TheCATExam
Sign in

CAT 2017 Slot 2 — VARC Question 20

Mixed PracticeEasy
Passage / Data

Answer the following questions based on the information given below.

Typewriters are the epitome of a technology that has been comprehensively rendered obsolete by the digital age. The ink comes off the ribbon, they weigh a ton, and second thoughts are a disaster. But they are also personal, portable and, above all, private. Type a document and lock it away and more or less the only ways anyone else can get it is if you give it to them. That is why the Russians have decided to go back to typewriters in some government offices, and why in the US, some departments have never abandoned them. Yet it is not just their resistance to algorithms and secret surveillance that keeps typewriter production lines-well one, at least-in business (the last British one closed a year ago). Nor is it only the nostalgic appeal of the mental body and the stout well-defined keys that make them popular on eBay. A typewriter demands something particular: attentiveness. By the time paper is loaded, the ribbon tightened, the carriage returned, the spacing and the margins set, there’s a big premium on hitting the right key. That means sorting out ideas, pulling together a kind of order and organizing details before actually striking off. There can be no thinking of screen with a typewriter. Nor are there any easy distractions. No online shopping. No urgent emails. No Twitter. No need even for electricity -perfect for writing in a remote hideaway. The thinking process is accompanied by the encouraging clack of keys, and the ratchet of the carriage return. Ping!.

According to the passage, some government still use typewriters because:

Answer & solution

Correct answer: they can control who reads the document.

  • A

    they do not want to abandon old technologies that may be useful in the future.

  • B

    they want to ensure that typewriter production lines remain in business.

  • C

    they like the nostalgic appeal of typewriter.

  • they can control who reads the document.

Solution

Easy

A direct detail question: why do some governments still use typewriters? Locate the sentence that justifies "the Russians…and…some [US] departments" — it is the privacy point that immediately precedes that example.

A

Old tech may be useful in future. No future-usefulness rationale is given for governments. Not stated. Incorrect.

B

Keep production lines in business. The passage mentions production lines staying open, but never as a government motive. Confuses two separate ideas. Incorrect.

C

Nostalgic appeal. Nostalgia explains eBay popularity, and the passage explicitly says it is "not just" nostalgia. Wrong cause. Incorrect.

D

They can control who reads the document. "Type a document and lock it away and more or less the only way anyone else can get it is if you give it to them" — this privacy/control point is exactly why Russian and US offices use them. Correct.

Option 4 — governments use typewriters because they can control who reads the document (privacy).

Related Mixed Practice questions

See all Reading Comprehension questions →
CAT 2017 Slot 2 VARC Q20: According to the passage, some government still use typewriters because: — Solution | TheCATExam