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CAT 1999 — VARC Question 13

Inference StatementsEasy

Directions: Read the short passages given below and answer the question that follows it.

Animals, in general, are shrewd in proportion as they cultivate society. Elephants and beavers show the greatest signs of this sagacity when they are together in large numbers, but when man invades their communities they lose all their spirit of industry. Among insects, the labours of the bee and the ant have attracted the attention and admiration of naturalists, but all their sagacity seems to be lost upon separation, and a single bee or ant seems destitute of every degree of industry. It becomes the most stupid insect imaginable, and it languishes and soon dies.

Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage?

Answer & solution

  • A

    Humankind is responsible for the destruction of the natural habitat of animals and insects.

  • Animals, in general, are unable to function effectively outside their normal social environment.

  • C

    Naturalists have great admiration for bees and ants, despite their lack of industry upon separation.

  • D

    Elephants and beavers are smarter than bees and ants in the presence of human beings.

Solution

(b) is the correct answer choice.
The first sentence of the passage asserts that:
Intelligence of animals is proportionate to the extent of their socializing.
Then the passage gives examples of how animals are effective when they are in their own social group and ineffective when they are alone.
This is exactly what is given in option (b).
(a) and (c) are partly stated in the passage, but do not convey the central message.
(d) cannot be inferred as the passage does not compare the behaviour of elephants and beavers with the behaviour of bees and ants.

CAT 1999 VARC Q13: Directions: Read the short passages given below and answer the question that follows it. Animals, in general, — Solution | TheCATExam