CAT 2023 Slot 1 · VARC · Question 10

CAT 2023 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.

Colonialism is not a modern phenomenon. World history is full of examples of one society gradually expanding by incorporating adjacent territory and settling its people on newly conquered territory. In the sixteenth century, colonialism changed decisively because of technological developments in navigation that began to connect more remote parts of the world. The modern European colonial project emerged when it became possible to move large numbers of people across the ocean and to maintain political control in spite of geographical dispersion. The term colonialism is used to describe the process of European settlement, violent dispossession and political domination over the rest of the world, including the Americas, Australia, and parts of Africa and Asia.

  1. A

    As a result of developments in navigation technology, European colonialism led to the displacement of indigenous populations and global political changes in the 16th century.

  2. B

    Colonialism, conceptualized in the 16th century, allowed colonizers to expand their territories, establish settlements, and exercise political power.

  3. C

    Technological advancements in navigation in the 16th century, transformed colonialism, enabling Europeans to establish settlements and exert political dominance over distant regions.

  4. D

    Colonialism surged in the 16th century due to advancements in navigation, enabling British settlements abroad and global dominance.

Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option C

The passage: colonialism is old, but in the sixteenth century it 'changed decisively' because of navigation technology; that made it possible to move many people across oceans and keep political control at a distance, producing European settlement and domination.

Option 3 – navigation advances transformed colonialism, letting Europeans settle and dominate distant regions – keeps all of this.

Option 1 focuses on displacement and 'global political changes in the 16th century', missing the key idea that colonialism changed in nature.

Option 2 says colonialism was 'conceptualized in the 16th century'. The passage says it is 'not a modern phenomenon'.

Option 4 narrows it to 'British settlements'; the passage speaks of Europeans.

Shortcut: when a passage says something 'is not new' but 'changed' at a point in time, the summary must say it was transformed, not invented.

Hence, the answer is option 3.

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