CAT 2022 Slot 1 — VARC Question 18
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:
- Some company leaders are basing their decisions on locating offices to foster innovation and growth, as their best-performing inventors suffered the greatest productivity losses when their commutes grew longer.
- Shorter commutes support innovation by giving employees more time in the office and greater opportunities for in-person collaboration, while removing the physical strain of a long commute.
- This is not always the case: remote work does not automatically lead to greater creativity and productivity as office water-cooler conversations are also very important for innovation.
- Some see the link between long commutes and productivity as support for workfrom-home scenarios, as many workers have grown accustomed to their commutefree arrangements during the pandemic.
Answer & solution
Answer: 2143
Easy
Para-jumble on commuting, productivity and remote work. Find the sentence pairs that lock together, fix the opener, then assemble.
Mandatory pair 4 → 3. Sentence 4 says some see long commutes as support for work-from-home. Sentence 3 begins "This is not always the case" and pushes back — office water-cooler chats matter for innovation. The contradiction in 3 directly answers 4, so 4 must come before 3.
1 before 4. Both 1 and 4 describe what "some company leaders" / people believe. Sentence 1 (leaders locating offices to foster innovation) sets up the commute-productivity link that 4 then reads as a WFH argument. So the block is 1 → 4 → 3.
Opening pair 2 → 1. Sentence 2 states the general principle — shorter commutes support innovation (more office time, in-person collaboration, less strain). Sentence 1 applies it: that is why leaders site offices accordingly. So 2 opens and leads into 1.
Chain it together: 2 → 1 → 4 → 3.
2143