for the conclusion that it is not . . . Scepticism is the skeleton in Western rationalism's closet'. While it is not clear that the scandal matters to anyone but philosophers, philosophers point out that it should matter to everyone, at least given a certain conception of knowledge. For, they explain, unless we can ground our claims to knowledge as such, which is to say, distinguish it from mere opinion, superstition, fantasy, wishful thinking, ideology, illusion or delusion, then the actions we take on the basis of presumed knowledge – boarding an airplane, swallowing a pill, finding someone guilty of a crime – will be irrational and unjustifiable.

That is all quite serious-sounding but so also are the rattlings of the skeleton: that is, the sceptic's contention that we cannot be sure that we know anything – at least not if we think of knowledge as something like having a correct mental representation of reality, and not if we think of reality as something like things-as-they-are-in-themselves, independent of our perceptions, ideas or descriptions. For, the sceptic will note, since reality, under that conception of it, is outside our ken (we cannot catch a glimpse of things-in-themselves around the corner of our own eyes; we cannot form an idea of reality that floats above the processes of our conceiving it), we have no way to compare our mental representations with things-as-they-are-in-themselves and therefore no way to determine whether they are correct or incorrect. Thus the sceptic may repeat (rattling loudly), you cannot be sure you 'know' something or anything at all – at least not, he may add (rattling softly before disappearing), if that is the way you conceive 'knowledge'.

There are a number of ways to handle this situation. The most common is to ignore it. Most people outside the academy – and, indeed, most of us inside it – are unaware of or unperturbed by the philosophical scandal of knowledge and go about our lives without too many epistemic anxieties. We hold our beliefs and presumptive knowledges more or less confidently, usually depending on how we acquired them (I saw it with my own eyes; I heard it on Fox News; a guy at the office told me) and how broadly and strenuously they seem to be shared or endorsed by various relevant people: experts and authorities, friends and family members, colleagues and associates. And we examine our convictions more or less closely, explain them more or less extensively, and defend them more or less vigorously, usually depending on what seems to be at stake for ourselves and/or other people and what resources are available for reassuring ourselves or making our beliefs credible to others (look, it's right here on the page; add up the figures yourself; I happen to be a heart specialist).

501.

The author of the passage is most likely to support which one of the following statements?

• A. 

  The confidence with which we maintain something to be true is usually independent of the source of the alleged truth.

• B. 

  The actions taken on the basis of presumed knowledge are rational and justifiable if we are confident that that knowledge is widely held.

• C. 

  The scandal of philosophy is that we might not know anything at all about reality if we think of reality as independent of our perceptions, ideas or descriptions.

• D. 

  For the sceptic, if we think of reality as independent of our perceptions, ideas or descriptions, we should aim to know that reality independently too.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Option A states that the confidence with which we maintain something to be true is 'usually independent of the source' of the alleged truth. This is the exact opposite of what the passage states in the last few lines: ' And we examine our convictions more or less closely, explain them more or less extensively, and defend them more or less vigorously, usually depending on .... what resources are available for reassuring ourselves or making our beliefs credible to others (look, it's right here on the page; add up the figures yourself; I happen to be a heart specialist).'

Option B states that if we are confident that knowledge is 'widely held', then actions taken on the basis of presumed knowledge become rational and justifiable. This is not what the passage says. The passage states that unless we distinguish knowledge from opinion, wishful thinking or delusion, the actions we take on the basis of presumed knowledge will be irrational and unjustifiable.

Option C sums up the main idea of the second paragraph:'For, the sceptic will note, since reality, under that conception of it, is outside our ken, we have no way to compare our mental representations with things-as-they-are-in-themselves and therefore no way to determine whether they are correct or incorrect.'The author is hence likely to support statement C.

According to the passage, the sceptic questions our ability to know 'reality' defined as things-as-they-are-in-themselves, independent of our perceptions, ideas or descriptions because 'it floats above the processes of our conceiving it'.

Option D states that the sceptic would advocate knowing reality independently. This is incorrect.

502.

". . . we cannot catch a glimpse of things-in-themselves around the corner of our own eyes; we cannot form an idea of reality that floats above the processes of our conceiving it . . ." Which one of the following statements best reflects the argument being made in this sentence?

• A. 

  Our knowledge of reality cannot be merged with our process of conceiving it.

• B. 

  If the reality of things is independent of our perception, logically we cannot perceive that reality.

• C. 

  If the reality of things is independent of our eyesight, logically we cannot perceive our perception.

• D. 

  Our knowledge of reality floats above our subjective perception of it.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The argument being made here is that if reality is independent of our perceptions, ideas or descriptions, then it is clearly out of our scope of understanding, as it exists outside our ability to conceive or perceive it. Option B is hence the right choice.

503.

According to the last paragraph of the passage, "We hold our beliefs and presumptive knowledges more or less confidently, usually depending on" something. Which one of the following most broadly captures what we depend on?

• A. 

  All of the options listed here.

• B. 

  How much of a stake we have in them; what resources there are to support them.

• C. 

  Remaining outside the academy; ignoring epistemic anxieties.

• D. 

  How we come to hold them; how widely they are held in our social circles.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

A straightforward question. Note what the passage states: ‘We hold our beliefs and presumptive knowledges more or less confidently, usually depending on how we acquired them (I saw it with my own eyes; I heard it on Fox News; a guy at the office told me) and how broadly and strenuously they seem to be shared or endorsed by various relevant people: experts and authorities, friends and family members, colleagues and associates.
Note that option B relates to factors based on which we examine or defend our convictions. Option C does not relate to the question.

504.

The author discusses all of the following arguments in the passage, EXCEPT:

• A. 

  if we cannot distinguish knowledge from opinion or delusion, we will not be able to justify our actions.

• B. 

  the best way to deal with scepticism about the veracity of knowledge is to ignore it.

• C. 

  philosophers maintain that the scandal of philosophy should be of concern to everyone.

• D. 

  sceptics believe that we can never fully know anything, if by "knowing" we mean knowledge of a reality that is independent of the knower.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Note the ‘except’ in the question. The answer option is one that is not an argument made by the author. The author says that the ‘most common’ way of dealing with scepticism about the veracity of knowledge is to ignore it.

Option B states that it is ‘the best way’ . So, option B is not an argument made by the author.
All other options relate to what is discussed in the passage:

Option A- ‘unless we can ground our claims to knowledge as such, which is to say, distinguish it from mere opinion, superstition, fantasy, wishful thinking, ideology, illusion or delusion, then the actions we take on the basis of presumed knowledge – boarding an airplane, swallowing a pill, finding someone guilty of a crime – will be irrational and unjustifiable.’

Option C-’While it is not clear that the scandal matters to anyone but philosophers, philosophers point out that it should matter to everyone, at least given a certain conception of knowledge.’

Option D- ‘Thus the sceptic may repeat (rattling loudly), you cannot be sure you 'know' something or anything at all – at least not, he may add (rattling softly before disappearing), if that is the way you conceive' 'knowledge'’.

The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

Stories concerning the Undead have always been with us. From out of the primal darkness of Mankind's earliest years, come whispers of eerie creatures, not quite alive (or alive in a way which we can understand), yet not quite dead either. These may have been ancient and primitive deities who dwelt deep in the surrounding forests and in remote places, or simply those deceased who refused to remain in their tombs and who wandered about the countryside, physically tormenting and frightening those who were still alive. Mostly they were ill-defined—strange sounds in the night beyond the comforting glow of the fire, or a shape, half-glimpsed in the twilight along the edge of an encampment. They were vague and indistinct, but they were always there with the power to terrify and disturb. They had the power to touch the minds of our early ancestors and to fill them with dread. Such fear formed the basis of the earliest tales although the source and exact nature of such terrors still remained very vague.

And as Mankind became more sophisticated, leaving the gloom of their caves and forming themselves into recognizable communities—towns, cities, whole cultures—so the Undead travelled with them, inhabiting their folklore just as they had in former times. Now they began to take on more definite shapes. They became walking cadavers; the physical embodiment of former deities and things which had existed alongside Man since the Creation. Some still remained vague and ill-defined but, as Mankind strove to explain the horror which it felt towards them, such creatures emerged more readily into the light.

In order to confirm their abnormal status, many of the Undead were often accorded attributes, which defied the natural order of things—the power to transform themselves into other shapes, the ability to sustain themselves by drinking human blood, and the ability to influence human minds across a distance. Such powers—described as supernatural—only [lent] an added dimension to the terror that humans felt regarding them.

And it was only natural, too, that the Undead should become connected with the practice of magic. From very early times, Shamans and witchdoctors had claimed at least some power and control over the spirits of departed ancestors, and this has continued down into more "civilized" times. Formerly, the invisible spirits and forces that thronged around men's earliest encampments, had spoken "through" the tribal Shamans but now, as entities in their own right, they were subject to magical control and could be physically summoned by a competent sorcerer. However, the relationship between the magician and an Undead creature was often a very tenuous and uncertain one. Some sorcerers might have even become Undead entities once they died, but they might also have been susceptible to the powers of other magicians when they did.

From the Middle Ages and into the Age of Enlightenment, theories of the Undead continued to grow and develop. Their names became more familiar—werewolf, vampire, ghoul—each one certain to strike fear into the hearts of ordinary humans.

501.

Which one of the following statements best describes what the passage is about?

 

• A. 

  The passage discusses the evolution of theories of the Undead from primitive thinking to the Age of Enlightenment.

• B. 

  The passage describes the failure of human beings to fully comprehend their environment.

• C. 

  The writer discusses the transition from primitive thinking to the Age of Enlightenment.

• D. 

  The writer describes the ways in which the Undead come to be associated with Shamans and the practice of magic.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The passage describes how the stories of the Undead have evolved from ill-defined eerie creatures of Mankind's earliest years to more definite shaped and even supernatural/magical creatures as mankind became more sophisticated.

Options B and C are vague and do not even mention the word 'Undead'. Option D is about only one aspect of the passage.

502.

"In order to confirm their abnormal status, many of the Undead were often accorded attributes, which defied the natural order of things . . ." Which one of the following best expresses the claim made in this statement?

 

• A. 

  The Undead are deified in nature's order by giving them divine attributes.

• B. 

  According the Undead an abnormal status is to reject the natural order of things.

• C. 

  Human beings conceptualise the Undead as possessing abnormal features.

• D. 

  The natural attributes of the Undead are rendered abnormal by changing their status.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The given line implies that the Undead were thought to be abnormal and hence accorded attributes which were not normal. Option C is the correct answer.

Option A states the Undead are deified (treated like deities). This is not what the given line says.

The given line does not express the opinion of the Undead. So, option B is incorrect.

Option D is about the "natural attributes" of the Undead, which is not what the given line is about.

503.

All of the following statements, if false, could be seen as being in accordance with the passage, EXCEPT:

 

• A. 

  the Undead remained vague and ill-defined, even as Mankind strove to understand the horror they inspired.

• B. 

  the relationship between Shamans and the Undead was believed to be a strong and stable one.

• C. 

  the growing sophistication of Mankind meant that humans stopped believing in the Undead.

• D. 

  the transition from the Middle Ages to the Age of Enlightenment saw new theories of the Undead.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Trickily worded question, combining the "if false" condition with "all of the following ...except". As it is easier to evaluate true statements than false, let us re-frame the question as "All the following statements, if true, are not in accordance to the passage except one".

Option A, if true, is not in accordance to the passage: "And as Mankind became more sophisticated, ... Now they began to take on more definite shapes. Some still remained vague and ill-defined but, as Mankind strove to explain the horror which it felt towards them, such creatures emerged more readily into the light."

Option B, if true, is also not in accordance to the passage: 'However, the relationship between the magician and an Undead creature was often a very tenuous and uncertain one."

Option C, if true, is also clearly not what the passage says. The passage says even as Man became sophisticated, he continued to believe in the Undead.

Option D, if true, is in accordance to the passage: "From the Middle Ages and into the Age of Enlightenment, theories of the Undead continued to grow and develop." So, option D is the correct answer.

---

504.

Which one of the following observations is a valid conclusion to draw from the statement, "From out of the primal darkness of Mankind's earliest years, come whispers of eerie creatures, not quite alive (or alive in a way which we can understand), yet not quite dead either."?

 

• A. 

  Mankind's primal years were marked by creatures alive with eerie whispers, but seen only in the darkness.

• B. 

  Mankind's early years were marked by a belief in the existence of eerie creatures that were neither quite alive nor dead.

• C. 

  We can understand the lives of the eerie creatures in Mankind's early years through their whispers in the darkness.

• D. 

  Long ago, eerie creatures used to whisper in the primal darkness that they were not quite dead.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The given line implies that in Mankind's earliest years, belief in eerie creatures which were neither quite alive nor dead existed. Option B is the correct answer.

The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

Critical theory of technology is a political theory of modernity with a normative dimension. It belongs to a tradition extending from Marx to Foucault and Habermas according to which advances in the formal claims of human rights take center stage while in the background centralization of ever more powerful public institutions and private organizations imposes an authoritarian social order.

Marx attributed this trajectory to the capitalist rationalization of production. Today it marks many institutions besides the factory and every modern political system, including so-called socialist systems. This trajectory arose from the problems of command over a disempowered and deskilled labor force; but everywhere [that] masses are organized – whether it be Foucault's prisons or Habermas's public sphere – the same pattern prevails. Technological design and development is shaped by this pattern as the material base of a distinctive social order. Marcuse would later point to a "project" as the basis of what he called rather confusingly "technological rationality." Releasing technology from this project is a democratic political task.

In accordance with this general line of thought, critical theory of technology regards technologies as an environment rather than as a collection of tools. We live today with and even within technologies that determine our way of life. Along with the constant pressures to build centers of power, many other social values and meanings are inscribed in technological design. A hermeneutics of technology must make explicit the meanings implicit in the devices we use and the rituals they script. Social histories of technologies such as the bicycle, artificial lighting or firearms have made important contributions to this type of analysis. Critical theory of technology attempts to build a methodological approach on the lessons of these histories.

As an environment, technologies shape their inhabitants. In this respect, they are comparable to laws and customs. Each of these institutions can be said to represent those who live under their sway through privileging certain dimensions of their human nature. Laws of property represent the interest in ownership and control. Customs such as parental authority represent the interest of childhood in safety and growth. Similarly, the automobile represents its users in so far as they are interested in mobility. Interests such as these constitute the version of human nature sanctioned by society.

This notion of representation does not imply an eternal human nature. The concept of nature as non-identity in the Frankfurt School suggests an alternative. On these terms, nature is what lies at the limit of history, at the point at which society loses the capacity to imprint its meanings on things and control them effectively. The reference here is, of course, not to the nature of natural science, but to the lived nature in which we find ourselves and which we are. This nature reveals itself as that which cannot be totally encompassed by the machinery of society. For the Frankfurt School, human nature, in all its transcending force, emerges out of a historical context as that context is [depicted] in illicit joys, struggles and pathologies. We can perhaps admit a less romantic . . . conception in which those dimensions of human nature recognized by society are also granted theoretical legitimacy.

501.

All of the following claims can be inferred from the passage, EXCEPT:

 

• A. 

  technologies seek to privilege certain dimensions of human nature at a high cost to lived nature.

• B. 

  the significance of parental authority to children's safety does not therefore imply that parental authority is a permanent aspect of human nature.

• C. 

  analyses of technologies must engage with their social histories to be able to reveal their implicit and explicit meanings for us.

• D. 

  the critical theory of technology argues that, as issues of human rights become more prominent, we lose sight of the ways in which the social order becomes more authoritarian.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The passage does say that technologies, like laws and customs, shape their inhabitants by ‘privileging certain dimensions of their human nature’. But it does not say that technologies do so 'at a high cost to lived nature'. Option A cannot be inferred.

The passage explains that customs such as parental authority represent the 'interest of childhood in safety and growth', and goes on to say that 'this notion of representation does not imply an eternal human nature'. So, option B is implied.

Option C is inferred based on the lines, "A hermeneutics of technology must make explicit the meanings implicit in the devices we use and the rituals they script. Social histories of technologies such as the bicycle, artificial lighting or firearms have made important contributions to this type of analysis. Critical theory of technology attempts to build a methodological approach on the lessons of these histories."

Option D is inferred from the first paragraph, which says that according to the critical theory of technology, "advances in the formal claims of human rights take center stage while in the background centralization of ever more powerful public institutions and private organizations imposes an authoritarian social order".

502.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the main argument of the fourth paragraph of the passage?

 

• A. 

  Technological environments privilege certain dimensions of human nature as effectively as laws and customs.

• B. 

  Technology, laws, and customs are not unlike each other if considered as institutions.

• C. 

  Technology, laws, and customs are comparable, but dissimilar phenomena.

• D. 

  Automobiles represent the interest in mobility present in human nature.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The fourth paragraph says that technologies are comparable to laws and customs, and it calls each of these (technologies, laws and customs) as "institutions that can be said to represent those who live under their sway through privileging certain dimensions of their human nature". Option B reflects this idea and is hence the right choice.

The passage does not comment on the effectiveness of laws and customs in privileging certain dimensions of human nature or compare technology with laws and customs in this respect. So, option A is incorrect.

Option C is incorrect as it calls technologies, laws and customs 'dissimilar' phenomena.

Option D, while true, is not the main argument of the paragraph. It only substantiates the main argument.

---

 

503.

Which one of the following statements contradicts the arguments of the passage?

 

• A. 

  Marx's understanding of the capitalist rationalisation of production and Marcuse's understanding of a "project" of "technological rationality" share theoretical inclinations.

• B. 

  Masses are organised in patterns set by Foucault's prisons and Habermas' public sphere.

• C. 

  Paradoxically, the capitalist rationalisation of production is a mark of so-called socialist systems as well.

• D. 

  The problems of command over a disempowered and deskilled labour force gave rise to similar patterns of the capitalist rationalisation of production wherever masses were organised.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The second paragraph says that wherever masses are organized, be it in Foucault's prisons or Habermas's public sphere, 'the same pattern prevails'. The pattern referred to here is that even as human rights issues become more prominent, in the background the social order becomes more authoritarian. Option B, which says that masses themselves are organized in patterns set by Foucault's prisons and Habermas' public sphere, is incorrect.

From the second paragraph, we infer that Marx's understanding of the capitalist rationalization of production and Marcuse's understanding of a "project" of "technological rationality" are both related to the critical theory of technology. So, option A is in line with the arguments of the passage.

According to the passage, the capitalist rationalization of production "marks many institutions besides the factory and every modern political system, including so-called socialist systems." So, option C is also in line with the arguments of the passage.

Based on the line, "This trajectory arose from the problems of command over a disempowered and deskilled labor force; but everywhere [that] masses are organized – whether it be Foucault's prisons or Habermas's public sphere – the same pattern prevails", we can see that option D is also in line with the arguments of the passage.

504.

Which one of the following statements could be inferred as supporting the arguments of the passage?

 

• A. 

  The romantic conception of nature referred to by the passage is the one that requires theoretical legitimacy.

• B. 

  Technologies form the environmental context and shape the contours of human society.

• C. 

  It is not human nature, but human culture that is represented by institutions such as law and custom.

• D. 

  Nature decides the point at which society loses its capacity to control history.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The main idea of the passage is that as an environment, technologies shape their inhabitants. Option B rephrases this.

Based on the last line of the passage, we rule out option A.

The fourth paragraph clearly states laws and customs represent certain dimensions of their human nature. So, option C is ruled out.

Option D is incorrect as it states nature 'decides' what lies at the limit of history. The passage says nature is what lies at the limit of history.

The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

Stoicism was founded in 300 BC by the Greek philosopher Zeno and survived into the Roman era until about AD 300. According to the Stoics, emotions consist of two movements. The first movement is the immediate feeling and other reactions (e.g., physiological response) that occur when a stimulus or event occurs. For instance, consider what could have happened if an army general accused Marcus Aurelius of treason in front of other officers. The first movement for Marcus may have been (internal) surprise and anger in response to this insult, accompanied perhaps by some involuntary physiological and expressive responses such as face flushing and a movement of the eyebrows. The second movement is what one does next about the emotion. Second movement behaviors occur after thinking and are under one's control. Examples of second movements for Marcus might have included a plot to seek revenge, actions signifying deference and appeasement, or perhaps proceeding as he would have proceeded whether or not this event occurred: continuing to lead the Romans in a way that Marcus Aurelius believed best benefited them. In the Stoic view, choosing a reasoned, unemotional response as the second movement is the only appropriate response.

The Stoics believed that to live the good life and be a good person, we need to free ourselves of nearly all desires such as too much desire for money, power, or sexual gratification. Prior to second movements, we can consider what is important in life. Money, power, and excessive sexual gratification are not important. Character, rationality, and kindness are important. The Epicureans, first associated with the Greek philosopher Epicurus . . . held a similar view, believing that people should enjoy simple pleasures, such as good conversation, friendship, food, and wine, but not be indulgent in these pursuits and not follow passion for those things that hold no real value like power and money. As Oatley (2004) states, "the Epicureans articulated a view—enjoyment of relationship with friends, of things that are real rather than illusory, simple rather than artificially inflated, possible rather than vanishingly unlikely—that is certainly relevant today" . . . In sum, these ancient Greek and Roman philosophers saw emotions, especially strong ones, as potentially dangerous. They viewed emotions as experiences that needed to be [reined] in and controlled.

As Oatley (2004) points out, the Stoic idea bears some similarity to Buddhism. Buddha, living in India in the 6th century BC, argued for cultivating a certain attitude that decreases the probability of (in Stoic terms) destructive second movements. Through meditation and the right attitude, one allows emotions to happen to oneself (it is impossible to prevent this), but one is advised to observe the emotions without necessarily acting on them; one achieves some distance and decides what has value and what does not have value. Additionally, the Stoic idea of developing virtue in oneself, of becoming a good person, which the Stoics believed we could do because we have a touch of the divine, laid the foundation for the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam . . . As with Stoicism, tenets of these religions include controlling our emotions lest we engage in sinful behavior.

501.

On the basis of the passage, which one of the following statements can be regarded as true?

• A. 

  The Epicureans believed in controlling all emotions.

• B. 

  There were no Stoics in India at the time of the Roman civilisation.

• C. 

  The Stoic influences can be seen in multiple religions.

• D. 

  The Stoics valorised the pursuit of money, power, and sexual gratification.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Refer to the last paragraph: "Additionally, the Stoic idea of developing virtue in oneself, of becoming a good person, which the Stoics believed we could do because we have a touch of the divine, laid the foundation for the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam..".

According to the passage, Epicureans believed in enjoying simple pleasures without indulging the, So, option A is incorrect.

Option B cannot be regarded true based on the contents of the passage. Option C is the exact opposite of what the passage says about Stoics.

502.

Which one of the following statements, if false, could be seen as contradicting the facts/arguments in the passage?

 

• A. 

  In the Epicurean view, indulging in simple pleasures is not desirable.

• B. 

  Despite practising meditation and cultivating the right attitude, emotions cannot ever be controlled.

• C. 

  In the Stoic view, choosing a reasoned, unemotional response as the first movement is an appropriate response to emotional situations.

• D. 

  The Greek philosopher Zeno survived into the Roman era until about AD 300.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Double negative question. As it is easier to analyze options based on what is true than what is false, we could re-frame the question. A statement which, if false, contradicts the arguments of the passage is one that if true, supports the given arguments.

Option A, if true, supports the arguments of the passage: “The Epicureans, first associated with the Greek philosopher Epicurus . . . held a similar view, believing that people should enjoy simple pleasures, such as good conversation, friendship, food, and wine, but not be indulgent in these pursuits”. So, option A is the answer we are looking for.
Now, other options, if true, contradict the passage, as seen below.

The last paragraph explains how medication and cultivating the right attitude can help one distance from emotions and control them. So, option B, if true, contradicts the passage.

The passage says that "In the Stoic view, choosing a reasoned, unemotional response as the second movement is the only appropriate response". Option C talks about a reasoned, unemotional response as the first movement. If true, option C contradicts the passage.

The first line of the passage says that Stoicism (not Zeno) survived into the Roman era until about AD 300. So, option D, too is incorrect.

503.

"Through meditation and the right attitude, one allows emotions to happen to oneself (it is impossible to prevent this), but one is advised to observe the emotions without necessarily acting on them; one achieves some distance and decides what has value and what does not have value." In the context of the passage, which one of the following is not a possible implication of the quoted statement?

 

• A. 

  Meditation allows certain out-of-body experiences that permit us to gain the distance necessary to control our emotions.

• B. 

  Emotional responses can make it difficult to distinguish valuable experiences from valueless experiences.

• C. 

  The observation of emotions in a distant manner corresponds to the second movement referred to earlier in the passage.

• D. 

  "Meditation and the right attitude", in this instance, implies an initially passive reception of all experiences.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The given line does not imply that meditation allows 'out-of-body' experiences.

On the other hand, it says that by distancing from emotions one can decide what has value and what does not have value. So, option B is implied.

The passage also says that second movement is what one does next about the emotion. So, option C is implied.

The given line also says that through meditation and the right attitude, one allows emotions to happen to oneself but can observe these emotions without acting on them. That is, one can passively receive experiences. So, option D is implied.

504.

Which one of the following statements would be an accurate inference from the example of Marcus Aurelius?

 

• A. 

  Marcus Aurelius was humiliated by the accusation of treason in front of the other officers.

• B. 

  Marcus Aurelius was one of the leaders of the Roman army.

• C. 

  Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic whose philosophy survived into the Roman era.

• D. 

  Marcus Aurelius plotted revenge in his quest for justice.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Refer to what the passage says about Marcus Aurelius: "Examples of second movements for Marcus might have included a plot to seek revenge, actions signifying deference and appeasement, or perhaps proceeding as he would have proceeded whether or not this event occurred: continuing to lead the Romans in a way that Marcus Aurelius believed best benefited them". The only accurate inference that can be made from the example of Marcus Aurelius is that he was a leader in the Roman army.

The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

The Chinese have two different concepts of a copy. Fangzhipin . . . are imitations where the difference from the original is obvious. These are small models or copies that can be purchased in a museum shop, for example. The second concept for a copy is fuzhipin . . . They are exact reproductions of the original, which, for the Chinese, are of equal value to the original. It has absolutely no negative connotations. The discrepancy with regard to the understanding of what a copy is has often led to misunderstandings and arguments between China and Western museums. The Chinese often send copies abroad instead of originals, in the firm belief that they are not essentially different from the originals. The rejection that then comes from the Western museums is perceived by the Chinese as an insult. . . .

The Far Eastern notion of identity is also very confusing to the Western observer. The Ise Grand Shrine [in Japan] is 1,300 years old for the millions of Japanese people who go there on pilgrimage every year. But in reality this temple complex is completely rebuilt from scratch every 20 years. . . .

The cathedral of Freiburg Minster in southwest Germany is covered in scaffolding almost all year round. The sandstone from which it is built is a very soft, porous material that does not withstand natural erosion by rain and wind. After a while, it crumbles. As a result, the cathedral is continually being examined for damage, and eroded stones are replaced. And in the cathedral's dedicated workshop, copies of the damaged sandstone figures are constantly being produced. Of course, attempts are made to preserve the stones from the Middle Ages for as long as possible. But at some point they, too, are removed and replaced with new stones.

Fundamentally, this is the same operation as with the Japanese shrine, except in this case the production of a replica takes place very slowly and over long periods of time. . . . In the field of art as well, the idea of an unassailable original developed historically in the Western world. Back in the 17th century [in the West], excavated artworks from antiquity were treated quite differently from today. They were not restored in a way that was faithful to the original. Instead, there was massive intervention in these works, changing their appearance. . . .

It is probably this intellectual position that explains why Asians have far fewer scruples about cloning than Europeans. The South Korean cloning researcher Hwang Woo-suk, who attracted worldwide attention with his cloning experiments in 2004, is a Buddhist. He found a great deal of support and followers among Buddhists, while Christians called for a ban on human cloning. . . . Hwang legitimised his cloning experiments with his religious affiliation: 'I am Buddhist, and I have no philosophical problem with cloning. And as you know, the basis of Buddhism is that life is recycled through reincarnation. In some ways, I think, therapeutic cloning restarts the circle of life.'

501.

Based on the passage, which one of the following copies would a Chinese museum be unlikely to consider as having less value than the original?

 

• A. 

  Pablo Picasso's painting of Vincent van Gogh's original painting, identical in every respect.

• B. 

  Pablo Picasso's photograph of Vincent van Gogh's original painting, printed to exactly the same scale.

• C. 

  Pablo Picasso's miniaturised, but otherwise faithful and accurate painting of Vincent van Gogh's original painting.

• D. 

  Pablo Picasso's painting of Vincent van Gogh's original painting, bearing Picasso's signature.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option A is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

According to the passage, for the Chinese, Fuzhipin or exact reproductions of the original are equal in value to the original. Among the given options, only option A is an exact reproduction of the original. A photograph or a miniature is not an exact copy.

502.

Which one of the following statements does not correctly express the similarity between the Ise Grand Shrine and the cathedral of Freiburg Minster?

• A. 

  Both can be regarded as very old structures.

• B. 

  Both will one day be completely rebuilt.

• C. 

  Both were built as places of worship.

• D. 

  Both are continually undergoing restoration.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

According to the passage, the Ise Shrine, unlike the Freiburg Minster, is not continually undergoing restoration, but is completely rebuilt from scratch every 20 years.

503.

Which one of the following scenarios is unlikely to follow from the arguments in the passage?

• A. 

  A 17th century British painter would have no problem adding personal touches when restoring an ancient Roman painting.

• B. 

  A 20th century Japanese Buddhist monk would value a reconstructed shrine as the original.

• C. 

  A 17th century French artist who adhered to a Christian worldview would need to be completely true to the original intent of a painting when restoring it.

• D. 

  A 21st century Christian scientist is likely to oppose cloning because of his philosophical orientation.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The passage says that in the 17th century in the West, interventions were made in excavated artworks. So, option A follows from the arguments of the passage. Option C is also about interventions in excavated artworks. Option C, however, implies that whether or not interventions were made was dependent on the religious worldview of the artist. The passage does not say so. So, option C does not follow from the given arguments. Based on the last paragraph, options B and D can be inferred.

504.

The value that the modern West assigns to "an unassailable original" has resulted in all of the following EXCEPT:

 

• A. 

  it discourages them from making interventions in ancient art.

• B. 

  it discourages them from carrying out human cloning.

• C. 

  it discourages them from simultaneous displays of multiple copies of a painting.

• D. 

  it allows regular employment for certain craftsmen.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

An "unassailable" original implies the original is inviolable. So, the value that the modern West assigns to an unassailable original clearly discourages them from making interventions in ancient art. It also discourages them from simultaneous displays of multiple copies of a painting, as copies are not considered to be of value (refer to the first paragraph). From the example of the cathedral of Freiburg Minster, it can also be inferred that the idea of an unassailable original provides those who restore the original with constant work. So, options A, C and D follow from the Western idea of an unassailable original.

 

Now, the passage does say that "Asians have far fewer scruples about cloning than Europeans". So, the idea of an unassailable original does make more Europeans think of cloning as something that is morally wrong as compared to Asians. But based on the given information, nothing can be said about human cloning being actually carried out or otherwise. So, option B cannot be inferred from the given passage.

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

RESIDENTS of Lozère, a hilly department in southern France, recite complaints familiar to many rural corners of Europe. In remote hamlets and villages, with names such as Le Bacon and Le Bacon Vieux, mayors grumble about a lack of local schools, jobs, or phone and internet connections. Farmers of grazing animals add another concern: the return of wolves. Eradicated from France last century, the predators are gradually creeping back to more forests and hillsides. "The wolf must be taken in hand," said an aspiring parliamentarian, Francis Palombi, when pressed by voters in an election campaign early this summer. Tourists enjoy visiting a wolf park in Lozère, but farmers fret over their livestock and their livelihoods. . . .

As early as the ninth century, the royal office of the Luparii—wolf-catchers—was created in France to tackle the predators. Those official hunters (and others) completed their job in the 1930s, when the last wolf disappeared from the mainland. Active hunting and improved technology such as rifles in the 19^th century, plus the use of poison such as strychnine later on, caused the population collapse. But in the early 1990s the animals reappeared. They crossed the Alps from Italy, upsetting sheep farmers on the French side of the border. Wolves have since spread to areas such as Lozère, delighting environmentalists, who see the predators' presence as a sign of wider ecological health. Farmers, who say the wolves cause the deaths of thousands of sheep and other grazing animals, are less cheerful. They grumble that green activists and politically correct urban types have allowed the return of an old enemy.

Various factors explain the changes of the past few decades. Rural depopulation is part of the story. In Lozère, for example, farming and a once-flourishing mining industry supported a population of over 140,000 residents in the mid-19^th century. Today the department has fewer than 80,000 people, many in its towns. As humans withdraw, forests are expanding. In France, between 1990 and 2015, forest cover increased by an average of 102,000 hectares each year, as more fields were given over to trees. Now, nearly one-third of mainland France is covered by woodland of some sort. The decline of hunting as a sport also means more forests fall quiet. In the mid-to-late 20^th century over 2m hunters regularly spent winter weekends tramping in woodland, seeking boars, birds and other prey. Today the Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs, the national body, claims 1.1m people hold hunting licences, though the number of active hunters is probably lower. The mostly protected status of the wolf in Europe—hunting them is now forbidden, other than when occasional culls are sanctioned by the state—plus the efforts of NGOs to track and count the animals, also contribute to the recovery of wolf populations.

As the lupine population of Europe spreads westwards, with occasional reports of wolves seen closer to urban areas, expect to hear of more clashes between farmers and those who celebrate the predators' return. Farmers' losses are real, but are not the only economic story. Tourist venues, such as parks where wolves are kept and the animals' spread is discussed, also generate income and jobs in rural areas.

501.

The inhabitants of Lozère have to grapple with all of the following problems, EXCEPT:

• A. 

  poor rural communication infrastructure.

• B. 

  lack of educational facilities.

• C. 

  decline in the number of hunting licences.

• D. 

  livestock losses.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

All options except C are correct. The passage starts by saying residents of Lozère 'recite complaints familiar to many rural corners of Europe'- a lack of local schools, jobs, or phone and internet connections. It goes on to talk of an additional concern: livestock losses due to the return of wolves.

502.

Which one of the following has NOT contributed to the growing wolf population in Lozère?

• A. 

  The granting of a protected status to wolves in Europe.

• B. 

  The shutting down of the royal office of the Luparii.

• C. 

  An increase in woodlands and forest cover in Lozère.

• D. 

  A decline in the rural population of Lozère.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The passage states that the granting of a protected status to wolves in Europe, an increase in woodlands and forest cover in France and a decline in the rural population of Lozère have contributed to a growing wolf population in Lozère. The Luparii, according to the passage 'completed their job in the 1930s, when the last wolf disappeared from the mainland'. The shutting down of the royal office of the Luparii is hence not a factor contributing to the growing wolf population in Lozère.

503.

The author presents a possible economic solution to an existing issue facing Lozère that takes into account the divergent and competing interests of:

• A. 

  tourists and environmentalists.

• B. 

  environmentalists and politicians.

• C. 

  politicians and farmers.

• D. 

  farmers and environmentalists.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The views of farmers and environmentalists are divergent and competing, with the former being concerned about the growing wolf population and the latter being delighted by it. Tourists side with environmentalists as they enjoy visiting wolf parks. Option D is the correct choice.

504.

Which one of the following statements, if true, would weaken the author's claims?

• A. 

  Wolf attacks on tourists in Lozère are on the rise.

• B. 

  Having migrated out in the last century, wolves are now returning to Lozère.

• C. 

  The old mining sites of Lozère are now being used as grazing pastures for sheep.

• D. 

  Unemployment concerns the residents of Lozère.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

According to the author, tourists are happy with a growing wolf population as they enjoy visiting wolf parks. If wolf attacks on tourists in Lozère are on the rise, then it would weaken the author's claims. Option A is the correct choice.

None of the other options, if true, weaken the author's claims. Note that if the residents of Lozère were concerned with unemployment, they would not complain about the growing wolf population, as wolf parks, according to the author, generate income and jobs in rural areas.

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

[Fifty] years after its publication in English [in 1972], and just a year since [Marshall] Sahlins himself died—we may ask: why did [his essay] "Original Affluent Society" have such an impact, and how has it fared since? . . . Sahlins's principal argument was simple but counterintuitive: before being driven into marginal environments by colonial powers, hunter-gatherers, or foragers, were not engaged in a desperate struggle for meager survival. Quite the contrary, they satisfied their needs with far less work than people in agricultural and industrial societies, leaving them more time to use as they wished. Hunters, he quipped, keep bankers' hours. Refusing to maximize, many were "more concerned with games of chance than with chances of game." . . . The so-called Neolithic Revolution, rather than improving life, imposed a harsher work regime and set in motion the long history of growing inequality . . .

Moreover, foragers had other options. The contemporary Hadza of Tanzania, who had long been surrounded by farmers, knew they had alternatives and rejected them. To Sahlins, this showed that foragers are not simply examples of human diversity or victimhood but something more profound: they demonstrated that societies make real choices. Culture, a way of living oriented around a distinctive set of values, manifests a fundamental principle of collective self-determination. . . .

But the point [of the essay] is not so much the empirical validity of the data—the real interest for most readers, after all, is not in foragers either today or in the Paleolithic—but rather its conceptual challenge to contemporary economic life and bourgeois individualism. The empirical served a philosophical and political project, a thought experiment and stimulus to the imagination of possibilities.

With its title's nod toward The Affluent Society (1958), economist John Kenneth Galbraith's famously skeptical portrait of America's postwar prosperity and inequality, and dripping with New Left contempt for consumerism, "The Original Affluent Society" brought this critical perspective to bear on the contemporary world. It did so through the classic anthropological move of showing that radical alternatives to the readers' lives really exist. If the capitalist world seeks wealth through ever greater material production to meet infinitely expansive desires, foraging societies follow "the Zen road to affluence": not by getting more, but by wanting less. If it seems that foragers have been left behind by "progress," this is due only to the ethnocentric self-congratulation of the West. Rather than accumulate material goods, these societies are guided by other values: leisure, mobility, and above all, freedom. . . .

Viewed in today's context, of course, not every aspect of the essay has aged well. While acknowledging the violence of colonialism, racism, and dispossession, it does not thematize them as heavily as we might today. Rebuking evolutionary anthropologists for treating present-day foragers as "left behind" by progress, it too can succumb to the temptation to use them as proxies for the Paleolithic. Yet these characteristics should not distract us from appreciating Sahlins's effort to show that if we want to conjure new possibilities, we need to learn about actually inhabitable worlds.

501.

We can infer that Sahlins's main goal in writing his essay was to:

• A. 

  highlight the fact that while we started off as a fairly contented egalitarian people, we have progressively degenerated into materialism.

• B. 

  put forth the view that, despite egalitarian origins, economic progress brings greater inequality and social hierarchies.

• C. 

  hold a mirror to an acquisitive society, with examples of other communities that have chosen successfully to be non-materialistic.

• D. 

  counter Galbraith's pessimistic view of the inevitability of a capitalist trajectory for economic growth.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The passage states that the main point of Sahlin's essay was to provide a 'conceptual challenge to contemporary economic life and bourgeois individualism'. The essay 'served a philosophical and political project, a thought experiment and stimulus to the imagination of possibilities' that showed that radical alternatives to the readers' lives really exist. From this we infer that Sahlins' main goal in writing his essay was to hold a mirror to the capitalist acquisitive society and to give examples of other communities that have chosen successfully to be non-materialistic. Option C is the correct choice.

Option A is incorrect. The passage does not say that foragers had an 'egalitarian' society. Nor does the essay, according to the passage, state that we have 'progressively degenerated' into materialism.

Option B implies that, according to Sahlins' essay, economic progress had egalitarian origins. This is incorrect.

The passage states that the title of Sahlins' essay is a 'nod toward' Galbraith's work. That is, Sahlin is in agreement with Galbraith. So, option D is also incorrect.

502.

The author mentions Tanzania's Hadza community to illustrate:

• A. 

  that forager communities' lifestyles derived not from ignorance about alternatives, but from their own choice.

• B. 

  how two vastly different ways of living and working were able to coexist in proximity for centuries.

• C. 

  how pre-agrarian societies did not hamper the emergence of more advanced agrarian practices in contiguous communities.

• D. 

  that hunter-gatherer communities' subsistence-level techniques equipped them to survive well into contemporary times.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option A is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Note the context in which the author talks about the Hadza: 'Moreover, foragers had other options. The contemporary Hadza of Tanzania, who had long been surrounded by farmers, knew they had alternatives and rejected them. To Sahlins, this showed that foragers are not simply examples of human diversity or victimhood but something more profound: they demonstrated that societies make real choices.' So, option A is the correct choice.

503.

The author of the passage criticises Sahlins's essay for its:

• A. 

  outdated values regarding present-day foragers versus ancient foraging communities.

• B. 

  failure to supplement its thesis with robust empirical data.

• C. 

  critique of anthropologists who disparage the choices of foragers in today's society.

• D. 

  cursory treatment of the effects of racism and colonialism on societies.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Note the lines, 'Viewed in today's context, of course, not every aspect of the essay has aged well. While acknowledging the violence of colonialism, racism, and dispossession, it does not thematize them as heavily as we might today.' The author criticises Sahlins' cursory treatment of the effects of racism and colonialism on societies. Option D is the correct choice.

504.

The author of the passage mentions Galbraith's "The Affluent Society" to:

• A. 

  contrast the materialist nature of contemporary growth paths with the pacifist content ways of living among the foragers.

• B. 

  document the influence of Galbraith's cynical views on modern consumerism on Sahlins's analysis of pre-historic societies.

• C. 

  show how Galbraith's theories refute Sahlins's thesis on the contentment of pre-hunter-gatherer communities.

• D. 

  show how Sahlins's views complemented Galbraith's criticism of the consumerism and inequality of contemporary society.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

While mentioning Galbraith's "The Affluent Society" , the passage states that the title of Sahlins' essay is a 'nod toward' Galbraith's famously skeptical portrait of America's postwar prosperity and inequality. That is, Sahlin is in agreement with Galbraith. His views complemented Galbraith's criticism of the consumerism and inequality of contemporary society. Option D is the correct choice.