XAT Previous Year Question Papers

XLRI Entrance Test XAT 2017

Data Interpretation and Quantitative Ability

1. The sum of series, (−100) + (−95) + (−95) + ….. + 110 + 115 + 120, is :

(A) 0

(B) 220

(C) 340

(D) 450

(E) None of the above

Show Answer

2. AB is a chord of a circle. The length of AB is 24 cm. P is the midpoint of AB. Perpendiculars from P on either side of the chord meets the circle at M and N respectively. If PM < PN and PM = 8 cm, then what will be the length of PN?

(A) 17 cm

(B) 18 cm

(C) 19 cm

(D) 20 cm

(E) 21 cm

Show Answer

3. If x and y are real numbers, the least possible value of the expression 4(x – 2)² + 4(y – 3)² – 2(x – 3)² is :

(A) –8

(B) –4

(C) –2

(D) 0

(E) 2

Show Answer

4. Four two-way pipes A, B, C, and D can either fill an empty tank or drain the full tank in 4, 10, 12 and 20 minutes respectively. All four pipes were opened simultaneously when the tank is empty. Under which of the following conditions the tank would be half filled after 30 minutes?

(A) Pipe A filled and pipes B, C and D drained

(B) Pipe A drained and pipes B, C and D filled

(C) Pipes A and D drained and pipes B and C filled

(D) Pipes A and D filed and pipes B and C drained

(E) None of the above

Show Answer

5. A shop, which sold same market price shirts, announced on offer-if one buys three shirts then the fourth shirt is sold at a discounted price of Rs 100 only, Patel took the offer. He left the shop with 20 shirts after paying Rs 20,000. What is the marked price of a shirt ?

(A) Rs 1260

(B) Rs 1300

(C) Rs 1350

(D) Rs 1400

(E) Rs 1500

Show Answer

6. The volume of a pyramid with a square base is 200 cm³. The height of pyramid is 13 cm. What will be the length of the slant edges (i.e. the distance between the apex and any other vertex), rounded to the nearest integer?

(A) 12 cm

(B) 13 cm

(C) 14 cm

(D) 15 cm

(E) 16 cm

Show Answer

7. A dice is rolled twice. What is the probability that the number in the second roll will be higher than that in the first?

(A) 5/36

(B) 8/36

(C) 15/36

(D) 21/36

(E) None of the above

Show Answer

8. If f(x) = ax + b, a and b are positive real numbers and if

f(f(x)) = 9x + 8,

then the value of a + b is

(A) 3

(B) 4

(C) 5

(D) 6

(E) None of the above

Show Answer

9. Arup and Swarup leave point A at 8 AM to point B. To reach B, they have to walk the first 2 km, then travel 4 km by boat and complete the final 20 km by car. Arup and Swarup walk at a constant speed of 4 km/hr and 5 k m/hr respectively. Each rows his boat for 30 minutes. Arup drives his car at a constant speed of 50 km/hr while Swarup drives at 40 km/hr while Swarup drives at 40 km/hr. If no time is wasted in transit, when will they meet again

(A) At 9.15 AM

(B) At 9.18 AM

(C) At 9.21 AM

(D) At 9.24 AM

(E) At 9.30 AM

Show Answer

10. Hari’s family consisted of his younger brother (Chari), younger sister (Gouri) and their father and mother. When Chari was born, the sum of ages of Hari, his father and mother was 70 years. The sum of the ages of four family members, at the time of Gouri’s birth, was twice the sum of the ages of Hari’s father and mother at the time of Hari’s birth. If Chari is 4 years older than Gouri, then find the difference in age between Hari and Chari.

(A) 5 years

(B) 6 years

(C) 7 years

(D) 8 years

(E) 9 years

Show Answer

11. In a True/False quiz, 4 marks are awarded for each correct answer and 1 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Amit, Benn and Chitra answered the same 10 questions, and their answer are given below in the same sequential order.

AMIT            T T F F T T F T T F

BENN           T T T F F T F T T F

CHITRA       T T T T F F T F T T

If Amit and Benn both score 35 marks each then Chitra’s score will be:

(A) 10

(B) 15

(C) 20

(D) 25

(E) None of the above

Show Answer

12. In a class of 60, along with English as a common subject, students can opt to major in Mathematics, Physics, Biology or a combination of any two. Six students major in both Mathematics and Physics, 15 major in both Physics and Biology, but no one majors in both Mathematics and Biology. In an English test, the average marks scored by students majoring in Mathematics is 45 and that of students majoring in Biology is 60. However, the combined average marks in English, of students of these two majors, is 50. What is the maximum possible number of students who major ONLY in Physics?

(A) 30

(B) 25

(C) 20

(D) 15

(E) None of the above

Show Answer

13. If 5° ≤ x° ≤ 15°, then the value of sin 30° + cos x° − sin x° will be :

(A) Between –1 and – 0.5 inclusive

(B) Between –0.5 and 0 inclusive

(C) Between 0 and 0.5 exclusive

(D) Between 0.5 and 1 inclusive

(E) None of the above

Show Answer

14. If N = (11^{p +7})(7^{q – 2} ) (5^{r + 1}) (3^s) is a perfect cube, where p, q, r and s are positive integers, then the smallest value of p + q + r + s is:

(A) 5

(B) 6

(C) 7

(D) 8

(E) 9

Show Answer

15. An institute has 5 departments and each department has 50 students. If students are picked up randomly from all 5 departments to form a committee, what should be the minimum number of students in the committee so that at least one department should have representation of minimum 5 students?

(A) 11

(B) 15

(C) 21

(D) 41

(E) None of the above

Show Answer

16. AB, CD and EF are three parallel lines, in that order. Let d₁ and d₂ be the distances from CD to AB and EF respectively. d₁ and d₂ are integers, where d₁ : d₂ = 2 : 1. P is a point on AB, Q and S are points on CD and R is a point on EF. If the area of the quadrilateral PQRS is 30 square units, what is the value of QR when value of SR is the least?

(A) slightly less than 10 units

(B) 10 units

(C) slightly greater than 10 units

(D) slightly less than 20 units

(E) slightly greater than 20 units

Show Answer

17. ABCD is a rectangle. P, Q and R are the midpoint of BC, CD and DA. The point S lies on e the line QR in such a way that SR : QS = 1 : 3. The ratio of the triangle APS and rectangle ABCD is

(A) 36/128

(B) 39/128

(C) 44/128

(D) 48/128

(E) 64/128

Show Answer

Directions (Q. 18 & 19) : Study the data given in the caselet below and answer these questions :

    In an innings of a T20 cricket match (a team an bowl for 20 overs) 6 bowlers bowled allowed maximum of 4 overs. Only the three specialist bowelers bowled their full quota of 4 overs each, and the remaining 8 overs were shared among three non-specialist bowlers. The economy rates of four bowlers were 6, 6, 7 and 9 respectively. (Economy rate is the total number of runs conceded by a bowler divided by the number of overs bowled by that bowler). This, however, does not include the data of the best bowler (lowest economy rate) and the worst bowler (highest economy rate). The number of overs bowled and the economy rate of any bowler are in integers.

18. Read the two statements below:

S1 : The worst bowler did not bowl the minimum number of overs.

S2 : The best bowler is a specialist bowler.

Which of the above statements or their combinations above statements or their combinations can help arrive at the minimum number of overs bowled by a non-specialist bowler?

(A) S1only.

(B) S2 only.

(C) .Either S1 or S2.

(D) S1 and S2 in combination

(E) The minimum number of overs can be determined without using S1 or S2.    

Show Answer

19. Read the two statements below:

S1. The economy rates of the specialist bowlers are lower than that of the non-specialist bowlers.

S2. The cumulative runs conceded by the three non-specialist bowlers were 1 more than those conceded by the three specialist bowlers.

Which of the above statements or their combinations can help arrive at the economy rate of the worst bowler?

(A) S1 only.

(B) S2 only.

(C) Either S1 or S2.

(D) S1 and S2 in combination.

(E) The economy rate can  be calculated without using S1 or S2.

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 20 to 23) : Analyze the graph below and answer these questions :

  The grid below captures relationships among seven personality dimensions: “extraversion”, ‘true_arousal_plac”, “true_arousal_caff”, “arousal_plac”, “arousal_caff”, “performance_plac”, and “performance_caff”. The diagonal represents histograms of the seven dimensions. Left of the diagonal represents scatterplots between the dimensions while the right of the diagonal represents quantitative relationships between the dimensions. The lines in the scatterplots are closest approximation of the points. The value of the relationships to the right of the diagonal can vary from – 1 to  +1, with –1 being the extreme linear negative relation and +1 extreme linear positive relation. (Axes of the graph are conventionally drawn).

20. Which of the following is true?

(A) “Extraversion” has two modes.

(B) Median for “arousal_plac” is definitely the same as its average.

(C) Median for “arousal_caff” is definitely higher than its average.

(D) Median for “performance_plac” is definitely lower than its average.

(E) Median for “performance_caff’ is definitely lower than its average.

Show Answer

21. Which of the scatterplots shows the weakest relationships?

(A) Between “extraversion” and “peroformance_caff”.

(B) Between “true_arousal_plac” and “arousal_plac”.

(C) Between “true_arousal_plac” and “performance_plac”.

(D) Between “true_arosual_caff” and “performance_caff’.

(E) Between “arousal_caff” and “performance_caff”.

Show Answer

22. In which of the following scatterplots, the value of one dimension can be used to predict the value of another, as accurately as possible?

(A) “extraversion” and “true_arousal_caff”

(B) “true_arousal_plac” and “arousal_plac”

(C) “true_arousal_plac” and “performance_plac”

(D) “true_arousal_plac” and “performance_caff”

(E) All the above are irrelevant relations.

Show Answer

23. Which of the following options is correct?

(A) 0.93 on the right side of the scatterplot in the fourth row.

(B) 0.94 on the rightside of the diagonal corresponds to the second scatterponds to the second scatterplot in the fourth row.

(C) 0.38 is the relationship between “extraversion” and “true arousal_plac”.

(D) “arousal_caff” and “performance_caff” are positively related.

(E) The line that captures relationship between “arousal_caff” and “arousal_plac” can be denoted b y equation : y = a – bx, where b > 0.

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 24 to 27) : Study the paragraph below and answer these questions :

Abdul has 8 factories, with different capacities, producing boutique kurtas. In the production process, he incurs raw material cost, selling cost (for packaging and transportation) and labour cost. These costs per kurta vary across factories. In all these factories, a worker takes 2 hours to produce a kurta. Profit per kurta is calculated by deducting raw material cost, selling cost and labour cost from the selling price (Profit = selling price – raw materials cost – selling cost – labour cost). Any other cost can be ignored.

24. Which of the following options is in decreasing order of raw materials cost?

(A) Factory 3, Factory, 4, Factory 7, Factory 5

(B) Factory 4, Factory 3, Factory 2, Factory 5

(C) Factory 6, Factory 3, Factory 5, Factory 7

(D) Factory 6, Factory 8, Factory 7, Factory 2

(E) Factory 8, Factory 3, Factory 2, Factory 4

Show Answer

25. Which of the factories listed in the options below has the lowest sales margin (sales margin = profit per kurta divided by selling price per kurta)?

(A) Factory 2

(B) Factory 4

(C) Factory 5

(D) Factory 6

(E) Factory 7

Show Answer

26. Abdul has received an order for 2,000 kurtas from a big retail chain. They will collect the finished pre-packaged kurtas directly from the factories, saving him the selling cost. To deliver this order, he can use multiple factories for production. Which of the following options will ensure maximum profit from this order?

(A) Factory 1

(B) Factories 2 and 3

(C) Factories 4 and 6

(D) Factories 3, 6 and 4

(E) Factory 1 or Factory 7 or Factory 8

Show Answer

27. Abdul has introduced a new technology in all his factories. As a result, a worker needs just 1.5 hours to produce a kurta. If raw materials cost and selling cost remain the same, which of the factories listed in the options below will yield the highest profit per kurta ?

(A) Factory 2

(B) Factory 3

(C) Factor 4

(D) Factory 5

(E) Factory 6

Show Answer

XAT (XLRI Entrance Test) 2017

DECISION MAKING ABILITY

Directions (1 & 2) : Analyse the following caselet and answer these questions:

    Vimla is the domestic help for Shreya and her neighbour Padma; both live in a posh gated community. Vimla not only cleans the house, but also cooks for both the families. Shreya treasures Vimla ever since she joined her family four years ago. Vimla joined Padm’s household this year.

1. One evening Shreya trying to pay the pizza delivery was surprised to find a few five hundred rupee notes missing from her purse that she was sure were there earlier. She wants to ascertain if someone has stolen the money. One reflecting, the following facts crossed her mind:

2. In the last one year, Shreya had noticed cash missing on three occasions.

3. Shreya’s husband also shared that a few notes were missing from his wallet, though he was not sure if they were stolen.

4. Her eldest son had been pestering Shreya for more pocket money for the last three weeks; in the last few days, he had stopped doing so.

5. In the last one year, Vimla had received six mails from her family asking for money.

1. Her eldest son’s expenditure had gone up in the last few days.

Which of the following combinations of the above statements would DECREASE the likelihood that Vimal has stolen the money ?

(A)  1 and 3

(B)  1 and 4

(C)  1 and 5

(D)  2 and 4

(E)  3 and 5

Show Answer

2. Padma discovered some money missing from her purse. She suspects that Vimla has stolen it. She wants to prevent the stealing from happening again and is contemplating the following actions:

1. She should let it pass, since to err is human.

2. She should confront Vimla and tell her that she knows the truth and the act is unpardonable regardless of her past service and she is thinking of terminating her services.

3. She should tell Vimla that she is aware someone has stolen money from the house but is not sure who it is

4. She should share with Vimla that neighbours think Vimla has stolen the money though she doesn’t, but is interested in finding out the truth.

5. She should directly ask Vimla if she stole the money, promising her no punishment if she confesses.

Arrange the following combinations of the above actions in the DECREASING order of appropriateness.

(A)  1, 5, 4

(B)  2, 4, 1

(C)  2, 5, 4

(D)  3, 5, 4

(E)  5, 2, 4

Show Answer

Analyse the following caselet and answer the question that follows:

3. Genius Consulting is a boutique consulting firm started by Shirish, Balram, Rahman and avier, four friends from a premier business school. They committed themselves to abide by two principles : a) not to indulge in anything unethical and b) share earnings equally.

     Genius Consulting could not get a significant project till the, following year, when they managed a big one after Rahman’s father referred their firm to his top management. Convinced of the team’s talent following an impressive presentation, the top management awarded them the project even though six other referred teams made presentations.

    The day following the presentation, they met to decide the way forward for the organization. Which of the following choices would be the most appropriate for Genius Consulting ?

(A)  As this project violates both their principles, Genius Consulting should not take up the project.

(B)  Due to the violation of the first principle Genius Consulting should not take up this project.

(C)  They should take up the project. Further, since Rahman had agreed to equal sharing, he is not entitled to finder’s fee.

(D)  They should take up the project and as the referral helped them survive, Rahman should be paid finder’s fee.

(E)  They should take up the project. But, in order not to violate the  principles, rahman can be paid finder’s fee this year and an equal amount be deducted, from h is compensation the next year.

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 4 to 6) : Analyse the following caselet and answer these questions :

  Mrs. Biwas was to retire in one year after serving in the construction department of the Gujarat government for more than thirty years. After retirement, she wanted to spend her retired life along with Mr. Biswas, a retired school teacher in a small town in Kerala. They had two children, both studying in Bengaluru. The Biswas’ wished to construct a house in Kerala with their life savings.

1. Buy a fully furnished house from a big developer.

2. Buy a semi-furnished house from a big developer and furnish it.

3. Get a local unregistered contractor to construct a house and furnish it.

4. Mr. Biswas with inputs from the family could supervise the construction of a house back in Kerala by employing the best material, engineers, masons and labourers.

4. Which option would ENSURE the best control of quality of construction for the Biswas ?

(A)  The first option would ensure the best quality.

(B)  The second option would ensure the best quality.

(C)  The third option would ensure the best quality.

(D)  The fourth option would ensure the best quality.

(E)  Any of t he options will equally ensure the best quality.

Show Answer

5. Which of the following additional information, IF TRUE, would improve the chances of the third option being preferred ?

(A)  Based on the current information, with no additional information, the third is the  best option.

(B)  Among local property holders, the contractor in the third option enjoys a good reputation.

(C)  Big developers are less open to changes in design.

(D)  Mr. Biswas cannot stay back alone to supervise the construction.

(E)  The Biswas\ want to select the furniture on their own.

Show Answer

6. The Kerala Government recently announced a policy: In case of major quality infringement, the builder will pay a penalty of 50% of the price of the house in addition to the price of the house, to the client within a year of notice.

    Rank in ASCENDING order the options that would ensure “control of quality”.

(A)  1, 2, 3, 4

(B)  2, 3, 4, 1

(C)  4, 1, 2, 3

(D)  4, 3, 1, 2

(E)  4, 1, 2, 3

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 7 & 8) : Analyse the following caselet and answer these questions :

    A pastor had eaten at a restaurant with his troupe of ten and his family. It is a norm to tip the waiter and about 20% of a waiter’s salary comes from these tips. However, while paying the bill, the pastor crossed out the automatic 18% tip charged for parties of more than eight and wrote “I give God 10% why do you get 18%?” above his signature. The chagrined waitress at the restaurant posted a photo of this on the social media. She was subsequently fired for violating company’s policy on customer privacy.

    This would have been understandable if the restaurant had not posted just 2 weeks ago a customer receipt that was complementing them. Social media and social activists came heavily upon the management’s ambivalent stand and the firing of the waitress. In response, the company posted a note on their social media page defending their actions. This quickly drew over 10,000 comments, mostly negative, to which the management started responding by posting the same note over and again. There were also accusations of the company deleting negative comments and blocking users. The restaurant also experienced a sizable drop in their football.

7. Who/what is the main cause for the situation becoming unmanageable ?

(A)  The pastor for flouting the norm of restaurant.

(B)  The waitress for violating customer privacy.

(C)  The management for not taking action against the pastor.

(D)  The management for giving out disproportionate punishment to waitress.

(E)  The management for removing negative comments from the social media.

Show Answer

8. The downward spiral continued for the restaurant as the management persisted in defending their actions and argued with those who criticized them. By the following week, the original post had generated over 18,000 negative comments.

    Which of the following is the best way forward for the restaurant at this juncture ?

(A)  Unconditionally restore the waitress to her former position and salary on the ground that she was never at fault in the first place.

(B)  Apologise to and reinstate the waitress and ask her to apologise for her breach of customer privacy and post both the apologies on social media.

(C)  Reinstate the waitress provided she apologises for her breach of customer privacy and post that apology on the restaurant’s social media page.

(D)  Reinstate the waitress if and only if she apologizes for her breach of customer privacy and posts that apology on her social media page.

(E)  Recruit two waitress at a higher wage but stick to the original decision of firing the waitress.

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 9 & 10) : Analyse the following caselet and answer these questions :

  A college campus with a population of around 2,000 of whom 200 were children, 1,200 people between 15 and 45 years, 500 people between 45 and 65 and around 100 people more than 65 years of age. The campus has two big gates opening out to the city. There are 400 cars and 500 motorbikes inside the campus. The residents relied on these vehicles to visit the city located 10 kilometres away.

Now, with land within the campus becoming scarce, the chief administrator (CA) found the growing demand for parking lot difficult to handle. The faculty, staff and students wanted increased parking space. In the past six years, the parking requirement on campus had doubled. The CA found it inappropriate to construct parking lots from the students’ fee, even though those with vehicles may not complain about it.

   Besides creating parking problems, the CA felt that these vehicles added to the pollution and made residents less responsible towards each other. The risk to the children and the elderly because of over-speeding was menacing. Therefore, the CA wanted to reduce the number of vehicles in the campus. Many faculty members, students and staff members, however, felt that demand for more parking space was natural as vehicles were required to go to the market, railway station, airport, and inter-state bus terminal all located in the city. They also told the CA t hat the elderly, sick and toddlers relied only on these vehicles.

   After listening to all stakeholders, CA wanted to solve these problems while ensuring the campus remained responsible and green.

9. Which of the following actions would best satisfy all the stakeholders within the campus ?

(A)  Levy extra fee on students to construct additional parking lots inside the campus. Students should pay for up-keep of the campus.

(B)  Let all vehicles be parked in a college-managed space outside the campus while two battery operated vehicles handle exigencies inside the campus.

(C)  Bring all stakeholders to the discussion table.

(D)  To reduce carbon footprints, only pooled vehicles should be allowed to operate inside the campus.

(E)  Charge significant fee from any vehicle entering or leaving the campus.

Show Answer

10. Which of the following would be the best option to increase revenue, decrease carbon footprint and still satisfy all the stakeholders in the campus ?

(A)  Make substantial collection from vehicles entering or leaving campus and construct a parking lot outside the campus.

(B)  Levy extra fee on the students and build extra parking lots inside the campus.

(C)  Bring all stakeholders to table and let them build consensus.

(D)  To reduce the carbon footprint, only pooled vehicles be permitted on campus.

(E)  Let all vehicles be parked in a managed space outside the campus while battery operated vehicles parked at the two gates can be used inside the campus

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 11 to 13) : Analyse the following caselet and answer these questions.

   Girirajan, an unemployed youngster from Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu, visited Singapore where his school friend worked as software engineer. In Singapore, Girirajan realized that there were a lot of Tamils in “Little India” area. He soon assessed that there were very few restaurants serving authentic Tamil food and decided to set up a restaurant “Giri’s” in “Little India” serving authentic Tamil food in traditional banana leaf. Customers loved the food. Very soon word spread about the good quality food served in the traditional way. Girirajan expanded operation recruiting 10 employees, all Tamils.

    Six months later, Girirajan realized that a lot of Kannadiga and Telugu customers started visiting the restaurant along with their Tamil friends.One day, a Kannadiga customer looking for Devangere Benne Dosa suggested that it may not be a bad idea for Girirajan so serve Karnataka and Andhra cuisines along with Tamil.

    With time, the popularity of the restaurant kept soaring. As a result, a lot of Malays, Indonesians and Chinese started visiting the restaurant. His software engineer friend advised to cater to customer of all nationalities. Despite his desire to go grand, Girirajan realized he did not have enough money to get extra space anywhere in Singapore and banks were also reluctant to l end.

   One day, while assessing the business, he realized that the restaurant had 90% occupancy rate during peak hours and 40% during the non-peak hours. Both figures were increasing with time.

11. Which of the following options would be most suitable for the growth of the business ?

(A)  Include Karnataka and Andhra cuisines in the menu.

(B)  Include Indonesian and Chinese cuisines in the menu.

(C)  Keep the focus on Tamil food only with an increased focus on quality improvement.

(D)  Expand to include either Karnataka and Andhra cuisines or Indonesian and Chinese cuisines.

(E)  Include Karnataka and Andhra cuisines as well as Indonesian and Chinese.

Show Answer

12. Girirajan started analyzing this quarterly customer data to asses growth opportunities. He discovered that 20% of his customers are Kannadigas and many of them were requesting for a few Karnataka dishes. he was not sure if it was a good idea to serve Karnataka food. he wanted to experiment before taking the final call. Which of the following options will be worth experimenting in the next fortnight ?

(A)  Introduce a Karnataka food day every week to please the Kannadiga customers.

(B)  Recruit a few Kannadiga waiters to interact with Kannadiga customers.

(C)  Rename a few Tamil dishes as Karnataka dishes.

(D)  Serve Karnataka dishes as and when requested by customers without the menu displaying these dishes.

(E)  Add a few Karnataka dishes to the cuisine and display these in a separate menu.

Show Answer

13. Girirajan experimented with Karnataka food for a fortnight. He collected sales data for Karnataka food along with the trend of overall sales for the last seven days. Which of t he following datasets, IF TRUE, will give Girirajan greater confidence to continue serving Karnataka food? (Figures below represent Karnataka food sales as percentage of total sales.)

(A)  14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, with total sales trend increasing by 0.4%.

(B)  20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, with total sales trend increasing by 0.4%.

(C)  50, 47, 44, 40, 47, 45, 40, with total sales trend remaining same.

(D)  45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39,, with total sales trend remaining same.

(E)  20, 50, 10, 45, 43, 13, 36, with total sales trend coming down.

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 14 to 16) : Analyse the following caselet and answer these questions :

  A University coach was asked to select teams in three sports: Shooting, Cricket (batsmen only) and “Snakes & Ladder”. The  honest and keen observer head boy of the school informed the coach that he had observed 100 students playing the three games-Shooting, Cricket and “Snakes & Ladder”. In Shooting, all students were given 100 chances to hit a target. In Cricket, a batsman faced maximum of 100 balls, provided he DID NOT GET OUT. In “Snakes & Ladder”, every student could play 100 matches, one each with the other students and one against a computer. In Shooting, a player got one point for hitting the target and zero point for missing the target. In Cricket, a batsman got one point for hitting the ball and zero point for missing it. In “Snakes & Ladder”, a person got one point for winning the game and zero for losing. To the coach’s utter surprise, the distribution of points across all three games was the same. It was as follows :

The coach has to select a term of eleven in each sport.

14. Which of the following options is the best way to select the “Snakes & Ladder” team ?

(A)  The coach must select all students between 80 and 99.

(B)  The coach must select both the students between 90 and 99.

(C)  The coach must select at least 6 students between 40 and 59.

(D)  The coach must not select students between 0 and 9.

(E)  The coach can ignore the data in the table and randomly pick any 11 players.

Show Answer

15. Which of the following options is the best way of selecting the Shooting team?

(A)  The coach should select all students in 80-99 ranges.

(B)  The coach should select the both the students in 90-99 range; other can be from any of the other ranges.

(C)  The coach should select at least 6 students between 40 and 49 ranges.

(D)  The coach should not select students between 40 and 89 ranges.

(E)  The coach can pick randomly any 11 players from any of the ranges.

Show Answer

16. Which of the following options is the correct statements for picking up the cricket team?

(A)  The coach should never select the player in the range of 0-9 points.

(B)  The coach should never select players from the range of 50-59.

(C)  The coach should never select players from the range of 70-79.

(D)  The coach should definitely select players only from the range of 80-99.

(E)  None of the above

Show Answer

Analyse the following caselet and answer the question that follows:

17. As a newly started organization in the IT sector, Saksha IT is a fast growing 400 employees organization. Its head, Saksha Kumar believes in building an organization driven by humility. Which of the following policies would best help him achieve that?

(A)  Employees shall, in their annual evaluation form, be asked to acknowledge three of their shortcomings, overcoming which will make them better.

(B)  Employees shall be asked to share with their peers three shortcomings they had noticed about their peers.

(C)  The immediate superiors would suggest three shortcomings their subordinates have to work on in a given period.

(D)  Everyone beginning with Saksha shall be asked to share three of their weaknesses, in a public forum.

(E)  Employees shall be asked to overcome three shortcomings in the following year. Improvement, if noticed would attract rewards.

Show Answer

Analyse the following caselet and answer the question that follows :

18. Principal Maheswari of BINK School of Management is facing problem that calls for quick action. She received an anonymous mail one day, possibly from one of the students, complaining about outdated syllabi, mediocre teachers and poor choice of courses of offer.

     Which of the following is the best course of action available to the Principal?

(A)  She should invite students to discuss any problem openly, one on one or in small groups, promise to act on them but firmly condemn the culture of anonymous mails.

(B)  She should update the students about the efforts the institute is taking in sprucing up the syllabi, hiring talented faculty etc., but make no reference to the letter.

(C)  She should convene a meeting of the faculty at the earliest and get them to work on updating the syllabi and also arrange a faculty development program but keep mum about the letter.

(D)  She should convene a meeting of the faculty and talk about the letter as a symptom of a deeper malaise, ask them to update the syllabi and also organize a faculty development program.

(E)  She should ignore the letter and not think about it at all.

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 19-21): Analyse the following caselet and answer these questions :

   Shyam prepares and sells piping hot puri and sabji (gravy) from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (both inclusive) through a stall at XLRI campus. Presently, he has just a single oven, which can do only one job at a time. It takes 30 minutes to cook one handi ( large bowl) of sabji, sufficient for 12 customers. It takes him 10 minutes to prepare 2 plates of puri at a time. While the cost of a plate of puri-sabji is Rs 10, the price is Rs 25. Puri stays hot for only 5 minutes after preparation, while sabji stays hot for 30 minutes only. It takes 10 minutes to reheat the sabji which stays hot for another 30 minutes. If he bbrings a handi of hot sabji from home, the transport would cost him Rs 50. It can also stay hot for 30 minutes excluding the transportation time. Currently, every 20 minutes five plates are ordered. All unsold quantities are distributed at cost after 9:30 a.m.

19. Find the maximum number of plates of puri-sabji Shyam can sell in the first hour of business?

(A)  6

(B)  8

(C)  10

(D)  12

(E)  15

Show Answer

20. Shyam’s puri-sabji became famous. Now he gets 5 orders per 10 minutes and has invested in an additional oven. As he is working alone on both the ovens simultaneously, now in any one oven it takes him 45 minutes to cook one handi of sabji, 15 minutes for 2 plates of puri and 15 minutes to reheat the sabji. He can bring only one handi from home. What will be his maximum daily profit?

(A)  Rs 250

(B)  Rs 280

(C)  Rs 300

(D)  Rs 330

(E)  Rs 360

Show Answer

21. Shyam’s stall was becoming popular by the day. Now he gets 5 customers every 10 minutes. After buying a second oven, he employed a helping hand, Aman at Rs 100 for two hours. Aman can cook one handi of sabji in 20 minutes or can prepare 3 plates of puri in 10 minutes. Reheat time for sabji is 10 minutes. None of them can work on both the ovens simultaneously.

    Which of the following options will help Shyam maximize his daily profit, if he does NOT bring sabji from  home?

(A)  Shyam should dismiss Aman because his wages are more than the benefits he brings.

(B)  Shyam will prepare only puri and Aman will prepare only sabji.

(C)  Shyam will prepare only sabji and Aman will prepare only puri.

(D)  Shyam and Aman will prepare both puri and sabji.

(E)  Options B, C and D will yield the same profit.

Show Answer

XAT (XLRI Entrance Test) Examination-2017

XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Management

VERBAL AND LOGICAL ABILITY

1. Read the following statements and answer the question that follows:

1. This is Russia’s Wild West, though the mountains lie to the south of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

2. The Caucasus range has throughout history held Russians, especially fierce nationalists like Solzhenitsyn, in fear and awe.

3. Here, between the Black and Caspian Seas, is a land bridge where Europe gradually vanishes amid a six-hundred-mile chain of mountains as high as eighteen thousand feet-mesmerising in their spangled beauty, especially after the yawning and flat mileage of the steppe lands to the north.

4. Here, since the seventeenth century, Russian colonizers have tried to subdue congeries of proud peoples : Chechens, Ingush, Ossetes, Daghestanis, Abkhaz, Kartvelians, Kakhetians, Armenians, Azeris, and others.

5. Here the Russians encountered Islam in both its moderation and implacability.

Which of the following options is the best logical order of the above statements?

(A) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

(B) 2, 3, 1, 4, 5

(C) 2, 4, 3, 1, 5

(D) 3, 1, 2, 4, 5

(E) 4, 5, 3, 1, 12

Show Answer

2. Read the following statements and answer the question that follows:

1. The periodic table orders the elements in a way that helps to understand why atoms behave as they do.

2. The properties of the elements are due to electronic configuration, and their recurring pattern gives rise to periodicity.

3. In other words, what gives the elements their properties and what order lies below the surface of their seemingly random nature?

4. What makes Fluorine react violently with Caesium while its nearest nieghbour neon is reluctant to react with anything?

Which of the following options is the best logical order of the above statements?

(A) 1, 2,3, 4

(B) 1, 4, 3, 2

(C) 2, 3, 1, 4

(D) 3, 4, 2, 1

(E) 4, 3, 1, 2

Show Answer

3. Read the following excerpt and answer t he question that follows:

Fragrant with steam were the days and the nights red in the beloved house of my father, my mother.

Which of the following options is the closest expression of the poet’s feeling?

(A) The house was located in beautiful settings probably surrounded by flowers in the mountains.

(B) The ancestral home was probably the most important hose in the community.

(C) The poet fondly recalls the pleasant climate enjoyed day and night.

(D) The poet misses the braziers and steam she had enjoyed during her childhood.

(E) Everything about the house felt special because of her parents’ love for her.

Show Answer

4. Read the following paragraphs and answer the question that follows:

    The current trend indicate that food and vegetable inflations continue to be pain points. Food inflation rose to 7.79 percent in June from 7.47 percent, and vegetable inflation rose to 14.74 percent from 10.85 percent. In the weeks ahead, the volatile food inflation will determine the course of overall inflation.

    For RBI too, the trend is a concern since under the current agreement with the government, if the inflation exceeds 11 percent it will have to explain to the government why it could not be contained (the lower limit is 2 percent)./

    Which of the following options is the most appropriate?

(A) The first paragraph states a cause and the second illustrates the effect.

(B) The first paragraph provides information and the second highlights potential application of the information.

(C) The first paragraph is an assertion and the second provides an illustration of that assertion.

(D) The first paragraph highlights inflation conditions and the second hints at RBI’s inefficiency in managing the situation.

(E) The first paragraph highlight pain points and the second contains a remedy for them.

Show Answer

5. The serious study of popular films by critics is regularly credited with having rendered obsolete a once-dominant view that popular mainstream films are inherently inferior to art films. Yet the change of attitude may be somewhat ______. Although, it is now academically respectable to analyse popular films, the fact that many critics feel compelled to rationalize their own _______ action movies or mass-market fiction reveals, perhaps unwittingly, their continued _______ the old hierarchy of popular and art films.

Consider the following words:

1. unproductive

2. not appreciated

3. overstated

4. penchant for

5. dislike for

6. investment in

7. exposure to

Which of the following options is the most appropriate sequence that would meaningful fit the blanks in the above paragraph?

(A) 1, 5, 6

(B) 3, 2, 7

(C) 3, 4, 6

(D) 4, 5, 6

(E) 6, 3, 1

Show Answer

6. Read the following stanza and answer the question that follows:

Invisible atoms coming together

Revealing themselves in visible forms

Seeds are hugged by the earth

Which renders them as gardens in bloom.

Any yonder stars, are they not pearls Floating on teeming seas?

Scattered, yet strung together in orderly constellations

Love binding them to one another

And each is perpetually seeking its like?

Which of the following options best captures the spirit of the above stanza?

(A) Stars and seas are similar.

(B) All rivers flow into the ocean.

(C) United we stand, divided we fall.

(D) Love dissolves all religious differences.

(E) Something invisible binds disparate objects.

Show Answer

7. Which of the following options is grammatically correct and meaningful?

(A) I want to joint an MBA college that is not only the best in the country but also provides the best campus jobs.

(B) I want to join an MBA college that is not only the best in the country but also I can get good job.

(C) I want to join an MBA college that is not only the best in the country but also best in job.

(D) I want to join an MBA college that is not only good but also I can get good job.

(E) I want to join an MBA college that I found not only best in country but also I can get good job.

Show Answer

8. Read the following passage and answer the question that follow:

On Friday morning, Dieting supplement sales company Herbalife agreed to pay the US Federal Trade Commission a $200m fine. The FTC said Herbalife cheated hopeful salespeople out of hundreds of millions of dollars with a high-pressure multi-level marketing scheme.

Herbalife’s stock received an immediate 15% increase following the above news. The company also announced that it would hire a second former FTC commissioner in a press release describing the terms of the settlement.

Which of the following options would imply that the 15 percent increase in stock  price is fair?

(A) Cheating results in increase in the company’s stock price.

(B) When fraudulent companies are exposed, their stock price increases.

(C) When fraudulent companies are caught, their stock price initially goes down.

(D) Acknowledgement of deceit increases the stock price of companies.

(E) Compliance with court order increases the company’s stock price.

Show Answer

9. Read the following paragraph and answer the question that follows :

Worldwide, tomato is one of the most important crops. Because this crop can be adapted for cultivation in various environment ranging from tropical to alpine regions, its cultivation area is now expanding worldwide into not so productive regions. On the other hand, traditional cultivation areas, the most favourable for tomato cultivation with warm and dry climate, are contracting. Every year, traditional cultivation areas lose 2 million hectares (ha) of land to environmental factors such as salinity, drought, and soil erosion.

Which of the following is the correct inference based on the above passage?

(A) In recent years, per hectare production of tomato has increased worldwide.

(B) In recent years, per hectare wastage of tomato has increased worldwide.

(C) In recent years, per hectare production of tomato has decreased worldwide.

(D) In recent years, per hectare wastage of tomato has decreased worldwide.

(E) In recent years, per hectare production of tomato has remained the same worldwide.

Show Answer

10. Carefully read the statements below:

1. Chatterjee loves books; therefore, he reads them all the time.

2. Chatterjee loves books. Therefore, he reads them all the time.

3. Chatterjee loves books and, therefore, reads them all the time.

Which of the above statement(s) is (are) correct in grammar and meaning?

(A) 1 only

(B) 2 only

(C) 1 and 2 only

(D) 2 and 3 only

(E) 1, 2 and 3

Show Answer

11. Grotesque is related to Macabre in a similar way as

(A) Classics is related to Ruins

(B) History is related to Palaeontology

(C) Marriage is related to Funeral

(D) Sorcery is related to Necromancy

(E) Science is related to Thanatology

Show Answer

12. Choose the option with all the (underlined syllable) that fits the blanks.

The suspension of the captain may _______ the number of spectators, who turn up for this match.

Transportation costs will directly _______ the cost of retail goods.

Grandmother’s advancing age could _____ her ability t take care of the house.

She _______ a Texan accent throughout the interview

(A) affect, effect, effect, effected

(B) affect, effect, affect, affected

(C) affect, affect, affect, affected

(D) effect, affect, effect, effected

(E) effect, affect, effect, affected

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 13 to 15) : Analyse the passage below and answer these questions:

It’s taken me 60 years, but I had an epiphany recently. Everything, without exception, requires additional energy and order to maintain itself. I knew this in the abstract as the famous second law of thermodynamics, which states that everything is falling apart slowly. This realization is not just the lament of a person getting older. Long ago I learnt that even the most inanimate things we know of-stone, iron columns, copper pipes, gravel roads, a piece of paper-won’t last very long without attention and fixing and the loan of additional order. Existence, it seems, is chiefly maintenance.

     What was surprised me recently is how unstable even the intangible is. Keeping a website or a software program afloat is like keeping a yacht afloat. It is a black hole for attention. I can understand why a mechanical device like a pump would break down after a while-moisture rusts metal, or the air oxidizes membranes, or lubricants evaporate, all of which require repair. But I wasn’t thinking that the nonmaterial word of bits would also degrade. What’s to break? Apparently everything.

   Brand-new computers will ossify. Apps weaken with use. Code corrodes. Fresh software just released will immediately begin to fray. On their own-nothing you did. The more complex the gear, the more (not less) attention it will require. The natural inclination toward change is inescapable, even for the most abstract entities we know of: bits.

   And then there is the assault of the changing digital landscape. When everything around you is upgrading, this puts pressure on your digital system and necessitates maintenance. You may not want to upgrade, but you must because everyone else is. It’s an upgrade arms race.

    I used to upgrade my gear begrudgingly (why upgrade if it still works?) and at the last possible moment. You know how it goes: Upgrade this and suddenly you need to upgrade that, which triggers upgrades everywhere. I would put it off for years because I had  the experiences of one “tiny” upgrade of a minor part disrupting my entire working life. But as our personal technology is becoming more complex, more co-dependents upon peripherals, more like a living ecosystem, delaying upgrading is even more disruptive. If you neglect ongoing minor upgrades, the change backs up so much that the eventual big upgrade reaches traumatic  proportions. So I now see upgrading as type of hygiene: You do it regularly to keep your tech healthy. Continual upgrades are so critical for technological systems that they are now automatic for the major personal computer operating systems and some software apps. Behind the scenes, the machines will upgrade themselves, slowly changing their features over time. This happens gradually, so we don’t notice they are “becoming”.

     We take this evolution as normal.

       Technological life in the future will be a series of endless upgrades. And the rate of graduations is accelerating. Features shift, defaults disappear, menus morph. I’ll open up a software package I don’t use every day expecting certain choices, and whole menus will have disappeared.

      No matter how long you have been using a tool, endless upgrades make you into a newbie-the new user often seen as clueless. In this era of “becoming,” everyone  becomes a newbie. Worse, we will be newbies forever. That should keep us humble.

     That bears repeating. All of us-every one of us-will be endless newbies in the future in the future simply trying to keep up. Here’s why: First most of the important technologies that will dominate life 30 years from now have not yet been invented, so naturally you’ll be a newbie to them. Second, because the new technology requires endless upgrades, you will remain in the newbie state. Third, because the cycle of obsolescence is accelerating (the average lifespan of a phone app is a mere 30 days!), you won’t have time to master anything before it is displaced, so you will remain in the newbie mode forever. Endless Newbie is the new default for everyone, no matter your age or experience.

13. Which of the following statements would the author agree with the most?

(A) The second law of thermodynamics states that things need more energy as they separate.

(B) When it comes to erosion, intangibles behave differently from tangibles.

(C) Up-gradation is no longer an option but an obligation.

(D) Up-gradation though simple is disruptive.

(E) In the next thirty years, one’s experience in up-grading will be greatly valued.

Show Answer

14. Which of the following quotes would the author agree with the most?

(A) Life is like riding a bicycle. In order to avoid falling, you must keep moving.

(B) The only thing constant in life is change.

(C) You  must be the change you wish to see in the world.

(D) If you do not change you will be changed.

(E) What we can’t cure we must endure.

Show Answer

15. The CEO of a technology company was thinking of the following policies :

1. Life time employment

2. Promotion based on seniority

3. Hire new competent employees and fire old incompetent employees

4. Regular training and retraining

If a CEO were to consult the author of the passage, which of the above policies should the author recommend?

(A) 1 or 3

(B) 1 or 4

(C) 2 or 4

(D) 3 or 4

(E) 1, 3 and 4

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 16 & 17) : Analyse the passage below and answer these questions:

   Writing is both my vocation and my avocation: that’s all I do.

    You may wonder why I should write a genealogy. Well, to begin with, my story is interesting. And, next, I am a mystery-more so than a tree or a sunset or even a flash of lightning. But, sadly, I am taken for granted by those who use me, as if I were a mere incident and without background. This supercilious attitude relegates me to the level of the commonplace. This is a species of the grievous error in which mankind cannot too long persist without peril. For, as a wise man, G. K. Chesterton, observed, “We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.”

    I, simple though I appear to be, merit your wonder and awe, a claim I shall attempt to prove. In fact, if you can understand me-no, that’s too much to ask of anyone-if you can become aware of the miraculousness that I symbolize, you can help save the freedom mankind is so unhappily losing. I have a profound lesson than an automobile or an airplane or a mechanical dishwasher because- well, because I am seemingly to simple.

   Simple? Yet, not a single person on the face of this earth knows how to make me. This sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? Especially when you realize that there are about one-half billion of my kind produced in the US each year.

   Pick me up and look me over. What do you see? Not much meets the eye-there’s some wood, lacquer, the printed labeling, graphite lead, a bit of metal and an eraser.

16. “I” in the passage, most likely, refers to:

(A) the author of the passage

(B) a geometry box

(C) a study table

(D) a pencil

(E) the evolution of a book

Show Answer

17. A “supercilious attitude” in this passage implies:

(A) Failure to perceive the mystery of the sunset.

(B) Arrogance of treating all simple things as trivial.

(C) Lack of curiosity in seeking the mystery behind the lightning.

(D) A tendency to break down intricacies of creation into its simple  parts.

(E) Prosaic attitude immune to the mysteries of the world.

Show Answer

Directions (Q. 18 to 20) : Analyse passage below and answer these questions :

    Some psychologists and sociologists believe that psychopathy can be an asset in business and politics and that, as a result, psychopathic traits are over-represented among successful people. This would be a puzzle if it were so. If our moral feelings evolved through natural selection, then it shouldn’t be the case that one would flourish without them. And, in fact, the successful psychopath is probably the exception. Psychopaths have certain deficits. Some of these are subtle. The psychologist Abigail Marsh and her colleagues find that psychopaths are markedly insensitive to the expression of fear. Normal people recognize fear and treat it as a distress cue, but psychopaths have problems seeing it, let alone responding to it appropriately. Other deficits run deeper. The overall lack of moral sentiments-and specifically, the lack of regard for others-might turn out to be the psychopath’s downfall. We non-psychopaths are constantly assessing one another, looking for kindness and shame and the like, using this information to decide whom to trust, whom to affiliate with. The psychopath has to pretend to be one of us. But this is difficult. It’s hard to force yourself to comply with moral rules  just through a rational appreciation of what you are expected to do. If you feel like strangling the cat, it’s a struggle to hold back just because you know that it is frowned upon. Without a normal allotment of shame and guilt, psychopaths succumb to bad impulses, doing terrible things out of malice, greed, and simple boredom. And sooner or later, they get caught. While psychopaths can be successful in the short term, they tend to fail in the long term and often end up in prison or worse. Let’s take a closer look at what separates psychopaths from the rest of us. There are many symptoms of psychopathy, including pathological lying and lack of remorse or guilt, but the core deficit is indifference toward the suffering of other people. Psychopaths lack compassion. To understand how compassion works for all of us non-psychopaths, it’s important to distinguish it from empathy. Now, some contemporary researchers use the terms interchangeably, but there is a big difference between caring about a person (compassion) and putting yourself in the person’s shoes (empathy).

    I am too much of an adaptationist to think that a capacity as rich as empathy exists as a freak biological accident. It most likely has a function, and the most plausible candidate here is that it motivates us to care about others. Empathy exists to motivate compassion and altruism. Still, the link between empathy (in the sense of mirroring another’s feelings) and compassion (in the sense of felling and acting kindly toward another) is more nuanced than many people believe. First, although empathy can be automatic and unconscious-a crying person can affect your mood, even if you’re not aware that this is happening and would rather it didn’t-we often choose whether to empathize with another persons. So when empathy is present, it may be the product of a moral choice, not the cause of it. Empathy is also influenced by what one thinks of the other person. Second, empathy is not needed to motivate compassion. As the psychologist Steven Pinker points out, “If a child has been frightened by a barking dog and is howling in terror, my sympathetic response is not to howl in terror with her, but to comfort and protect her.” Third, just as you can have compassion without empathy, you can have empathy without compassion. You might feel the person’s pain and wish to stop feeling it-but choose to solve the problem by distancing yourself from that person instead of alleviating his or her suffering. Even otherwise good people sometimes turn away when faced with depictions of pain and suffering in faraway lands, or when passing a homeless person on a city street.

18. The core deficit of Psychopaths affects their long term success because,

(A) they cannot sustain the  behaviour.

(B) they are less likely to succeed as HR managers than as finance managers.

(C) the cannot hide their lack of compassion for long.

(D) empathy is essential for long term success.

(E) natural selection enables moral feelings.

Show Answer

19. Which of the following options is correct according to the author ?

(A) Compassion exists for a reason.

(B) Empathy is a chance event.

(C) Empathy is the cause of moral choice.

(D) Caring for others is psychopathy.

(E) Long term success in business is  a freak accident.

Show Answer

20. A student approached a faculty pleading to increase his marks because failure in one more subject will result in the student having to leave the program. The faculty said, “I am sorry. But I cannot change your grades as it would be unfair to others”.

In the given circumstance, which of the following best describes the faculty?

(A) The faculty is a psychopath.

(B) The faculty was compassionate.

(C) The faculty was both empathetic and compassionate but unfair.

(D) The faculty displayed empathy but not compassion.

(E) The faculty displayed compassion but not empathy.

Show Answer

Directions (Qs. 21 to 24) : Analyse the passage below and answer these questions :

    Every age has its pet contradictions. A few decades back, we used to accept Marx and Freud together, and then wonder, like the chameleon on the turkey carpet, why life was so confusing. Today there is similar trouble over the question whether there is, or is not, something called Human Nature. One the one hand, there has been an explosion of animal behaviour studies, and comparisons between animals and men have become immensely popular. People use evidence from animals to decide whether man is naturally aggressive, or naturally territorial; even whether he has an aggressive or territorial instinct. Moreover, we are still much influenced by Freudian psychology, which depends on the notion of instinct. On the other hand, many still hold what may be called the Blank Paper view, that man is a creature entirely without instincts. So do Existentialist philosophers. If man has no instincts, all comparison with animals must  be irrelevant. (Both these simple party lines have been somewhat eroded over time, but both are still extremely influential.)

     According to the Blank Paper view, man is entirely the product of his culture. He starts off infinitely plastic, and is formed completely  plastic, and is formed completely by the society in which he grows up. There is then no end to the possible variations among cultures; what we take to be human instincts are just the deep-dug prejudices of our own society. Forming families, fearing the dark, and jumping at the sight of a spider are just results of our conditioning. Existentialism at first appears a very different standpoint, because the Existentialist asserts man’s freedom and will not let him call himself a product of anything. But Existentialism too denies that man has a nature; if he had, his freedom would not be complete. Thus Sartre insisted that “there is no human nature……. Man first of all exists, encounters himself. surges up in the world, and defines himself afterwards. If man as the Existentialist sees him is not definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be anything until later, and then he will be what he makes himself.” For Existentialism there is only the human condition, which is what happens to man and not what he is born like. If we are afraid of the dark, it is because we choose to be cowards; if we care more for our own children than for other people’s , it is because we choose to be partial ! We must never talk about  human nature or human instincts. This implicit moral notion is still very influential, not at all confined to those who use the metaphysic of essence and existence. So I shall sometimes speak of it, not as Existentialist, but as Libertarian-meaning that those holding it do not just (like all of us) think liberty important, but think it supremely important and believe that our having a nature would infringe it.

      Philosophers have not yet made much u se of informed comparison with other species as a help in the understanding of man. One reason they have not is undoubtedly the fear of fatalism. Another is the appalling way terms such as instinct and human nature have been misused in the past. A third is the absurdity of some ethological propaganda.

21. A business school led by a an existentialist director, wanted to decide on admission policy for its executive MBA program, which requires candidates to possess minimum five years of managerial experience.

   With respect to the selection process, which of the following statements will be closest to the director’s belief.

(A) Tenth standard marks should be given highest weightage.

(B) Twelfth standard marks engineering college should be given highest weightage.

(C) Marks scored in the engineering college should be given  highest weightage.

(D) Marks scored by the candidate in all previous examinations be given equal weightage.

(E) Recent work experience and contribution to the organization should be given highest weightage.

Show Answer

22. Which of the following statements would the author agree with the most ?

(A) Existentialism can be extended to Libertariansim.

(B) Existentialism and Libertarianism are the same.

(C) Existentialism encompasses Libertarianism.

(D) Animal behaviour should not be compared with human behaviour.

(E) Liberty and existentialism are unrelated.

Show Answer

23. Who among the following, as stated in the third paragraph, would the author be the most sympathetic to?

(A) PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) activists

(B) Save the tiger activists

(C) Architect

(D) Physicists

(E) Zoologists

Show Answer

24. Which sentence in the passage distances man from “nature”, the most?

(A) The sixth sentence of the first paragraph.

(B) The first sentence of the second paragraph.

(C) The sentence third from the last in the passage.

(D) The sentence second from the last in the passage.

(E) The last sentence of the passage.

Show Answer