CAT 2021 Slot 2 — VARC Question 19
The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer:
- The US has long maintained that the Northwest Passage is an international strait through which its commercial and military vessels have the right to pass without seeking Canada’s permission.
- Canada, which officially acquired the group of islands forming the Northwest Passage in 1880, claims sovereignty over all the shipping routes through the Passage.
- The dispute could be transitory, h owever, as scientists speculate that the entire Arctic Ocean will soon be ice-free in summer, so ship owners will not have to ask for permission to sail through any of the Northwest Passage routes.
- The US and Canada have never legally settled the question of access through the Passage, but have an agreement whereby the US needs to seek Canada’s consent for any transit.
Answer & solution
Answer: 2143
Easy
This is a para-jumble. Locate the opener that names the subject, then trace the cause-and-effect / claim-and-response chain using the proper nouns (US, Canada, the Northwest Passage). The topic is the dispute over access through the Northwest Passage.
Opener: 2. Sentence 2 sets the scene by establishing who owns what: "Canada, which officially acquired the group of islands forming the Northwest Passage in 1880, claims sovereignty over all the shipping routes." This introduces the Passage and Canada's claim. The other sentences react to a position already stated, so 2 leads.
2→1 (claim vs counter-claim). Against Canada's claim of sovereignty (2), sentence 1 presents the opposing US position: the US "has long maintained that the Northwest Passage is an international strait" through which it may pass "without seeking Canada's permission." This sets up the dispute, so 1 follows 2.
1→4 (the unresolved status). Sentence 4 reports the present legal reality: the two have "never legally settled the question of access... but have an agreement whereby the US needs to seek Canada's consent." This elaborates the standoff introduced by 1.
Closer: 3. "The dispute could be transitory, however, as scientists speculate that the entire Arctic Ocean will soon be ice-free..." This forward-looking note resolves the whole dispute and so closes the paragraph. Chain: 2 → 1 → 4 → 3.
The coherent order is 2143.