CAT 2003 Slot 1 — VARC Question 46
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
There are two gaps in each of the following sentences. From the pairs of words given, choose the one that fills the gaps most appropriately. The first word in the pair should fill the first gap.
The British retailer, M&S, today formally _____ defeat in its attempt to _____ King's, its US subsidiary, since no potential purchasers were ready to cough up the necessary cash.
Answer & solution
- A
admitted, acquire
conceded, offload
- C
announced, dispose
- D
ratified, auction
Option 1 can be eliminated as M&S would not be interested in acquiring something which is its own!
The second word ‘auction’ also does not fit the idea that well, as the operative word here is ‘sell’. M&S was trying to sell King’s. Also, people do not ‘ratify’ defeat. Therefore, option 4 can also be eliminated.
‘Dispose’ in option 3 is used along with the preposition ‘of’- “He disposed of the problem quickly.” Therefore, option 3 can be eliminated as well.
Moreover, ‘conceding’ defeat sounds fine (which means agreeing that one has been defeated). ‘Offload’ here means ‘relieve of’ and is correct for the second blank.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.