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CAT 2017 Slot 1 — VARC Question 30

Mixed PracticeEasy

The five sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) given in this question, when properly sequenced, from a coherent paragraph. Each sentence is labelled with a number. Decide on the proper order for the sentences and key in this sequence of five numbers as your answer.

  1. The study suggests that the disease did not spread with such intensity, but that it may have driven human migration across Europe and Asia.
  2. The oldest sample came from an individual who lived in southeast Russia about 5,000 years ago.
  3. The ages of the skeletons correspond to a time of mass exodus from today’s Russia and Ukraine into western Europe and central Asia, suggesting that a pandemic could have driven these migrations.
  4. In the analysis of fragments of DNA from 101 Bronze Age skeletons for sequences from Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the disease, seven tested positive.
  5. DNA from Bronze age human skeletons indicate that the black plague could have emerged as early as 3,000 BCE, long before the epidemic that swept through Europe in mid–1300s.

Answer & solution

Correct answer: 54123

Answer: 54123

Solution

Easy

A five-sentence para-jumble: key in the order as one number. Find the opener (a sentence that introduces the topic without referring back to anything), then chain sentences using mandatory links. Here the topic is the surprisingly early emergence of plague, evidenced by Bronze Age DNA.

1

Find the opener: 5. Sentence 5 introduces the headline finding for the first time — "DNA from Bronze Age human skeletons indicate that the black plague could have emerged as early as 3,000 BCE." It names the subject (DNA, Bronze Age skeletons, plague) with no prior reference, so it must begin the paragraph.

2

5 → 4. Sentence 5 mentions "DNA from Bronze Age human skeletons" in general; sentence 4 then gives the specific experiment — "In the analysis of fragments of DNA from 101 Bronze Age skeletons… seven tested positive." This is the natural move from claim to the supporting analysis, fixing the pair 5–4.

3

4 → 1. Having reported that seven samples tested positive, sentence 1 interprets that result: "The study suggests that the disease did not spread with such intensity, but that it may have driven human migration." "The study" refers back to the analysis in 4, giving 5–4–1.

4

1 → 2 → 3. Sentence 1 raises the migration idea; sentence 2 then dates the evidence — "The oldest sample came from an individual who lived in southeast Russia about 5,000 years ago." Sentence 3 picks up that timing: "The ages of the skeletons correspond to a time of mass exodus… suggesting that a pandemic could have driven these migrations," closing the loop on the migration hypothesis. So 2 precedes 3.

Order: 5 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 3. Key in 54123.

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CAT 2017 Slot 1 VARC Q30: The five sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) given in this question, when properly sequenced, from a coherent p — Solution | TheCATExam