The CAT VARC section has grown increasingly difficult since 2015. In order to tackle the tougher CAT Level VARC questions for the CAT Exam, it is important to understand the basics of Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Para summary, Para completion etc. To obtain a great CAT score, make use of MBAP Free Study material with detailed solutions and video explanations. Check out MBAP free Mock test to take these questions in a test format for free. The purpose of this page is to help you prepare for that. Take a crack at those VARC Section!
Q1. Which one of the following best describes the word “epiphenomena” in the last sentence of the passage?
a. Phenomena amenable to analysis.
b. Phenomena supplemental to the evidence.
c. Overarching collections of images.
d. Visual phenomena of epic proportions.
1. B.
Note the context in which the word is used: “the scholar of visual culture seeks to regard images as evidence for explanation, not as epiphenomena”. Substituting each of the answer options instead of ‘epiphenomena’ in this sentence, we see that only option B makes sense. Epiphenomena are phenomena supplemental to the evidence.
Q2. All of the following statements may be considered valid inferences from the passage, EXCEPT:
a. artifacts are meaningful precisely because they help to construct the meanings of the world for us.
b. studying visual culture requires institutional structures without which the structures of perception cannot be analysed.
c. understanding the structures of perception is an important part of understanding how visual cultures work.
d. visual culture is not just about how we see, but also about how our visual practices can impact and change the world
2. B.
The passage does not mention ‘institutional structures’ or talk about these being essential to the study of visual culture.
From the line, “…task is to understand how artifacts contribute to the construction of a world”, we understand A is true. C is true, based on the line “..scholars may learn a great deal when they scrutinize the constituents of vision, that is, the structures of perception as a physiological process as well as the epistemological frameworks informing a system of visual representation”. D is also true, based on the first paragraph.
Q3. “No amount of social analysis can account fully for the existence of Michelangelo or Leonardo.” In light of the passage, which one of the following interpretations of this sentence is the most accurate?
a. Social analytical accounts of people like Michelangelo or Leonardo cannot explain their genius.
b. Michelangelo or Leonardo cannot be subjected to social analysis because of their genius.
c. No analyses exist of Michelangelo’s or Leonardo’s social accounts.
d. Socially existing beings cannot be analysed, unlike the art of Michelangelo or Leonardo which can.
3. A.
Note the line that follows the given line in the passage: “They were unique creators of images that changed the way their contemporaries thought and felt and have continued to shape the history of art, artists, museums, feeling, and aesthetic value.”In other words, social analysis cannot fully account for the existence of Michelangelo or Leonardo as it cannot explain their genius
Q4. “Seeing . . . operates on the foundation of covenants with images that establish the conditions for meaningful visual experience.” In light of the passage, which one of the following statements best conveys the meaning of this sentence?
a. Sight becomes a meaningful visual experience because of covenants of meaningfulness that we establish with the images we see.
b. The way we experience sight is through images operated on by meaningful covenants.
c. Images are meaningful visual experiences when they have a foundation of covenants seeing them.
d. Sight as a meaningful visual experience is possible when there is a foundational condition established in images of covenants.
4. A.
The given sentence implies sight works on the basis of covenants with images we see. These help establish a meaningful visual experience. Option A captures the meaning of the line best.
Q5. Which set of keywords below most closely captures the arguments of the passage?
a. Visual Culture, Aesthetic Value, Lay Audience, Visual Experience.
b. Scholars, Social Analysis, Michelangelo and Leonardo, Interpretive Devices.
c. Imagery, Visual Practices, Lifeworlds, Structures of Perception.
d. Visual Construction of Reality, Work of Genius, Ethnography, Epiphenomena.
5. C.
All words in option C relate to key ideas in the passage.
Option A mentions ‘lay audience’ which is not a key idea. In the same way, options B and D mention ‘Michelangelo and Leonardo’ and ‘work of genius’ respectively. The passage mentions Michelangelo and Leonardo but that is to make a point about meaning-making.
Inspiring Education… Assuring Success!!
Ⓒ 2020 – All Rights Are Reserved