CAT 2023 Slot 2 · VARC · Question 15

CAT 2023 Slot 2 previous year question on Sentence Completion and Insertion, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

Sentence Completion and InsertionVerbal AbilityMultiple choiceMedium

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: Dualism was long held as the defining feature of developing countries in contrast to developed countries, where frontier technologies and high productivity were assumed to prevail.

Paragraph: ____(1)____. At the core of development economics lies the idea of 'productive dualism': that poor countries' economies are split between a narrow 'modern' sector that uses advanced technologies and a larger 'traditional' sector characterized by very low productivity. ____(2)____. While this distinction between developing and advanced economies may have made some sense in the 1950s and 1960s, it no longer appears to be very relevant. A combination of forces have produced a widening gap between the winners and those left behind. ____(3)____. Convergence between poor and rich parts of the economy was arrested and regional disparities widened. ____(4)____. As a result, policymakers in advanced economies are now grappling with the same questions that have long preoccupied developing economies: mainly how to close the gap with the more advanced parts of the economy.

  1. A

    Option 1

  2. B

    Option 2

  3. C

    Option 3

  4. D

    Option 4

Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option B

The missing sentence says dualism was long seen as the defining feature of developing countries, in contrast to developed countries. The sentence after blank 2 begins 'While this distinction between developing and advanced economies may have made some sense...' – 'this distinction' needs a sentence that contrasts developing and advanced economies, which is exactly what the missing sentence does.

It also follows naturally from the definition of 'productive dualism' just before blank 2.

Blank 1 would put the sentence before 'dualism' has been defined.

Blanks 3 and 4 come after the paragraph has already moved on to the widening gap within advanced economies.

Shortcut: a demonstrative phrase like 'this distinction' after a blank needs its referent directly before it. Check whether the missing sentence supplies it.

The answer is 'Option 2', which is listed second. Hence, the answer is option 2.

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