CAT 2025 Slot 2 VARC Question & Solution
Passage
The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.
This book takes the position that setting in literature is more than just backdrop, that important insight into literary texts can be made by paying close attention to how authors craft place, as well as to how place functions in a narrative. The authors included in this reference work engage deeply with either real or imagined geographies. They care about how human decisions have shaped landscapes and how landscapes have shaped human practices and values. Some of the best writing is highly vivid, employing the language of the senses because this is the primary means through which humans know physical space.
Literature can offer valuable perspectives on physical and cultural geography. Unlike scientific reports, a literary narrative can provide the emotional component missing from the scientific record. In human experience, geographical places have a spiritual or emotional component in addition to and as part of a physical layout and topography. This emotional component, although subjective, is no less “real” than a surveyor’s map. Human consciousness of place is experienced in a multimodal manner. Histories of places live on in many forms, one of which is the human memory or imagination.
Both real and imaginary landscapes provide insight into the human experience of place. The pursuit of such a topic speaks to the valuable knowledge produced from bridging disciplines and combining material from both the arts and the sciences to better understand the human condition. The perspectives that most concern cultural geographers are often those regarding movement and migration, ultivation of natural resources, and organization of space. The latter two reflect concerns of the built environment, a topic shared with the field of architectural study. Many of these concerns are also reflected in work sociologists do. Scholars from literary studies can contribute an aesthetic dimension to what might otherwise be a purely ideological approach.
Literature can bring together material that spans different branches of science. For example, a literary description of place may involve not only the environment and geography but the noises and quality of light, or how people from different races or classes can experience the same place in different ways linked to those racial or class disparities. Literary texts can also account for the way in which absence—of other people, animals, and so on—affects a human observer or inhabitant. Both literary and scientific approaches to place are necessary, working in unison, to achieve a complete record of an environment. It is important to note that the interdisciplinary nature of this work teaches us that landscapes are not static, that they are not unchanged by human culture. At least part of their identity derives from the people who inhabit them and from the way space can alter and inspire human perspective. The intersection of scientific and literary expression that happens in
the study of literary geography is of prime importance due to the complexity of the personal and political ways that humans experience place.
Question 1
Which one of the following is a valid conclusion to draw from the author’s statement that, “The pursuit of such a topic speaks to the valuable knowledge produced from bridging disciplines and combining material from both the arts and the sciences to better understand the human condition.”?
Solution:
Main Idea of the Sentence
The sentence highlights the importance of bridging disciplines, specifically by combining material from both the arts and the sciences, to gain a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the human condition.
The emphasis is on interdisciplinary integration as a source of valuable knowledge.
Explanation of the Correct Answer
Why Option C Is Correct
Option C best captures the essence of the sentence because it:
- Clearly reflects the idea of bridging or intermixing disciplines
- Emphasises the combined contribution of arts and sciences
- Connects this integration directly to a better understanding of the human condition
This aligns precisely with the sentence’s focus on interdisciplinary knowledge as a tool for deeper insight.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect
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Option A:
- Misinterprets the idea by referring to a “bridging of the human condition”
- This is a wrong inference, as the sentence talks about bridging disciplines, not the human condition itself
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Option B:
- Is partially correct
- Acknowledges the role of arts and sciences
- However, it misses the central idea of bridging or combining the two
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Option D:
- Reverses the relationship described in the sentence
- Suggests that human emotions help explain arts and sciences
- The original sentence instead argues that arts and sciences help explain the human condition
Final Answer
Correct Answer: Option C
Question 2
Which one of the following is not true of the argument in the second paragraph?
Solution:
Main Idea of the Paragraph
The second paragraph highlights the importance of literature in capturing the emotional and spiritual dimensions of geography, aspects that are often missing from scientific or factual records. It explains that:
- These dimensions are largely subjective
- The history of a place exists not only in facts, but also in memory and imagination
- Literature helps preserve and express these non-material aspects of place
Thus, literature complements scientific records by adding depth to our understanding of places.
Explanation of the Correct Answer
Why Option C Is Incorrect (and Hence the Answer)
Option C is incorrect because it takes the argument too far. It suggests that:
- Emotional and spiritual experiences of a place can replace a surveyor’s map
However, the paragraph does not make this claim. Instead:
- It argues that such experiences complement, not replace, factual and scientific representations
- Scientific records still have value in describing the physical and geographic world
Since option C exaggerates the author’s point, it is the correct choice in this context.
Why the Other Options Are Correct
- Options A, B, and D:
- Align with the paragraph’s view
- Recognize the role of literature in revealing emotional, imaginative, and cultural layers of geography
- Do not deny the importance of scientific records
Final Answer
Correct Answer: Option C
Question 3
The author uses the example of the literary description of place to illustrate that:
Solution:
Main Idea of the Paragraph
The paragraph explains that literary descriptions of place go beyond physical geography. It shows that literature can capture:
- Sensory details like noise and quality of light
- The way different social groups (based on race or class) experience the same place differently
- The subjective and human dimension of places, which is often absent from scientific descriptions
The key idea is that literary and scientific approaches to place are complementary, not competing.
Explanation of the Correct Answer
Why Option B Is Correct
Option B directly follows from the example given in the paragraph because it:
- Focuses on how people from different backgrounds experience the same place differently
- Reflects the passage’s emphasis on social, cultural, and experiential differences
- Matches the purpose of the example, which is to show what literary descriptions uniquely contribute
This aligns perfectly with the paragraph’s intent in using the example.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect
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Option A:
- Suggests comparing scientific and literary approaches in terms of accuracy
- The passage does not argue that one is more or less accurate
- It only claims that both are useful and complementary
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Option C:
- Talks about architects and their methods
- This is not the focus of the example or the paragraph
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Option D:
- Concentrates on the absence of people or animals
- Misses the broader point about varied human experiences of place
Final Answer
Correct Answer: Option B
Question 4
All of the following statements, if false, would contradict the arguments in the passage, EXCEPT that:
Solution:
Main Idea of the Passage
The passage argues that places are experienced and understood in multiple ways, not just through physical geography. It stresses that:
- Histories of places live on through human memory and imagination
- The emotional and spiritual components of places, though subjective, are no less real than factual representations like maps
- Literature can convey a vivid and meaningful sense of place without relying on visual aids
- Both real and imaginary landscapes help us understand the human experience of place
Overall, the passage treats physical and emotional experiences of place as complementary, while emphasising the legitimacy of subjective experience.
Explanation of the Correct Answer
Why Option D Is Correct
Option D is the correct answer because if it were false, the passage’s argument would not be contradicted.
- The passage clearly states that:
- Emotional and spiritual experiences of place are subjective
- Yet they are still “real” in a meaningful sense
- This implies that experiences of place are not purely objective
Therefore, denying the subjectivity of physical and emotional experiences of place (as Option D effectively does) does not contradict the passage’s claims, making Option D the correct choice in this question.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect
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Option A:
- Claims that literary descriptions need visual aids like satellite imagery to feel real
- This directly contradicts the passage’s argument that literature can evoke reality through memory, imagination, and description
- Hence, Option A cannot be correct
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Option B:
- If false, it would contradict the idea that both real and imaginary landscapes offer insight into human experience
- Since this idea is explicitly stated, Option B must be true and is eliminated
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Option C:
- Suggests literature cannot produce vivid realities
- This goes against the passage’s claim that literature can integrate sensory, social, and emotional details
- If Option C were false, it would contradict the passage, so it is not the answer