VAHO0207 Paragraph Summary
Indore Centre
A short paragraph is followed by four summaries. Choose the
option that best captures the essence of the paragraph.
Q. 1 If you ask most people how tattoos work, they’re likely to get
it wrong. The most pervasive oversimplification is that tattoo
needles inject ink into the skin, deep enough that it stays put. In
fact, tattoo needles are more like the nib of a fountain pen than a
syringe; the ink isn’t shot down through the needle but suspended
at the end of it when an artist dips the tool into a well. Then, when
the tip of the needle pierces a hole in the recipient s skin, capillary
action draws the ink down into the dermis. That s how the ink gets
into your skin. But why does it stay there? Scientists recently
discovered that tattoos are made possible not by ink-saturated skin
cells, but by immune cells called macrophages.
A. Most people wrongly believe that in tattoos, ink is injected
deep into the skin permanently. In truth, the ink suspended at
the tip of the needle is drawn into the dermis by capillary
action, when shot into skin. Scientists recently discovered that
it’s immune cells and not skin cells that preserve this ink.
B. The most popular misconception about tattoos is that the ink
injected deep into the skin remains there forever. In truth, ink,
suspended at the tip of the needle, is shot into skin and sucked
by the dermis. Scientists recently discovered that it’s not the
cells, but macrophages that make tattooing possible.
C. The most popular misconception about tattoos is that ink is
injected into the skin permanently. In truth, ink is suspended
at the tip of the needle, which is then sucked by the dermis
through capillary action, when shot into skin. It has long been
known that it’s not skin cells, but macrophages (immune cells)
that preserve this ink.
D. The most popular misconception about tattoos is that ink is
injected into the skin permanently. In truth, ink is suspended
at the tip of the needle, which is then injected into the dermis
through capillary action. Scientists have discovered that it’s
not skin cells, but macrophages (immune cells) that preserve
this ink.
Q. 2 Writing involves not only the hand and wrist but also the arm,
the shoulder and often the whole body. Quill-users were well aware
of this, and would choose from the right wing or the left - ideally the
third or fourth feather of a goose-wing, but possibly the finest
feathers of swans, or ravens, or crows to make the quill curve
towards the hand or away from it, whichever felt more natural.
Children forming letters sit hunched with concentration, small
fingers clenched round crayons, little pink tongues darting out of
mouths. After a page or three of writing against the clock, the ablest
college student flaps his wrist to ease the ache in it. In like manner,
each and every instance of writing is a physical act involving
varying degrees of exertion.
A. Writing is a physical act involving the whole body. The 3rd of
4th feather from either side of a goose-wing or the finest
feathers of other birds were considered the best by quill users.
From a child sitting hunched while learning to write to a
student flapping his wrist after writing long passages, every
act of writing is quite physical.
B. Writing is a physical act involving employment of the whole
body. Quill users were aware of this. From a child sitting
hunched while learning to write to a student flapping his wrist
after writing a test, every act of writing is quite physical.
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Verbal Reasoning
C. Writing is a physical act involving the whole body. Knowing
this, quill users chose only the best quills, in order to write
naturally. A child s posture while learning to write or a college
student flapping his wrist after writing against time reveals the
physical exertion in writing.
D. Writing is a physical act involving employment of different
body parts. Quill users, being aware of this, were particular
about using only the best quills. The physical exertion is
evident in every act of writing.
Q. 3 Pastafarianism began with a satiric open letter written by then-
25-year-old Bobby Henderson in response to the Kansas Board of
Education’s decision to teach the theory of intelligent design
alongside evolution in public schools. Henderson argued that
schools ought also to devote class time to teaching the theory that
a flying spaghetti monster had created the universe. This, he
reasoned, was as probable a version of intelligent design as any
other. The letter inspired a biblical flood s worth of memes and
launched a religious group that now claims a global membership.
As this so-called Pastafarianism has grown, some branches of this
movement have started demanding the rights and privileges
enjoyed by more established religious organizations. What started
as a fake religion is now angling to be an authentic one.
A. Bobby Henderson introduced pastafarianism as part of his
protest against teaching theory of intelligent design in public
schools. He introduced the theory that a flying spaghetti
monster had created the universe, reasoning it to be as valid
as the other. His theory is now popular enough to claim a
globally accepted religious identity.
B. Pastafarianism began in Kansas with Bobby Henderson s
satirical response to the idea of teaching theory of intelligent
design in public schools, arguing that the theory that a flying
spaghetti monster had created the universe is as valid as the
other. The idea is now popular enough to claim a globally
accepted religious identity.
C. Pastafarianism puts forward the theory that a flying spaghetti
monster had created the universe. It began with Bobby
Henderson s disagreement about teaching theory of intelligent
design in public schools. The movement has now become a
globally accepted religious identity.
D. Pastafarianism puts forward the theory that a flying spaghetti
monster created the universe. It began with Bobby Henderson
s opposition to teaching theory of intelligent design in public
schools in Kansas. Now, the religion not only claims global
membership but also demands an authentic identity.
Q. 4 In logic, gradualism gave rise to fuzzy logic, i.e., to the
development of logical systems explicitly built to better model the
logical and semantic behaviour of gradual properties. In these
logics, instead of the membership relation of set theory
representing whether an object belongs to a predicate s extension,
there is a membership function assigning values within the [0, 1]
interval of real numbers to objects and sets representing the
predicate s extension. Thus, we can account for the behaviour of
propositions like John is bald where John is a borderline case of
baldness. Given how widespread vagueness and similar
phenomena are, it is not surprising that fuzzy logic has found
heaps of applications, mostly outside philosophy.
VAHO0207 Paragraph Summary
A. Fuzzy Logic which arose in logic through gradualism accounts
for propositions with widespread vagueness and similarity,
instead of the membership function of set theory which
assigns values within the [0, 1] interval of real numbers to
objects.
B. Instead of the membership relation of set theory, Fuzzy Logic
which arose in logic through gradualism accounts for
propositions with widespread vagueness and similarity by
assigning them values within the [0, 1] interval of real numbers
to objects.
C. Instead of the membership relation of set theory, Fuzzy Logic
which has heaps of applications outside philosophy, accounts
for propositions with vagueness and similarity by assigning
values to objects within the interval of real numbers 0 and 1.
D. Fuzzy logic, logical systems with real world applications,
accounts for the logical and semantic behavior of gradual
properties of objects by assigning them values within the [0,
1] interval of real numbers, instead of the membership relation
of set theory.
Q. 5 Care must be taken when talking about society doing some
nudging. Most advocates of nudging “including the 2017 Nobel
economics laureate, Richard Thaler“ wish to empower the state to
nudge. Whatever you think of the propriety, wisdom, or justice of
adults being nudged away from choosing options that they would
otherwise choose, any nudging done by the state is not nudging
done by society. Instead, nudging done by the state is in reality
nudging done by particular flesh-and-blood individuals. Describing
such nudging as being done by society masks the danger that lurks
in giving some individuals the power to superintend the lives of
other individuals. What good reason have you to suppose that
those individuals who are empowered to nudge others are
themselves immune from the psychological quirks that allegedly
justify their power to nudge others? And further, what good reason
have you to trust that the nudgers, when their nudges fail, won’t
redouble their efforts to direct the lives of others by resorting to
shoving?
A. Nudging by governments gives too much power in the hands
of individuals who may end up shoving if nudging fails.
B. There is little reason to support nudging of any type as the
individuals empowered to nudge can end up abusing their
power and shoving.
C. One should exercise caution while supporting nudging by
governments as it empowers individuals to superintend the
lives of others without restraint.
D. Governments empower individuals to nudge others although
these individuals are susceptible to misusing their power over
others.
Q. 6 The moral is that smart people can be masters of many trades,
though Ottolenghi claims that it took him a lot longer to really
experience pastry with my hands (six months) than to make his
way through Hegel (an excruciating few weeks). At forty-three, he
is not much changed from the recovering philosopher-geek of his
Amsterdam years” lanky, loping, and quite tall, with the same short,
sticking-up dark hair and fashionably stubbled chin, and even a
version of the same black-rimmed student glasses. The difference
is that today he wears the happy smile of a man who has left
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behind The Phenomenology of Mind• for baked eggplants with
lemon thyme, za atar, pomegranate seeds, and buttermilk-yogurt
sauce” and, in the process, become the pen, prime mover, and
public face of a partnership of four close colleagues who have
quietly changed the way people in Britain shop and cook and eat.
A. Ottolenghi is a good example of how smart people can be
multi-skilled as he has moved from a Hegel-spouting
philosophy student to being an entrepreneur chef who has
singlehandedly revitalized Britain s approach to food.
B. Smart people can be multi-skilled, as evident in the successful
transition of Ottolenghi from a philosopher-geek student to a
successful entrepreneur chef who may not have changed
much in appearance but has changed the way Britain
approaches food.
C. The success of Ottolenghi, an erstwhile philosopher-geek who
turned successful entrepreneur-chef and energized Britain s
approach to food, is a reminder that smart people can be
multitaskers.
D. Smart people are multitaskers and this is apparent when you
consider the success of philosopher turned chef Ottolenghi
who, at 43, has changed the way Britain approaches food.
Q. 7 All path-breakers are seen, first and foremost, in terms of their
predecessors. Julius Caesar wept comparing his own deeds in his
early thirties with those of Alexander the Great. Jesus, in the
Gospels, was explicitly compared with Elijah from the Old
Testament. And Newton, in lessening his own role as a discoverer
of nature s laws, claimed to stand on the shoulders of giants.
A. All path-breakers are seen in relation to their predecessors,
such as Julius Caesar, Jesus and Newton.
B. Path-breakers such as Julius Caesar, Jesus and Newton are
repeatedly compared to their predecessors.
C. All path-breakers, including Julius Caesar, Jesus and Newton,
are seen in relation to their predecessors.
D. Path-breakers such as Julius Caesar, Jesus and Newton had
to accept being compared to their predecessors.
Q. 8 Currently, the English Wikipedia has more than 50 official
policies with a word count close to 150,000 (enough for a thick
book). But that s just the tip of the administrative iceberg. In
addition to the policies, there are guidelines and essays“ more than
450 devoted solely to proper conduct. You will also find more than
1,200 essays containing comments on the policies and guidelines,
advisory notes and analyses of the community. The total word
count for all guidelines and essays can easily be in the magnitude
of millions, so it is safe to assume that no one in the world knows
them all.
A. There are so many rules and guidelines in the English
Wikipedia that it can be concluded that no one knows them
all.
B. The English Wikipedia has a huge number of rules and
guidelines, but not enough people who know them all.
C. There are enough rules, guidelines and essays in the English
Wikipedia to fill a thick book, so no one can follow them.
VAHO0207 Paragraph Summary
D. Given the huge number of rules and guidelines in the English
Wikipedia, one can assume that people no longer bother to
learn them all.
Q. 9 Standing upright gives us human beings a unique perspective
of the world around us. It encourages us to think of ourselves as
being above, superior to and separate from our environment “ a
necessary precursor to our being able to shape and change it. It
also enables us to see far ahead, spatially and temporally “ to see
danger, or fruit trees, or desirable mates, long before they are right
in front of us; and this ability gives us, in turn, the ability to create
strategies, to imagine, to invent, create, design and dream.
A. Standing upright is what enables us human beings to become
human.
B. Standing upright makes human beings feel superior and
enable them to shape and change the world around them.
C. Standing upright encourages a feeling of superiority which is
essential to make progress.
D. Standing upright provides us more time to think since we can
see the objects much before they are in front of us.
Q. 10 The separation of fame and merit is one of the central
dilemmas that Cowen considers in his account of the modern
market economy. He shows how fame is produced, outlines the
principles that govern who becomes famous and why, and
discusses whether fame-seeking behaviour harmonizes individual
and social interests or corrupts social discourse and degrades
culture. He identifies the benefits of a fame-intensive society and
makes a persuasive case that however bad fame may turn out to
be for the famous, it is generally good for society and culture.
A. In his account of the modern market economy, Cowen, while
trying to separate fame and merit, outlines how fame is
produced and argues that fame-seeking behaviour, though
bad for the famous themselves, is generally good for society
and culture.
B. A fame-seeking society has been explored in Cowen s
account of the modern market economy, which looks at fame
and merit as sometimes oppositional. Fame is said to be bad
for the famous but good for society and culture.
C. One of the central dilemmas in the modern market economies
is the separation of fame and merit. Fame-seeking behaviour
and fame intensive societies may be bad for the famous, but
they are generally good for society and culture.
D. Cowen s account of the modern market economy looks at
whether fame is beneficial or harmful to society. He effectively
persuades readers to believe that fame is beneficial to the
individual in the over-all analysis.
Q. 11 What is the action of insulin on your fat cells? To store that
fat. It takes sugar and it stores it as fat. So until your fat cells
become resistant you get fat. As people become more and more
insulin resistant, their weight goes up and up. But eventually they
plateau. They might plateau at 300 pounds, 220 pounds, 150
pounds, but they will eventually plateau as the fat cells protect
themselves and become insulin resistant. As all the major tissues,
your liver, muscles and fat, become resistant, your pancreas is
putting out more insulin to compensate, so you are
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hyperinsulinemic and you˜ve got insulin floating around all the
time.
A. Insulin acts on sugar to store it as fat but fat deposits plateau
after the body reaches a certain weight and lose their ability to
absorb insulin which causes the body to have excess insulin
and become hyperinsulinemic.
B. People s weight generally keeps increasing till their fat cells
become resistant to insulin. After this, the body secretes
excess insulin and becomes hyperinsulinemic.
C. The impact of insulin on weight is that weight increases till
insulin acts efficiently on sugar to store it as fat and then, when
fat cells get resistant to insulin, the body becomes
hyperinsulinemic with excess insulin.
D. Insulin s effects on the body can be seen as a sequence of
events where insulin s ability to create fat is hampered when
the fat cells become resistant after a certain point. The other
tissues become similarly resistant and the body becomes
hyperinsulinemic.
Q. 12 Popular reactions say that relative to Hindustani music,
Carnatic privileges vocal over instrumental music; it foregrounds
the composition, and so musicians seemingly devote more energy
on accurate reproduction than on improvisation; it encourages the
arithmetic aspects of rhythm to overshadow melody; and finally, it
has a narrow social base of performers and listeners, which makes
it exclusive and excluding. It is said that the organisation of
Carnatic music reflected the caste structure of society at large with
its segregated occupations and monopolised hereditary
transmission in families, clans and castes.
A. Popularly, Carnatic music is seen to be inferior to Hindustani
music because it prioritises on composition, voice and rhythm;
it has fewer performers and listeners, and is hereditarily
practiced by families, clans and castes, thus reflecting the
caste structure of society at large.
B. Unlike Hindustani music, Carnatic music prioritises vocal over
instrumental music, rigidly follows compositions and favours
rhythm over melody; it is hereditarily passed on in certain
families and castes, and has fewer performers and listeners.
C. Following are possible reasons behind the limited popularity
of Carnatic music-- compared with Hindustani music, it
favours vocal music more; compositions are rigidly followed;
prefers rhythmic precision over melody, and advocates the
segmentation of caste system.
D. Popular reactions say that relative to Hindustani music,
Carnatic music prioritises vocal music and favours rhythm
over melody and rigidly follows the composition. It has fewer
listeners and its performers are limited to families, clans and
castes, similar to caste structure in general.
Q. 13 Psychologist Barry Schwartz has stated in his book, The
Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, that it is necessary for a
person s mental health to accept the average, the good enough.
This is necessary because it may be impossible to know if the best
is ever reached, and often, perfection is unattainable. It may be
impossible to know if one had the best score, but it is easily
understood if the score was good enough. It is impossible to
quantify if one is the best musician, but good enough is well within
reach. Schwartz has pressed that, psychologically speaking, this
VAHO0207 Paragraph Summary Verbal Reasoning
Indore Centre

continued push to rise above average has negative consequences
on mental health.
A. Psychologist Barry Schwartz reasons that the struggle to rise
above average is damaging to one’s mental health and that
one should accept being good enough instead of trying to be
the best.
B. In his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, Barry
Schwartz advises that it is necessary to accept the average
because the continued push to be the best undermines one’s
mental health.
C. In order to be mentally healthy one must avoid the need to try
and be the best, and instead accept one’s position thus
advises the book by Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice:
Why More is less.
D. In his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, Barry
Schwartz advises that the attitude which most undermines
mental health is the continued push to be the best and that it
can be reversed by focusing on being good enough.
a stone can exist without being of any particular size or shape. This
indicates for Descartes that God, if he chose, could create a world
constituted by this stone all by itself, showing further that it is a
substance really distinct from everything else except God.
A. Real distinction denotes the distinction between substances.
Substances exist by themselves by the concurrence of God,
and the quality of that substance is called mode.
B. For Descartes real distinction meant the distinction between
substances. Substances exist by themselves by the creation
of God, and the form in which they exist is called mode.
C. What Descartes called real distinction is the distinction
between substances and mode “just like how the stone itself
is a substance”, but the many shapes in which it can existence
are called its mode.
D. In real distinction, while substances exist by themselves by
the concurrence of God, mode cannot exist without the
substance; so, the world cannot exist without a God.

Q. 14 What makes plastic useful for people ”its durability and light
weight” increases the threat to animals. Plastic hangs around a
long time, and a lot of it floats. Single-use plastics are the worst.
Period. Bar none. They refer to straws, water bottles, and plastic
bags. Some 700 species of marine animals have been reported ”so
far” to have eaten or become entangled in plastic. We don t fully
understand plastic s long-term impact on wildlife, or its impact on
us. We haven t been using the stuff for very long. The first
documented cases of seabirds ingesting plastic were 74 Laysan
albatross chicks found on a Pacific atoll in 1966, when plastic
production was roughly a twentieth of what it is today. In hindsight,
those birds seem like the proverbial canaries in a coal mine.
A. The 74 albatross chicks that were found to have ingested
plastic in 1966 were the forewarning of the threat of plastic to
animals, which people use because of its durability and light-
weight.
B. Plastic is useful to people but dangerous for animals. It has
been a threat to a large number of marine animals from as
early as 1966 when its production was just a twentieth of what
it is now.

C. The existence of a majority of marine animals is threatened by

plastic which they ingest or get entangled in it. The first
instance was documented in 1966 when plastic use was much
low.
D. The threat that plastic causes to marine animals was first
documented in 1966 when plastic production was a twentieth
of what it is today, though plastic is useful to people.

Q. 15 It is important to note that for Descartes real distinction is a

technical term denoting the distinction between two or more
substances. Accordingly, a mode requires a substance to exist and
not just the concurrence of God. Being sphere shaped is a mode
of an extended substance. For example, a sphere requires an
object extended in three dimensions in order to exist: an
unextended sphere cannot be conceived without contradiction. But
a substance can be understood to exist alone without requiring any
other creature to exist, and requires only the concurrence of God.
For example, a stone can exist all by itself. That is, its existence is
not dependent upon the existence of minds or other bodies; and,
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