CAT 2025 Slot 2 VARC Question & Solution
Question
The given sentence is missing in the paragraph below. Decide where it best fits among the options 1, 2, 3, or 4 indicated in the paragraph.
Sentence: The region’s Western customers found it hard to believe that Dhaka muslin could possibly have been made by human hands - there were rumour that it was woven by mermaids, fairies and even ghosts.
Once upon the silty banks of the Meghna River, a miracle was spun — a fabric so light it was called “baft-hawa”, or woven air. This was Dhaka Muslin — the world’s most coveted cloth. ____(1)____. Handspun from a rare cotton called Phuti Karpas, found nowhere else on Earth, and woven with a 16-step sacred ritual — beginning with cleaning the cotton using the teeth of a river catfish! ____(2)____. Every spring, the maple-like leaves pushed up through the grey, silty soil to produce a single daffodilyellow flower twice a year, which gave way to a snowy floret of cotton fibres. ____(3)____. Spun at dawn on boats by sharp-eyed young women, its threads were so fine the elderly could barely see them. Motifs of wildflowers, river breeze, and soul were etched into each piece — some so light, a 91-metre bolt could pass through a ring, or a 60' length fit inside a snuffbox. It draped Greek goddesses, Roman nobles, Mughal emperors, and European aristocrats. Marie Antoinette, Empress Joséphine — even Jane Austen adored its floating grace. ____(4)____.
Options
Solution
Determining the Correct Blank Placement
To decide where the given sentence fits best, we must analyze contextual references and paragraph flow.
Understanding the Key Clue in the Sentence
- The sentence refers to "the region's Western customers".
This clearly suggests that the region being discussed is not located in the West.
- Therefore, the region must be Dhaka and its surrounding areas, where Muslin was produced and sold.
Eliminating Incorrect Blank Positions
❌ Why Blank-4 Is Not Suitable
- The sentence before Blank-4 talks about varied places.
- In contrast, the given sentence refers specifically to one region and its Western customers.
This mismatch in focus makes Blank-4 an illogical placement.
❌ Why the Middle of the Paragraph Doesn’t Work
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From "Handspun from a rare cotton..." to "...a 60' length fit inside a snuffbox," the passage explains how Dhaka Muslin was made.
-
Inserting the given sentence within this section would:
- Break the technical explanation
- Disrupt the natural flow of the paragraph
Hence, the sentence should not be placed within this manufacturing description.
✅ Why Blank-1 Is the Best Choice
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Blank-1 follows references to:
- The silty banks of the Meghna river
- Dhaka itself
-
Placing the sentence here:
- Maintains geographical continuity
- Smoothly introduces the idea of Western customers