CAT 2003 Slot 1 — VARC Question 37
The verse given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the journey is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon – don't be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon – you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one,
may there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbours seen for the first time:
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind –
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting lthaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvellous journey,
without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean
Each of the questions below consists of a set of labelled sentences. These sentences, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Choose the most logical order of sentences from the options.
- Four days later, Oracle announced its own bid for PeopleSoft, and invited the firm's board to a discussion.
- Furious that his own plans had been endangered, PeopleSoft's boss, Craig Conway, called Oracle's offer "diabolical", and its boss, Larry Ellison, a "sociopath".
- In early June, PeopleSoft said that it would buy J.D. Edwards, a smaller rival.
- Moreover, said Mr. Conway, he "could imagine no price nor combination of price and other conditions to recommend accepting the offer."
- On June 12th, PeopleSoft turned Oracle down.
Answer & solution
CABDE
- B
CADBE
- C
CEDAB
- D
CAEBD
Pay attention to the sequence of events. All options start with C where there is a reference to early June. A should follow that (“four days later”) with regards to time reference. That eliminates option 3.
BD is a pair - statement B introduces Craig Conway and D continues with what Mr. Conway had to say (‘moreover’ is a link word). That narrows down our choices to options 1 and 4. Statement B mentions Conway’s plans being endangered (possibly with his wanting to buy J.D. Edwards and instead Oracle approaching his company). The statement gives a reason for the decision mentioned in E, that of turning down Oracle. Therefore, statement E comes last.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.