CAT 2025 Slot 1 · VARC · Question 14

CAT 2025 Slot 1 previous year question on Sentence Completion and Insertion, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

Sentence Completion and InsertionVerbal AbilityMultiple choiceMedium

The given sentence is missing in the paragraph below. Decide where it best fits among the options 1, 2, 3, or 4 indicated in the paragraph.

Sentence: Historically, silver has been, and still is, an important element in the business of 'show' visible in private houses, churches, government and diplomacy.

Paragraph: ____(1) ____. Timothy Schroder put it succinctly in suggesting that electric light and eating in the kitchen eroded this need. As he explained to the author, 'Silver, when illuminated by flickering candlelight, comes alive and almost dances before the eyes, but when lit by electric light it becomes flat and dead.' ____(2) ____. Domestic and economic changes may have worked against the market, but the London silver trade remained buoyant, thanks to the competition of collectors seeking grand display silver at the top end, and the buyers of 'collectables', like spoons and wine labels and 'novelties', at the bottom. ____(3) ____. Another factor that came into play was the systematic collection building of certain American museums over the period. Boston, Huntington Art Gallery and Williamsburg, among others, were largely supplied by London dealers. ____(4) ____.

  1. A

    Option 1

  2. B

    Option 3

  3. C

    Option 4

  4. D

    Option 2

Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option B

The missing sentence makes a positive claim – silver has been and still is important to display, in houses, churches, government and diplomacy.

Blank 1 looks inviting, because the next sentence says electric light and eating in the kitchen 'eroded this need', and 'this need' would then point to the need for 'show'. But test what follows. If the paragraph opened with the importance of display and immediately reported its erosion, the rest should trace a decline. Instead the paragraph goes on to say the London silver trade remained buoyant. Opening on display and then eroding it leaves the 'still is' of the missing sentence stranded.

Blank 2 sits right after the quotation that silver under electric light 'becomes flat and dead'. Placing a sentence about silver's enduring role in 'show' there sets the two ideas in direct collision, with no connective to manage the clash.

Blank 3 follows the sentence about collectors seeking grand display silver at the top end and buyers of collectables at the bottom. The missing sentence explains why that demand holds – display, in houses, churches, government and diplomacy – and its 'still is' matches 'remained buoyant'. It then hands over neatly to 'Another factor that came into play', which signals that a factor has just been given.

Blank 4 is at the very end, after the American museums point. A sentence that begins 'Historically... and still is' cannot be the closing line of a paragraph that has already moved on to specific institutions.

Shortcut: look for the phrase that demands a preceding item. 'Another factor that came into play' is that phrase here, so the blank immediately before it – blank 3 – is the natural slot.

The answer is 'Option 3', which is listed second. Hence, the answer is option 2.

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