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Knowledge XAT-200
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Compre

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Question From XAT-2006-Reading

Comprehension

Question From XAT-2006-Reading

Comprehension
Question from XAT-2006-Reading
Comprehension

DIRECTIONS: Questions 14-19 are based on

the passage below.

Deliberative democracy demands a reflexive (or

reflection driven) reordering of preferences in a
non-coercive manner. The authenticity of
democracy requires in addition that these
reflective preferences, influence collective
outcomes and action, and so long as the state is
the main (though far from exclusive) locus of
collective decisions, it requires discursive
mechanisms for transmission of public opinion to
the state. A deliberative or more properly a
discursive democracy, in order that it can
accommodate several competing versions of
democracies such as the liberal, the minimal, me
difference, etc., must also accommodate rhetoric,
narratives, and empathy along with reasoning. A
rationality and a reasoning that does not
accommodate values is meaningless. However, it
is also argued that' individual rationality cannot he
realized if values are embedded in the decision
procedures, in other words, realization of values
could be made possible only when individuals
behave non- rationally. Further if values having
been abandoned at the individual level are
accorded a place only collectively, the same must
lead to either "epistemological inconsistency or
abandonment of autonomy of individual
evaluations". A talk or a rhetoric, otherwise, is
strategic and is employed with the intention of
signaling certain information. Such a talk can be
therefore deceptive and coercive. The
illocutionary force and the normative trappings of
a Foucauldian discourse while allowing
identification with a community and differences
with the others, do simultaneously pose through
coercion a threat to an utterance as such. If
democracy cannot ensure utterance as freedom
and if the illocutionary forces in a discursive
democracy disciplines the thought and the talk,
then how such a democracy could indeed be
called authentic!

Most human actions and discourses are actuated

by a deeper or primordial ante-deliberation Desire
(let us use a capital 'D'). Speaking as such is out
of such a Desire (one might use volition or
passion). Engaging in a deliberation or else in an
action is possible only since there has been such a
Desire. Desire appears to both the reflection and
also to an observer as a mental-state. A discourse
can be set only when such mental states are in
harmony, or share a common predisposition or
attitude. In the absence of such shared mental-
states, no discourse and no deliberation can
begin. A running underlying and most often
unstated theme that remains at the back of the
idea of deliberative democracy is competition - a
competition with the 'other' which introduces
strategy. The alternative to competition, a mental-
state which is out of a Desire to enjoy the 'other'
in the light of a memorythat this 'one' and the
'other' were but the same and would again
become the same, do not appear in the known
Anglo-American literature. Such a mental-state
might generate and keep alive possibilities of
cooperation although is never a state of
cooperation alone as such.

14. Which of the following follows from the

passage above?
A. A rhetoric laden talk can generate authentic
democratic collective choice
B. Irrational persons alone can have values
C. Authenticity of democracy requires a strong
reflection-action interaction
D. A paradigm of competition alone can sustain an
authentic democracy

15. Desire as ante-deliberation driving action

refer to:
A. Irrationality of deliberation
B. Uselessness of deliberation
C. Desire to act without thinking
D. Temporal inconsistency in a position that
argues for deliberative action constituting
democracy

16. Which of the following is true from the

passage?
A. Author argues that democracy is bound to fail
B. Author argues that Desire is primal
C. Author argues for an, end to primal desire so
that an end to competition can come through
D. None of the above

17. A Foucauldian discourse as used in the

passage does NOT refer to:
A. Discourse based on power
B. Community based discourse
C. Strategic discourse
D. None of the above

18. Which of the following words is. closest to

the word 'primordial' as used in the passage
above?
A. Elemental
B. Anarchist
C. Animalistic
D. Nihilistic

19. Which of the following captures the spirit of

the position that the author hints at through
the phrase 'alternative to competition'?
A. All the pragmatic world is-a stage -a play
unfolding
B. Democracy is an unruly fight among citizens
C. Socialist planning does away with the chaos of
competition
D. None of the above

Reading Comprehension - 2

DIRECTIONS: Questions 20-22 are based on

the passage below.

In 1980, the US Supreme Court overturned

decades of legal precedents that said that
naturally occurring phenomenon, such as
bacteria, could not be patented because they
were discoveries rather than inventions. Yet that
year, the Court decided that a biologist named
Chakrabarty could patent a hybridized bacterium
because 'his discovery was his handiwork, not
that of nature'. A majority of the judges reiterated
that 'a new mineral discovered in the earth or a
new plant discovered in the wild is not patentable'.
Yet they believed that Chakrabarty had concocted
something new using his own ingenuity. Even
Chakrabarty was surprised. He had simply
cultured different strains of bacteria in the belief
that they would exchange genetic material in a
laboratory soup. The then embryonic industry
used the case to argue that patents should be
issued on gene, proteins and other materials of
commercial value.

By 1980s, the US Patent Office had embarked on

a far-reaching change of policy to propel the US
industry forward, routinely issuing patents on
products of nature including genes, fragments of
genes and human proteins. In 1987. for example,
Genetics Institute Inc. was awarded a patent on
erythropoietin, a protein of 165 amino acids that
stimulates the production of red blood cells. It did
not claim to have invented the protein: it had
extracted small amounts of the naturally occurring
substance from thousands of gallons of urine.
Erythropoietin is now a multi-billion dollar-a-year
treatment.

The industry's argument is that innovation

prospers only when it is rewarded. Without
rewards, innovation will not take place. The
barriers to entry into biotechnology are relatively
low. Biotechnology companies do not have to
build costly factories of high street retail outlets or
invest in brand reputations. The basic units of
production are bacteria manipulated to deliver
therapeutically and commercially valuable
substances. Without the protection of a patent, an
innovative biotechnology company will find its
discoveries quickly copied by later entrant. If the
ownership of rights to exploit a genetic discovery
were left unclear, there would be less innovation in
the economy as a whole and we would all be
worse off. The biotechnology industry in USA is
larger than anywhere else, in part because
innovators there have been allowed to patent
their' inventions'. In 1998, there were almost 1500
patents claiming rights to exploit human gene
sequences.

Yet the ownership regime for industries and

products spawned by genetics is far from settled.
A practical argument is about what should be
owned - the gene or the treatment. The cystic
fibrosis gene, for example, is patented, and
anyone who makes or uses a diagnostic kit that
uses knowledge of the gene sequence has to pay
royalty to the patent holder. Many would argue
that this is too broad a patent, which may be
excessively strong and slow down innovation. As
we move into the knowledge economy, issues
such as the breadth and scope of a patent, the
standards of novelty, even the duration; will
become more problematical. To put in another
way, who should own what and for how long will
become more of an issue in a knowledge driven
economy. That is because incentives to exploit
knowledge need to be set against the value of
sharing it. Scientific enquiry proceeds as a result
of collaboration, the sharing and testing of ideas.
We are lucky that James Watson and his
collaborator Francis Creek did not work for
Genentech or Glaxo-Wellcome because every
genetic researcher would now be paying a royalty
to use their discovery. Genetics, as most sciences,
is built on a bedrock of shared knowledge. The
more basic the knowledge, the more inappropriate
strong property rights and exclusive private
ownership becomes. Privatization ofknowledg-
may make it less likely that know-how will be
shared. Perkin Elme will publish its research on
the, human genome, but only once in three
months and the company will reserve at least 300
genes for its own patent programme. Publicly
funded researchers share their results more
openly and more frequently.

20. The erythropoietin episode shows that:

A. Patenting is the only way to encourage
exploration of new ideas
B. Patenting accelerates exploitation of new ideas
C. Claims to patentability are often false
D. None of the above

21. After reading the passage, which of the

following statements do you think captures
best, the tenor of the piece?

A. The author is unequivocal about undesirability

of a patenting system
B. The author .explores the complexities in
patenting
C. The author deliberately obfuscates issues
D. The passage is boring about

22. Chakrabarty patent issue shows that:

A. Patent authorities are infallible
B. Patent systems are adhoc
C. Patenting rationale is socially embedded and
evolutionary
D. None of the above

Reading Comprehension - 3

DIRECTIONS: Questions 23-29 are based on

the passage below.

Enterprises in the throes of discovery have an aura

of magic around them. In the world of software
this becomes many-splendoured with a certain
joie de yivre, quite distinct from what obtains
elsewhere: a sense of wonderment, surprise and
eventual delight; a coming within reach of power
and profits; possibly through a little tweak in
technology with a touch of novelty, opening up
vistas that had always seemed so near yet so far.
In professional management terms, this waving of
the wizard's wand, as it were, is nothing more than
an effective recovery of strategy from a
technological paradigm. This book is about
exploring the journey from rules and norms to
solutions, specific solutions prized out of the
anoured covers of sector-specific industrial
structures and often resources-determined
mindsets that Indian software' firms seems to
have mastered. Originality is the fountainhead of
such a strategy. It then progresses into the realms
of the economics of innovation to give itself a solid
foundation from where it becomes possible to
retrieve a new language of strategy and of
innovation. In this high- natural yet dynamic world,
the profit motive, backed by ingenuity, lend
support to many of the arguments that evolve in
this flow of events. The Indian software
experience is a unique demonstration of how this
process - the coalescing of the economics of
surprise and novelty and the economics of
knowledge works. This forms the basics of the
strategy theory.

There are several grand theories of even grander

traditions: the industrial organization approach,
including several kinds of structure-conduct
performance assertions and game theoretic
models, evolutionary theories and corresponding
case' studies, resource-based approaches or
several intermediate variants of competency
based ideas that provide us with a rich yet
incomplete landscape. This landscape is perhaps
oblivious of certain traditions provided by theory;
the rich repertoire bequeathed by Marshall and
Shackle is a case in point, as they are immensely
rewarding. Each important traditions or theory has
made global assertions and has proved to be
prescriptive or normative. Some authors have
looked back at Marshall and a handful at Shackle.
Fewer still reconsidered certain rich -traditions of
thinking on strategy. This book does not attempt
to issue prescriptive or normative guidelines
purely because, the global canvass is too large
and often beyond the capacity of intelligent
comprehension. A strategist acts on a local scale
following what Simon has generally observed.
Pragmatism emerges as an important guide-and
achieving the surprise element is above all. the
key to definitive strategy. While this strategy
evolves from governance, it also influences
governance at every stage. Handicapped by a
paucity of resources, the strategist must dovetail
the two to increase immensely the scope of
governance not only over what the incumbent
possesses, but also over a much larger group of
firms not under its direct control. This need not
necessarily be explained by another grand theory,
with globally prescriptive assertions or powers of
predictions. Surprise must stand beyond
predictability. 'It must govern to earn windfall
profit. Strategy thus cannot be prescribed; it
would comprise piecemeal engineering. This is
what this book explains.

23. The locale of the phrase "acting on a local

scale" as used in the passage above refers to:
A. Cognitively delimited space
B. Geographically delimited space
C. Temporally delimited space
D. None of the above

24. The idea of a 'magic' as used in the

passage refers to:
A. Irrationality and blind belief
B. A sense of wonder at imagination unbridled by
any governance whatsoever
C. A sense of wonder at the discovery of a grand
theory
D. None of the above

25. According to the author, the several extant

strands of strategy literature such as the
Industrial Organization approach provide an
incomplete landscape because:
A. They fail to take account of contributions of
Marshall and Shackle
B. It is normative in nature
C. The vastly rich and unfolding reality is beyond
the capacity of human comprehension
D. None of the above

26. Which of the following follows from the

passage?
A. Indian software firms have excelled in providing
specific solutions
B. Indian software firms have been remarkable
technology innovators
C. Indian software firms have benefited from low
priced manpower, with adequate programming
skills
D. None of the above

27. From the passage which would be an

adequate characterization of the author?
A. Positivist
B. Pragmatist
C. Empiricist
D. Cynical

28. From its usage in the passage which is the

most appropriate meaning of the word
'wizard'?
A. Conman
B. A person of wisdom
C. A well known personality
D. None of the above

29. From its usage in the passage which is NOT

the most appropriate meaning of the word
'ingenuity'?
A. Cunning
B. Creative
C. Original
D. Clever

Reading Comprehension - 4

DIRECTIONS: Questions 30-35 are based on

the passage below.
Think back to 1993. That is when the Centre for
Disease Control came up against the hantavirus in
the South West. The virus made no sense. It had
never appeared in landlocked regions before, and
it was killing people by attacking their lungs rather
than their kidneys, the virus's usual target. It
seemed to defy explanation. And that's as close a
parallel to a cosmology episode as I can describe.
Basically a cosmology episode happens when
people suddenly feel that the universe is no longer
a rational, orderly system. What makes such an
episode shattering is that people suffer from the
event and, at the same time, lose the means 'to
recover from it. In this sense, a cosmology
episode is the opposite of a déjà vu experience. In
moments of deja vu, everything suddenly feels
familiar, recognizable. By contrast, in a cosmology
episode, everything seems strange. A person feels
like he has never been here before, has no idea of
where he is, and has no idea who can help him. An
inevitable stare of panic ensues, and the individual
becomes more and more anxious until he finds it
almost impossible to make sense of what is
happening to him.

The continual merging and divesting and

recombining and changing of responsibilities and
bosses over the years has created immense
cosmological episodes for business people. Even
senior executives are unsure of whom they are
working for and why. So I think it is fair to say that
in the course of their careers, every manager will
have a cosmology episode: their worlds will get
turned upside down. Having the kind of alertness
to weak signals that we see at High Response
organizations can help managers avoid this
particular psychological crisis. In the case of
hantavirus, for example, the puzzle was eventually
solved when epidemiologists discovered that
recent climatic changes had produced an
explosion in the rodent population that carried the
virus, which increased the likelihood that humans
might be exposed to hantavirus. In cosmological
episodes, paying very close attention to details
can definitely restore a sense of mastery.

What I have repeatedly noticed is that people who

really get into trouble during these crisis are those
who try to think everything through before taking
action. The problem with defining and refining
your hypothesis without testing them is that the
world keeps changing, and your analysis gets
further and further behind. So you have constantly
got to update your thinking while you are sitting
there and reflecting. And that is why I am such a
proponent of what I call 'sensemaking'. There are
many definitions of 'sensemaking; for me it is the
transformation of raw experience into intelligible
world views. It's a bit like what mapmakers do
when they try to make sense of an unfamiliar
place by putting it on paper. But the crucial point
in cartography is that there is no one best map of
a particular place. Similarly sense-making lends
itself to multiple conflicting interpretations, all of
which are plausible. If an organization finds itself
unsure of where it's going, or even where its been,
then it ought to be wide open to a lot of
interpretations, al 1 of which can lead to possible
action. The action and its consequence then begin
to edit the list of interpretations down to a more
manageable size.

And this is the point I wish to underscore. Action,

tempered by reflection is the critical component in
recovery from cosmology episodes. Once you
start to act, you can flesh out your interpretations
and rework them. It's the action itself that gets
you moving. There is a beautiful, example of this.
Several years ago a platoon of Hungarian soldiers
got lost in the Alps. One of the soldiers found a
map in his pocket and the troops used it to get out
safely. Subsequently, however, the soldiers
discovered that the map they used was in fact the
drawing of another mountain range the Pyrennes.
In crisis leaders have to act to think.

30. The hantavirus incident DOES NOT shows

that:
A. Ignorance is pervasive
B. Uniqueness in its details can never be
enumerated exhaustively
C. Pursuit of rationality is futile
D. None of the above

31. The nature of knowledge that most

probably seems to be the ambit of the author in
the above passage relates to which of the
following?

A. Practical knowledge
B. Transcendental knowledge
C. Traditional knowledge
D. None of the above

32. Which of the following is necessarily true

sad follows from the argument developed in
the passage?
A. Action and conceptualization about reality is
necessarily sequential
B. No concepts can be speculated about without
action
C. Establishment of any concept cannot be done
through discussions alone
D. None of the above

33. Sense-making as used in the passage

refers to skills that primarily depend on:
A. The five human senses
B. Memory
C. Skills of cognition
D. None of the above

34. A deja vu is a feeling where everything

seems familiar, in order. Behind it, however, is a
tragedy for the appearance of order is illusory.
Ignorance about the disorder as well as non-
experiencing of it builds the illusion. Such a
characterization of deja vu is — its use in the
passage. (Choose the apt phrase to fill the gap)
A. Not inconsistent with
B. Inconsistent with
C. Necessarily follows from
D. Similar to

35. The use of episode in cosmological episode

in the passage refers to:
A. Possibility of repetition of the experience
B. Disquieting nature of the experience
C. Accumulative nature of the experience
D. None of the above

QUESTIONS 36: Please choose the alternative

that CANNOT go into the sentence in the blank
space to make a coherent sentence:

36. The sale of the hotel chain under— resulted

in extremely low yield for the promoter.
A. DURESS 
B. DISTRESS 
C. DISTRUST 
D. All the above

Questions 37-38: Please choose the correct

alternative that can go into the sentence in the
blank space to make a coherent sentence:

37. The — of the country should take a greater

interest in promoting the indigenous works
that are rooted in the deep traditions of
scholarship across the world.
A. LITERATI 
B. LITERATE 
C. LITERATURE 
D. LITERAL

38. ⸺of different categories of problems

often leads to design of improper solutions
that fail to address the complexities of the
problem.

A. CONFABULATION 
B. CONFLATION 
C. CONFLICT 
 C. CONFLICT 
D. CONFESSION

Answers(14-19)

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