CAT 2021 Slot 1 · VARC · Question 20
CAT 2021 Slot 1 previous year question on Odd One Out, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.
Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer:
1. The legal status of resources mined in space remains ambiguous; and while the market for asteroid minerals is currently nonexistent, this is likely to change as technical hurdles diminish.
2. Outer space is a commons, and all of it is open for exploration, however, space law developed in the 1950s and 60s is state-centric and arguably ill-suited to a commercial future.
3. Laws adopted by the US and Luxembourg are first steps, but they only protect firms from competing claims by their compatriots; a Chinese company will not be bound by US law.
4. Critics say the US is conferring rights that it has no authority to confer; Russia in particular has condemned this, citing the US’ disrespect for international law.
5. At issue now is commercial activity, as private firms—rather than nation states—look to space for profit.
Answer & solution
Answer: 4
The paragraph is about why space law does not suit commercial mining:
Sentence 2 sets out the background: outer space is a commons, but space law from the 1950s and 60s is state-centric and unfit for commerce.
Sentence 5 states the new issue: private firms, not nations, now look to space for profit.
Sentence 1 adds that the legal status of mined resources is unclear, while the market for them is likely to grow.
Sentence 3 notes that the US and Luxembourg laws are only first steps and protect firms only from their own compatriots.
The order 2-5-1-3 hangs together as a discussion of legal gaps.
Sentence 4 turns to critics, and to Russia condemning the US for conferring rights it has no authority to grant. This political dispute is a different angle from the paragraph's point about the law being inadequate.
Shortcut: four sentences explain what the law lacks; one reports a diplomatic quarrel. The quarrel is the odd one out.
Hence, the answer is 4.
More Odd One Out questions
- Q18Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent…CAT 2021 Slot 1 · VARC · Odd One Out
- Q1Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent…CAT 2021 Slot 2 · VARC · Odd One Out
- Q8Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent…CAT 2021 Slot 2 · VARC · Odd One Out
- Q15Five jumbled sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put…CAT 2025 Slot 1 · VARC · Odd One Out
- Q24Five jumbled sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put…CAT 2025 Slot 1 · VARC · Odd One Out
- Q6Five jumbled sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put…CAT 2025 Slot 2 · VARC · Odd One Out
Take this paper as a timed test
Real exam timing, instant score, rank and topic-wise analysis.