Verbal Ability
Topic - Para Summary
The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position.
1. The century since Franz Kafka was born has been marked by the idea of “modernism”—self consciousness new among centuries, a consciousness of being new. Sixty years after his death, Kafka epitomizes one aspect of this modern mind-set: a sensation of anxiety and shame whose center cannot be located and therefore cannot be placated; a sense of an infinite difficulty within things, impeding every step; a sensitivity acute beyond usefulness, as if the nervous system, flayed of its old hide of social usage and religious belief, must record every touch as pain. In Kafka’s peculiar and highly original case this dreadful quality is mixed with immense tenderness, oddly good humor, and a certain severe and reassuring formality. The combination makes him an artist; but rarely can an artist have struggled against greater inner resistance and more sincere diffidence as to the worth of his art.
(a) Despite Kafka’s shyness and struggles he is a quintessential modernist artist, as he, quite unlike any other, manages to juxtapose tenderness and humor with pain and an implacable sense of anxiety and shame.
(b) Kafka’s ability to lace his literature with themes of modernism such as anxiety, shame and pain intermingled with humor and tenderness makes him an original modernist.
(c) Kafka was ahead of his time as he exemplifies the modernist mindset of anxiety and pain, but he is raised to the level of an artist only when he manages to mix this with humor and tenderness.
(d) Kafka’s shyness and inner struggles are an outcome of the modernism he displays wherein the thoughts are permeated with anxiety and pain, but as he is an artist he uses humor and formality as a reassurance.
2. Should the moral obligation to rescue and aid persons in grave peril, felt by a few, be enforced by the criminal law? Should we follow the lead of a number of European countries and enact bad Samaritan laws? Proponents of bad Samaritan laws must overcome at least three different sorts of obstacles. First, they must show the laws are morally legitimate in principle, that is, that the duty to aid others is a proper candidate for legal enforcement. Second, they must show that this duty to aid can be defined in a way that can be fairly enforced by the courts. Third, they must show that the benefits of the laws are worth their problems, risks and costs.
(a) A number of European countries that have successfully enacted bad Samaritan laws may serve as model statutes.
(b) Bad Samaritan laws may be desirable but they need to be tested for legal soundness.
(c) Everyone agrees that people ought to aid others, the only debate is whether to have a law on it.
(d) If bad Samaritan laws are found to be legally sound and enforceable they must be enacted.
3. The conceptualization of landscape as a geometric object first occurred in Europe and is historically related to the European conceptualization of the organism, particularly the human body, as a geometric object with parts having a rational, three-dimensional organization and integration. The European idea of landscape appeared before the science of landscape emerged, and it is no coincidence that Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, who studied the structure of the human body, also facilitated an understanding of the structure of landscape. Landscape, which had been a subordinate background to religious or historical narratives, became an independent genre or subject of art by the end of the sixteenth century or the beginning of the seventeenth century.
(a) The Renaissance artists were responsible for the study of landscape as a subject of art.
(b) The three-dimensional understanding of the organism in Europe led to a similar approach towards the understanding of landscape.
(c) Landscape became a major subject of art at the turn of the sixteenth century. (d) The study of landscape as an independent genre was aided by the Renaissance artists
4. Artificial embryo twinning is a relatively low-tech way to make clones. As the name suggests, this technique mimics the natural process that creates identical twins. In nature, twins form very early in development when the embryo splits in two. Twinning happens in the first days after egg and sperm join, while the embryo is made of just a small number of unspecialized cells. Each half of the embryo continues dividing on its own, ultimately developing into separate, complete individuals. Since they developed from the same fertilized egg, the resulting individuals are genetically identical.
(a) Artificial embryo twinning is just like the natural development of twins, where during fertilization twins are formed.
(b) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech unlike the natural development of identical twins from the embryo after fertilization.
(c) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech and mimetic of the natural development of genetically identical twins from the embryo after fertilization.
(d) Artificial embryo twinning is low-tech and is close to the natural development of twins where the embryo splits into two identical twins.
5. Production and legitimation of scientific knowledge can be approached from a number of perspectives. To study knowledge production from the sociology of professions perspective would mean a focus on the institutionalization of a body of knowledge. The professions-approach informed earlier research on managerial occupation, business schools and management knowledge. It however tends to reify institutional power structures in its understanding of the links between knowledge and authority. Knowledge production is restricted in the perspective to the selected members of the professional community, most notably to the university faculties and professional colleges. Power is understood as a negative mechanism, which prevents the non-professional actors from offering their ideas and information as legitimate knowledge.
(a) The study of knowledge production can be done through many perspectives.
(b) Professions-approach aims at the institutionalization of knowledge but restricts knowledge production as a function of a select few.
(c) Professions-approach focuses on the creation of institutions of higher education and disciplines to promote knowledge production
(d) The professions-approach has been one of the most relied upon perspectives in the study of management knowledge production.
Solutions
1. A 2. B 3. B 4. C 5. B
- In this passage the author has explained Kafka’s work and the way he impacted modernism. Option (a) is correct as it includes all the themes i.e. Kafka’s inner problems, modernism, humour, pain etc. Option (b) is incorrect because it mentions ‘literature’ which is not mentioned in the passage.
- 4-6 lines talk about the obstacles of Samaritan law, which is being talked about in further lines, the link is to testify the laws. Thus, option (b) is the right answer.
- The paragraph elaborates on the questions (moral legitimacy, legal enforceability, proof of benefits) that the proponents of bad Samaritan laws must answer before the laws can be enacted. Option (b) comes closest to summing this up.
- All the options look close. But in the paragraph, the author talks about ‘mimicking or imitating.’ So, the word ‘mimetic’ makes option (c) the best summary of the paragraph. Option (a) says ‘just like the natural development’ which is not mentioned in the paragraph. Options (b) and (d) are distorted options.
- The author mentions two important points in the paragraph: the pros and cons of professions approach. Only option (b) mentions this point. Option (C) is partially correct. Option (a) is too narrow and vague. Option (d) is factually not supported by the paragraph.
