CAT 2022 Slot 1 · VARC · Question 5

CAT 2022 Slot 1 previous year question on Para Summary, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

Para SummaryVerbal AbilityMultiple choiceMedium

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

All that we think we know about how life hangs together is really some kind of illusion that we have perpetrated on ourselves because of our limited vision. What appear to be inanimate objects such as stones turn out not only to be alive in the same way that we are, but also in many infinitesimal ways to be affected by stimuli just as humans are. The distinction between animate and inanimate simply cannot be made when you enter the world of quantum mechanics and try to determine how those apparent subatomic particles, of which you and everything else in our universe is composed, are all tied together. The point is that physics and metaphysics show there is a pattern to the universe that goes beyond our capacity to grasp it with our brains.

  1. A

    The effect of stimuli is similar in inanimate objects when compared to animate objects or living beings.

  2. B

    Quantum physics indicates that an astigmatic view of reality results in erroneous assumptions about the universe.

  3. C

    The inanimate world is both sentient and cognizant like its animate counterpart.

  4. D

    Arbitrary distinctions between inanimate and animate objects disappear at the scale at which quantum mechanics works.

Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option D

The passage says our view of how life hangs together is an illusion caused by limited vision. At the quantum level, the distinction between animate and inanimate 'simply cannot be made', and the universe has a pattern beyond our grasp.

Option 4 states the core claim: the distinction between animate and inanimate breaks down at the scale of quantum mechanics, so it is arbitrary.

Option 1 picks one detail (response to stimuli).

Option 2 uses 'astigmatic' (distorted) view – the passage speaks of a limited view, and it is not quantum physics that 'indicates' the error.

Option 3 adds 'sentient and cognizant', which the passage does not say.

Shortcut: the passage's key sentence is the one about quantum mechanics erasing the animate–inanimate line.

Hence, the answer is option 4.

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