CAT 2023 Slot 3 · VARC · Question 18

CAT 2023 Slot 3 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: Beyond undermining the monopoly of the State on the use of force, armed conflict also creates an environment that can enable organized crime to prosper.

Paragraph: ____(1)____. Linkages between illicit arms, organized crime, and armed conflict can reinforce one another while also escalating and prolonging violence and eroding governance. ____(2)____. Financial gains from crime can lengthen or intensify armed conflicts by creating revenue streams for non-State armed groups (NSAGs). ____(3)____. In this context, when hostilities cease and parties to a conflict move towards a peaceful resolution, the widespread availability of surplus arms and ammunition can contribute to a situation of 'criminalized peace' that obstructs sustainable peacebuilding efforts. ____(4)____.

  1. A

    Option 2

  2. B

    Option 1

  3. C

    Option 4

  4. D

    Option 3

Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option D

The paragraph explains how crime and conflict 'reinforce one another'. The sentence before blank 3 gives one direction: crime feeds conflict by funding armed groups. The missing sentence gives the other: conflict 'also creates an environment' in which organised crime prospers. 'Also' signals the second half of the two-way link.

The sentence after blank 3 – 'In this context...' – then refers to that environment and explains how, even after fighting stops, surplus arms lead to 'criminalized peace'.

Blank 1 comes before the link between arms, crime and conflict is introduced.

Blank 2 would put conflict-to-crime before crime-to-conflict, leaving 'also' without a first direction.

Blank 4 comes after the paragraph has moved to the post-conflict period.

Shortcut: when a paragraph says two things 'reinforce one another', expect two sentences, one for each direction. The missing sentence with 'also' supplies the second.

The answer is 'Option 3', which is listed fourth. Hence, the answer is option 4.

More Sentence Completion and Insertion questions

All Sentence Completion and Insertion PYQs →

Take this paper as a timed test
Real exam timing, instant score, rank and topic-wise analysis.

Practice timed →