CAT Questions | CAT Word Usage Questions

The question is from CAT Word Usage. Word Usage for Verbal Ability for CAT. Word Usage questions that appear in the verbal section of CAT look for the correct usage of words in a sentence. Have a look at this question from Word Usage. Solve CAT Questions from Word Usage to get more practice and 2IIMs CAT questions bank provides you with CAT questions that can help you gear for CAT Exam .

Question 14: Exposure markedly (A)/marginally (B) affects preference.

In that way, all canons (A)/cannons (B) are flawed and fluid. They do not include the indisputable ‘best of the best’.

Ergo (A)/But (B) they do a pretty good job of distilling a civilization's high points.

So they are immensely interesting objects of query (A)/inquiry (B).

1. AABB
2. ABAB
3. BBAA
4. BAAB

Explanatory Answer

Method of solving this CAT Question from Word Usage:

Sentence 1- Exposure markedly (A)/marginally (B) affects preference.

We cannot decide on the choice here without considering what the rest of the sentences say.

Sentence 2- In that way, all canons (A)/cannons (B) are flawed and fluid. They do not include the indisputable ‘best of the best’.

The correct choice of word for this sentence is canon, in the sense of a comprehensive list of books that set a standard. Cannon refers to a mounted gun for firing and does not make sense here.

We are told canons are ‘flawed and fluid’ that is, they are subject to change and do not accommodate every preference. This points to the correct word choice for sentence 1 as ‘markedly’, not ‘marginally’. Exposure markedly affects preference. This leads to the thought that canons are flawed.

Sentence 3- Ergo (A)/But (B) they do a pretty good job of distilling a civilization's high points.

The correct word choice here is ‘but’ not ‘ergo’ (therefore).

Though canons are flawed and fluid, they do a good job of distilling a civilization’s high points.

Sentence 4- So they are immensely interesting objects of query (A)/inquiry (B).

The correct option here is ‘inquiry’ (study). The option ‘query’ does not make sense in the given context.

Hence, the answer is AABB

Choice A is the correct answer.