IPMAT Indore 2024 · Verbal Ability · Question 26

Step 1 — note that the blank has text on both sides. It must bridge sentence 1 and sentence 3.

Before: Yamamoto “blurs the boundary between public and private” in an era that prizes privacy and individualism.

After: “His work is a testament to the power of architecture to break down barriers and to foster a sense of community.”

Step 2 — identify the missing link. Sentence 3 begins “His work is a testament to…”, which presupposes that we have just been told what he stands for. The blank must state his standpoint, and specifically one that leads to community.

Step 3 — test option (c). “a visionary voice advocating a return to a more interconnected way of living” does both jobs:

It contrasts with the “privacy and individualism” of sentence 1 — interconnected is the antonym of individualistic.

It sets up “foster a sense of community” in sentence 3 — interconnection is the idea community then testifies to.

✔ The bridge is complete in both directions.

Step 4 — eliminate.

(a) Traditional vs modern aesthetics is a different axis entirely. The paragraph’s axis is public vs private, not old vs new.

(b) A biographical fact. It is true and relevant to Yamamoto, but a prize announcement cannot be what “his work is a testament to” refers back to. Factual accuracy does not make an option coherent.

(d) Very close, and it does mention harmonious societies. But it merely restates sentence 3’s point (“foster a sense of community”) in advance, making the next sentence redundant. It also fails to pick up the individualism contrast from sentence 1.

Answer: Option 3

Shortcut. A blank with text on both sides must satisfy both neighbours. Check each option twice — once looking back, once looking forward.

The trap here is (d), the “premature conclusion”. An option that says what the following sentence is about to say is wrong by definition — the paragraph would then repeat itself. Redundancy is as fatal as irrelevance in para completion.