CAT 2021 Slot 1 VARC Question & Solution
Passage
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
The sleights of hand that conflate consumption with virtue are a central theme in A Thirst for Empire, a sweeping and richly detailed history of tea by the historian Erika Rappaport. How did tea evolve from an obscure “China drink” to a universal beverage imbued with civilising properties? The answer, in brief, revolves around this conflation, not only by profit-motivated marketers but by a wide variety of interest groups. While abundant historical records have allowed the study of how tea itself moved from east to west, Rappaport is focused on the movement of the idea of tea to suit particular purposes.
Beginning in the 1700s, the temperance movement advocated for tea as a pleasure that cheered but did not inebriate, and industrialists soon borrowed this moral argument in advancing their case for free trade in tea (and hence more open markets for their textiles). Factory owners joined in, compelled by the cause of a sober workforce, while Christian missionaries discovered that tea “would soothe any colonial encounter”. During the Second World War, tea service was presented as a social and patriotic activity that uplifted soldiers and calmed refugees.
But it was tea’s consumer-directed marketing by importers and retailers - and later by brands - that most closely portends current trade debates. An early version of the “farm to table” movement was sparked by anti-Chinese sentiment and concerns over trade deficits, as well as by the reality and threat of adulterated tea containing dirt and hedge clippings. Lipton was soon advertising “from the Garden to Tea Cup” supply chains originating in British India and supervised by “educated Englishmen”. While tea marketing always presented direct consumer benefits (health, energy, relaxation), tea drinkers were also assured that they were participating in a larger noble project that advanced the causes of family, nation and civilization. . . .
Rappaport’s treatment of her subject is refreshingly apolitical. Indeed, it is a virtue that readers will be unable to guess her political orientation: both the miracle of markets and capitalism’s dark underbelly are evident in tea’s complex story, as are the complicated effects of British colonialism. . . . Commodity histories are now themselves commodities: recent works investigate cotton, salt, cod, sugar, chocolate, paper and milk. And morality marketing is now a commodity as well, applied to food, “fair trade” apparel and eco-tourism. Yet tea is, Rappaport makes clear, a world apart - an astonishing success story in which tea marketers not only succeeded in conveying a sense of moral elevation to the consumer but also arguably did advance the cause of civilisation and community.
I have been offered tea at a British garden party, a Bedouin campfire, a Turkish carpet shop and a Japanese chashitsu, to name a few settings. In each case the offering was more an idea - friendship, community, respect - than a drink, and in each case the idea then created a reality. It is not a stretch to say that tea marketers have advanced the particularly noble cause of human dialogue and friendship.
Question 1
Today, “conflat[ing] consumption with virtue” can be seen in the marketing of:
Solution:
Although mildly subjective, the question tests our understanding of the central idea. Across the passage, we notice the 'conflation' of tea consumption with particular virtues: it was not merely limited to benefits to the consumer but served a greater purpose. The narrative was that by drinking tea, people were/are advancing the cause of civilisation and community {thereby, imparting a sense of moral elevation}. Thus, the welfare highlighted is two-fold: both the consumer and society is benefitted. Towards the end, the author supports the narrative as follows: "It is not a stretch to say that tea marketers have advanced the particularly noble cause of human dialogue and friendship." Any choice showcasing this dual benefit might be the potential answer.
Option A presents sustainably farmed foods; it is easy to identify that any associated marketing mechanics will emphasise the benefit of such food to both people and the environment. Thus, advertisers will make a case for how sustainably farmed food is beneficial not just to the consumer but also to the world at large. This will be equivalent to the 'conflation' that we came across in the passage.
Option B mentions natural health supplements; although we can discern the benefit to the consumer, the benefits to society is hard to perceive. Similarly, Options C and D appear irrelevant; it is difficult to identify what virtues we are conflating here with the subject.
Hence, of the given choices, Option A appears most appropriate.
Question 2
The author of this book review is LEAST likely to support the view that:
Solution:
{During the Second World War, tea service was presented as a social and patriotic activity that uplifted soldiers and calmed refugees.}
{I have been offered tea at a British garden party, a Bedouin campfire, a Turkish carpet shop and a Japanese chashitsu, to name a few settings. In each case the offering was more an idea - friendship, community, respect - than a drink, and in each case the idea then created a reality. It is not a stretch to say that tea marketers have advanced the particularly noble cause of human dialogue and friendship.}
Options A, B and D have been implied in the above excerpts - we can safely assume that the author will agree to the claims made in these options. Option C, however, has not been stated in the passage. There is no information to deduce that the author will agree with the assertions that tea became the leading drink in Britain in the nineteenth century. Thus, Option C is the correct choice.
Question 3
According to this book review, A Thirst for Empire says that, in addition to “profitmotivated marketers”, tea drinking was promoted in Britain by all of the following EXCEPT:
Solution:
We can refer to the following excerpt to examine the choices: { Beginning in the 1700s, the temperance movement advocated for tea as a pleasure that cheered but did not inebriate, and industrialists soon borrowed this moral argument in advancing their case for free trade in tea (and hence more open markets for their textiles). Factory owners joined in, compelled by the cause of a sober workforce, while Christian missionaries discovered that tea “would soothe any colonial encounter”. }
Options A, C and D can be directly inferred from the excerpt. The author does not present any information pertaining to tea drinkers lobbying for product diversity - hence, we can identify this as an incorrect reason.
Therefore, Option B is the correct choice.
Question 4
This book review argues that, according to Rappaport, tea is unlike other “morality” products because it:
Solution:
An important clue to analyse the options lies in the following excerpt: {Yet tea is, Rappaport makes clear, a world apart - an astonishing success story in which tea marketers not only succeeded in conveying a sense of moral elevation to the consumer but also arguably did advance the cause of civilisation and community.} It is emphasised that the moral praise that tea received was not mere talk - tea as a 'morality product' did produce desirable outcomes. Option A is closest to conveying this idea. Options B, C and D fail to highlight the attribute that separates tea from 'other morality products' {as per the passage}.
Hence, Option A is the correct choice.