IPMAT Indore 2024 · Verbal Ability · Question 34

Blank 3 — the clearest test. What must be challenged in order to build an inclusive society, alongside educating people about diversity?

stereotypes ✔ — oversimplified fixed beliefs about groups. This is the standard counterpart to xenophobia and intolerance, and the one thing anti-prejudice education exists to challenge.

truisms (a) — obvious, self-evident statements. Harmless, and nothing to do with prejudice.

archetypes (b) — universal symbolic patterns (the hero, the mentor). A literary and psychological term, not a social prejudice.

propositions (d) — statements for consideration. Far too neutral.

Blank 1 — what kind of challenge? Xenophobia threatens social cohesion, so the adjective should convey urgency.

pressing ✔ — demanding immediate attention. Exactly right for a threat.

complicated and multi-faceted describe complexity, not urgency, and both understate a threat to cohesion.

sophisticated (d) ✘ — means refined or advanced, which is almost complimentary. You cannot call xenophobia sophisticated.

Blank 2 — what do you do to mutual understanding?

nurturing ✔ — to care for and encourage growth. It collocates naturally with understanding and respect, which develop slowly.

advancing (a) is possible but mechanical.

stimulating (b) suggests a short sharp prompt, not sustained cultivation.

expediting (d) ✘ means speeding up a process — understanding between peoples is not a procedure to be rushed, and the word belongs to bureaucracy.

Answer: Option 3

Shortcut. Blank 3 is the fastest elimination in the question — only one of the four words names a prejudice, and the sentence is explicitly about challenging prejudice. Answer secured on a single blank.

Build the vocabulary pairs this question tests, since they recur:

stereotype (fixed oversimplified belief about a group) vs archetype (universal symbolic pattern) — these two are confused constantly.

truism (an obvious truth) vs proposition (a statement put forward).

expedite (speed up a process) vs nurture (cultivate over time).

And check adjective register: sophisticated is positive, so it can never describe a social evil.