CAT 2019 Slot 1 — VARC Question 29
The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, and 4) given in this question, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper order for the sentences and key in this sequence of four numbers as your answer.
- Metaphors may map to similar meanings across languages, but their subtle differences can have a profound effect on our understanding of the world.
- Latin scholars point out carpe diem is a horticultural metaphor that, particularly seen in the context of its source, is more accurately translated as “plucking the day,” evoking the plucking and gathering of ripening fruits or flowers, enjoying a moment that is rooted in the sensory experience of nature, unrelated to the force implied in seizing.
- The phrase carpe diem, which is often translated as “seize the day and its accompanying philosophy, has gone on to inspire countless people in how they live their lives and motivates us to see the world a little differently from the norm
- It’s an example of one of the more telling ways that we mistranslate metaphors from one language to another, revealing in the process our hidden assumptions about what we really value.
Answer & solution
Correct answer: 3241
Answer: 3241
Easy
Spot the sentence that introduces the subject by name (the opener), follow the pronoun and reference chain ("It's an example of..."), and keep the general-statement sentence for the close where it draws the broad lesson.
Opener = (3). Sentence 3 introduces the phrase "carpe diem", usually translated "seize the day", and its inspiring philosophy. It names the topic for the first time, so it must lead.
(3) -> (2). Sentence 2 continues directly with the scholarship on that same phrase: Latin scholars say carpe diem is really "plucking the day", a horticultural image unrelated to the force of "seizing". It elaborates the translation just raised in 3. Pair 3-2.
(2) -> (4): the "example" reference. Sentence 4 begins "It's an example of one of the more telling ways that we mistranslate metaphors..." The mistranslation it points to is exactly the carpe-diem case detailed in 2, so 4 must follow 2.
Closer = (1). Sentence 1 generalises the lesson: metaphors may map to similar meanings across languages, but their subtle differences shape our understanding of the world. This broad takeaway naturally ends the paragraph after the specific example. Final order 3 - 2 - 4 - 1.
The correct sequence is 3241.
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