CAT 2025 Slot 1 VARC Question & Solution
Question
Five jumbled sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence out and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.
1. The Bayeux tapestry was, therefore, an obvious way to tell people about the downfall of the English and the rise of the Normans.
2. So if we take expert in Anglo-Saxon culture Gale Owen- Crocker's idea that the tapestry was originally hung in a square with certain scenes facing each other, people would have stood in the centre.
3. Art historian Linda Neagley has argued that pre-Renaissance people interacted with art visually, kinaesthetically (sensory perception through bodily movement) and physically.
4. That would make it an 11th-century immersive space with scenes corresponding and echoing each other, drawing the viewer's attention, playing on their senses and understanding of the story they thought they knew.
5. The Bayeux tapestry would have been hung at eye level to enable this.
Solution
Understanding the Central Idea of the Sentences
The sentences revolve around a single main idea: how people may have originally seen and experienced the Bayeux Tapestry.
- The focus is on physical immersion and sensory interaction
- The discussion highlights how people engaged with art before the Renaissance
- Most sentences support a scholarly argument about:
- The spatial arrangement of the tapestry
- The viewer’s bodily and sensory experience
How the Core Sentences Fit Together
The following sentences form a coherent sequence:
3 → 2 → 5 → 4
Here’s how they connect:
- Sentence 3 introduces Linda Neagley’s idea that pre-Renaissance audiences engaged with art not only visually, but also through movement and touch.
- Sentence 2 builds on this idea by citing Gale Owen-Crocker, suggesting that the Bayeux Tapestry may have been hung in a square, with viewers standing at the centre.
- Sentence 5 adds a practical detail, explaining that the tapestry was likely hung at eye level to support this immersive form of viewing.
- Sentence 4 then explains the effect of this arrangement:
- It creates an immersive space similar to that of the 11th century
- Mirrored scenes shape how viewers experience the narrative through their senses
Together, these sentences develop a consistent argument about embodied viewing and immersive experience.
Why Sentence 1 Is the Odd One Out
-
Sentence 1 makes a historical and political observation, stating that the tapestry was an obvious way to communicate:
- The downfall of the English
- The rise of the Normans
-
Unlike the other sentences, it does not discuss:
- Spatial arrangement
- Viewer interaction
- Sensory or immersive experience
Instead, it focuses on the political message of the tapestry, which does not connect to the main line of reasoning.