CAT 2022 Slot 2 · VARC · Question 19

CAT 2022 Slot 2 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.

There's a common idea that museum artworks are somehow timeless objects available to admire for generations to come. But many are objects of decay. Even the most venerable Old Master paintings don't escape: pigments discolour, varnishes crack, canvases warp. This challenging fact of art-world life is down to something that sounds more like a thread from a morality tale: inherent vice. Damien Hirst's iconic shark floating in a tank - entitled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living - is a work that put a spotlight on inherent vice. When he made it in 1991, Hirst got himself in a pickle by not using the right kind of pickle to preserve the giant fish. The result was that the shark began to decompose quite quickly - its preserving liquid clouding, the skin wrinkling, and an unpleasant smell wafting from the tank.

  1. A

    Museums are left with the moral responsibility of restoring and preserving the artworks since artists cannot preserve their works beyond their life.

  2. B

    Museums have to guard timeless art treasures from intrinsic defects such as the deterioration of paint, polish and canvas.

  3. C

    The role of museums has evolved to ensure that the artworks are preserved forever in addition to guarding and displaying them.

  4. D

    Artworks may not last forever; they may deteriorate with time, and the challenge is to slow down their degeneration.

Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option D

The passage challenges the idea that museum artworks are timeless: many decay because of 'inherent vice' – pigments discolour, varnishes crack, and Hirst's shark decomposed.

Option 4 captures this: artworks may not last forever, and they deteriorate with time.

Option 1 talks of museums' moral responsibility and artists' lifetimes – not discussed.

Option 2 calls the artworks 'timeless' treasures – the very idea the passage rejects.

Option 3 says museums ensure artworks are preserved 'forever' – the opposite of the passage.

Shortcut: the passage's main point is 'artworks are not timeless'. Reject any option that treats them as timeless or permanent. (The second half of option 4, about slowing decay, adds a point the passage only implies, but option 4 alone keeps the main idea.)

Hence, the answer is option 4.

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