CAT 2024 Slot 1 · VARC · Question 15

CAT 2024 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.

Cartographers design and create maps to communicate information about phenomena located somewhere on our planet. In the past, cartographers did not worry too much about who was going to read their maps. Although some simple "usability" research was done—like comparing whether circle or bar symbols worked best—cartographers knew how to make maps. This has changed now, however, due to all kinds of societal and technological developments. Today, map readers are more demanding—mostly because of the tools they use to read maps. Cartographers, who are also influenced by these trends, are now more interested in seeing if their products are efficient, effective, and appreciated.

  1. A
    New technological developments have prompted cartographers to experiment with their maps by applying these new innovations.
  2. B
    Today, cartographers also need to look into the usability of maps because of the new technological developments.
  3. C
    Maps are being used for a variety of reasons and therefore map readers have become more demanding.
  4. D
    Modern mapmakers evaluate a map's effectiveness efficiency and satisfaction of the user through a series of experiments.
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option B

The passage contrasts then and now, and gives a cause. Then, cartographers 'did not worry too much about who was going to read their maps', and usability research was simple. Now, 'due to all kinds of societal and technological developments', readers are 'more demanding—mostly because of the tools they use', and cartographers want to know whether their maps are 'efficient, effective, and appreciated' – the standard three measures of usability.

Option 2 states both parts: the new concern is usability, and the driver is technology.

Option 1 gives the wrong response. Cartographers are checking whether their maps work for readers, not experimenting with new innovations in the maps.

Option 3 gives a reason the passage does not: readers are more demanding because of the tools they use, not because maps serve many purposes. It also leaves out the cartographers.

Option 4 says mapmakers work 'through a series of experiments', which the passage does not claim, and it drops the technological cause.

Shortcut: in a then-versus-now passage, the summary must name what changed and why. Check every option for both; most distractors miss one.

Hence, the answer is option 2.

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