CAT 2017 Slot 2 — VARC Question 25
Answer the following questions based on the information given below.
Despite their fierce reputation, Vikings may not have always been the plunderers and pillagers popular culture imagines them to be. In fact, they got their start trading in northern European markets, researchers suggest.
Combs carved from animal antlers, as well as comb manufacturing waste and raw antler material has turned up at three archaeological sites in Denmark, including a medieval marketplace in the city of Ribe. A team of researchers from Denmark and U.K.hoped to identify the species of animal to which the antlers once belonged by analyzing collagen proteins in the samples and comparing them across the animal kingdom, Laura Geggel reports for liveScience.
Somewhat surprisingly, molecular analysis of the artifacts revealed that some combs and other material had been carved from reindeer antlers…. Given that reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) don’t live in Denmark, the researchers posit that it arrived on Viking ships from Norway. Antler craftsmanship, in the form of decorative combs, was part of Viking culture. Such combs served as symbols of good health, Geggel writes. The fact that the animals shed their antlers also made them easy to collect from the large herds that inhabited Norway.
Since the artifacts were found in marketplace areas at each site it’s more likely that the Norsemen came to trade rather than pillage. Most of the artifacts also date to the 780s, but some are as old as 725. That predates the beginning of Viking raids on great Britain by about 70 years. (Traditionally, the so-called “Viking Age” began with these raids in 793 and ended with Norman conquest of Great Britain in 1066.) Archaeologists had suspected that the Viking had experience with ling maritime voyages [that] might have preceded their raiding days. Beyond Norway, these combs would have been a popular industry in Scandinavia as well. It’s possible that the antler comb’s represent a larger trade network, where the Norsemen supplied raw material to craftsmen in Denmark and elsewhere.
The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position.
North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars (Amorpha juglandis ) look like easy meals for birds, but they have a trick up their sleeves- they produce whistles that sound like bird alarm calls, scaring potential predators away. At first, scientists suspected birds were simply started by the loud noise. But a new study suggests a more sophisticated mechanism the caterpillar’s whistle appears to mimic a bird alarm call, sending avian predators scrambling for cover. When pecked by a bird, the caterpillars whistle by compressing their bodies like an accordion and forcing air out through specialized holes in their sides. The whistles are impressively loud-they have been measured at over 80 dB from 5cm away from the caterpillar-considering they are made by a two-inch long insect.
Answer & solution
- A
North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars will whistle periodically to ward off predator birds-they have a specialized vocal tract that helps them whistle
- B
North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars can whistle very loudly; the loudness of their whistles is shocking as they are very small insects.
North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars, in a case of acoustic deception, produce whistles that mimic bird alarm calls to defend themselves.
- D
North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars, in a case of deception and camouflage, produce whistles that mimic bird alarm calls to defend themselves.
The main points in the précis are:
- The North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars scare off potential predators by producing a whistle that imitates bird alarm calls
- Initially the whistle was thought to be just a startling sound but it was found that the whistle mimicked a bird alarm call
- The whistles are quite loud for such a tiny creature
Option 1 is incorrect. It does not mention that the caterpillars are a surprising example of how the sound produced is not a random sound but one that mimics alarm calls for birds. Eliminate option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect as the option misses the most important point of the précis – that the caterpillar sounds mimic avian alarm calls. Eliminate option 2.
Option 3 is correct. The caterpillars use “acoustic deception” to defend themselves by making bird alarm calls. This is the precise point of the précis. Retain option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. The writer does not indicate that caterpillars resort to camouflage in the use of this defence mechanism. Eliminate option 4.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.