Logical questions 2

Passage 1.

Mental disorders afflict humanity on a vast scale. The World Health Organization estimates that half
a billion people struggle with depression and anxiety. Those who have a mental illness suffer great
distress – whether it’s the crippling fear of a panic attack, the angst of remembered trauma, or the
horror of compulsive rituals. Collectively, mental health problems account for more than a fifth of all
years lived with disability.

As important and compelling as these statistics are, however, the story they tell overlooks the other
side of the coin – the reality that some percentage of people with mental illness recover and even
thrive. The story of Kevin Hines is one notable example of this possibility. After years of suffering
from depression, delusions and paranoia, Hines attempted suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate
Bridge in San Francisco. Immediately after leaving the railing, he felt regret as he plunged 240 feet
into the waters below. Miraculously, Hines survived. His mental health has since improved, and he is
now a prominent public speaker on suicide prevention, and the author of the book Cracked, Not
Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt (2013).

While one story cannot represent every person’s experience, it does raise important questions about
mental illness. What are the chances that someone with a mental health problem such as
depression, anxiety or suicidal impulses will recover from these difficulties to live a happy life? Are
mental health disorders so horrible, so corrosive and so destructive to wellbeing that instances of
thriving after mental illness are too rare to enumerate? Or is the transition from mental illness to
wellness a realistic possibility for many? The psychiatry, psychology and public health establishment
has hesitated to tackle these important questions.

Mental health fields have invested their energy into tracking symptoms or disorders as endpoints. In
practical terms, this means that those who formally evaluate treatment typically consider the extent
to which treatments reduce the symptoms of mental illness rather than the extent to which they
lead to a state of high wellbeing. This distinction is non-trivial, as insights from positive psychology
have shown us that the absence of symptoms does not equal the presence of good functioning –
ridding oneself of anxiety is not the same as creating joy, meaning and satisfaction with life.

This focus on symptom reduction has led to mixed advancements. A symptom-driven approach has
helped to generate empirically supported therapies and medications for disorders such as
depression, panic disorder and phobias. However, many treatments using this approach have
plateaued in their effectiveness – and residual symptoms, relapse and recurrence are common
outcomes for clients who discontinue treatment. The overall situation remains frustrating for
therapists and clients alike.

(https://psyche.co/ideas/many-people-not-only-survive-mental-illness-they-thrive)

Question 1. Which of the following is a valid inference from the above passage?

a. Reduction of symptoms has not resulted in any improvements.

b. The establishments of psychiatry, sociology, and public health have been reluctant to
address these significant issues.
c. Humanity suffers from mental illnesses on a massive scale.
d. Whether it's the healing terror of a panic attack, the anxiety of recalled trauma, or the
misery of obsessive rituals, people with mental illnesses experience significant distress.
Ans C; (i)Reduction of symptoms has resulted in some improvements (para 5),(ii) The establishments
of psychiatry, psychology, and public health have been reluctant to address these significant issues.
(para 3) and (iv) Whether it's the paralysing fear of a panic attack, the agony of recalled trauma, or
the misery of obsessive rituals, people with mental illnesses experience significant distress. Word
used in option D is antonym of crippling. (Para 1)

Question 2. What is the meaning of the word “enumerate” mentioned above passage?

a. Catalogue
b. Generalize
c. Both A and B
d. None of the above

Ans A; Self-explanatory. Generalisation is antonym of the word enumerate.

Question 3. Which of the following is true in relation to the passage?

a. Hines, after falling victim to suicide became a prominent public speaker on suicide
prevention.
b. The psychiatry, psychology and public health establishment has hesitated to tackle all the
important questions about mental health.
c. Mental health fields have invested their energy into tracking symptoms or disorders as
endpoints
d. None of the above.

Ans C; option A though might sound enticing but is not the correct answer, as Hines didn’t fall victim
to suicide ie, he didn’t die due to suicide. Option B is incorrect because assuming that the psychiatry,
psychology and public health establishment has hesitated to tackle all the important questions about
mental health is very extreme. Option C is correct (para 4).

Question 4. Which of the following, if true, would help author’s argument?

a. Sam was a patient who underwent tackling-driven approach, but he relapsed once he
discontinued the treatment.
b. A symptom-driven approach has helped to generate empirically supported therapies and
medications for many disorders without any relapses or residual symptoms.
c. Both A and B
d. None of the above

Ans D; both the options were either counter intuitive to the passage or contained information which
was nonmentioned in the passage.

Question 5. An empirically validated strategy that is symptom-driven has made it possible to develop
treatments and drugs for which of the following?

a. Depression
b. Panic disorder
c. Phobias
d. All of the above

Ans D; self-explanatory
Passage 2

Maybe you’ve heard that women are not funny. It’s a stereotype that has often been repeated. In
the 19th century, the popular press could refer to it as ‘the old theory that women have no sense of
humour’. But how old is it in reality? Spoiler alert: it is not as old as people think.

The idea of women’s humourlessness thrived in the 20th century, when serious psychologists and
sociologists embraced it. Freudian theory, in particular, held that women do not need humour as
men do, because of women’s less complex psychic development. The roots of humour, for Sigmund
Freud and his followers, lay in ‘castration fear of the superego’. A 1934 article in The Psychoanalytic
Quarterly expounded at length on the reasons why ‘humour is a masculine trait’.

You might think that by now the successes of female comedians, not to mention common sense and
daily experience, would have quashed the idea that women have no sense of humour. But it still
rears its head. The stereotype is especially prevalent in Anglo-American culture, where multiple
publications either promote the idea or seek to refute it. It’s not yet clear how far it extends across
cultures. Some researchers have suggested traces of the stereotype elsewhere in Europe and Asia,
while others find variation within Western culture.

Perhaps the most prominent recent expression of this idea is the article ‘Why Women Aren’t Funny’
(2007) by Christopher Hitchens in Vanity Fair magazine. Hitchens takes a slightly different tack from
the Freudians, ascribing female humourlessness to the demands of courtship and reproduction (he
acknowledges some funny women, but sees them as exceptions). Other recent commentators even
attempt to trace it all the way back to the cavemen, who (they say) had to prove their worth by
showing their wit, while women just had to be fertile and mate with the fittest. Putting together the
19th-century description of the idea as ‘old’ with this notion of its roots in biology or the early days
of human existence, it’s understandable that some people conclude that women have really never
been, and never will be, as good at humour as men.

No one in the Middle Ages thought that women were especially challenged, humour-wise. Of course,
people didn’t talk in modern terms about a sense of humour. Instead, they liked to tell stories about
witty women fooling men. Oh, but those were men telling the funny stories, you might say. Perhaps.
But there were women who wrote humorous stories too, such as Queen Marguerite de Navarre in
the 16th century, at a time when open female authorship was rare

(https://psyche.co/ideas/just-when-in-history-did-men-decide-that-women-are-not-funny)

Question 1. Which of the following statements about the notion that women aren't funny is factually
not true?

a. It's a common stereotype that keeps coming up.

b. The popular press might refer to it as "the old belief that women have no sense of humour"
in the 20th century.
c. In the 20th century, when respectable psychologists and sociologists adopted it, the notion
of women's lack of humour flourished.
d. None of the above

Ans B; The popular press might refer to it as "the old belief that women have no sense of humour" in
the 19th century.

Question 2. Select the statement that best reflects the main idea of the passage?
 a. How did the stereotype of women are not funny came into being and why is it still a
prominent misconception across different parts of the world?
b. How did the stereotype of women are funny came into being and why is it still a prominent
misconception across different parts of the world?
c. How did the stereotype of women are funny came into being and why is it still a not so
prominent misconception across different parts of the world?
d. How did the stereotype of women are not funny came into being and why is it still a not so
prominent misconception across different parts of the world?

Ans A; the passage talks about “how did the stereotype of women are not funny came into being
and why is it still a prominent misconception across different parts of the world?”

Question 3. Acc. to your understanding, what is the Psychoanalytic Quarterly mentioned in the
above passage?

a. Newspaper
b. Journal
c. Fantasy book series
d. None of the above

Ans B; As the name the Psychoanalytic Quarterly suggests, it was a journal published four times a
year.

Question 4. Which of the aforementioned claims about Christopher Hitchens is untrue?

a. ‘Why Women Aren’t Funny’ was written by Christopher Hitchens.

b. Christopher Hitchens’s approach in the article was different from that of the Sigmund Freud.
c. Both A and B
d. None of the above

Ans D; Both the statements are in sync with the factual information stated in the passage.

Question 5. Which of the following best describes the passage's tone?

a. Belligerent
b. Commiserating
c. Informative
d. Sarcastic

Ans C; Belligerent- displaying eagerness to fight. Commiserating- empathizing, sympathizing.

Informative- providing useful information or knowledge. Sarcastic- marked by the use of wit that is
intended to cause hurt feelings.

Passage 3

Most of us have the wrong idea about Satan. We picture a being with horns, wings, claws and blood-
red skin; a being who embodies wickedness; a being waging a long, drawn-out war with God and the
human race. But the Devil is not a cartoonish figure plotting universal destruction (or, in a gentler
mood, possessing young girls and priests). Once upon a time, not too long ago, he was known to
move in distinguished circles.
During what historians call the long 19th century, which extended from the beginning of the French
Revolution in 1789 to the First World War in 1914, Satan’s career flourished in European literature.
This Satan was not the caricature of evil so familiar today but a well-spoken gentleman – at least,
sometimes. Each time he appeared, he changed guise; never staying still, he displayed
resourcefulness and personality that the best of society could appreciate.

To understand the Devil of 19th-century literature, it’s important to understand the Satan of the
Bible. In the Book of Job, he is called ‘a son of God’, and he roams the earth as a disinterested – and
inconspicuous – supervisor of human affairs. At one point, after making his rounds, Satan returns to
the court of the Lord and suggests that Job, God’s most loyal follower, only has faith because he was
blessed with material advantages. The heavenly father agrees to an experiment: He will suspend the
protection that surrounds the exemplary man and see whether his faith survives. Soon Job is
afflicted by theft, storms, fire, violence, boils on his body, the death of his children, and more still.
But these misfortunes are not caused by Satan; they are things that can happen to any mortal.
Despite it all, God’s favourite remains devoted. The role of Biblical Satan is to put a rare example of
human worthiness into relief and, more importantly, to affirm the transcendent power of the Deity.
There is nothing commanding, or even particularly ‘evil’, about him. Busy but retiring, the Satan of
Scripture is more like a lawyer than anything else. Even in the New Testament, he does not ‘tempt’
Jesus so much as test him (the Greek original allows both translations). Unless asking questions is
evil, there is nothing wrong with what Satan does – he inhabits the realm of ideas, not passions.

(https://psyche.co/ideas/the-devil-you-dont-know-the-satan-of-the-19th-century)

Question 1. What is the central theme of the above-mentioned text?

a. The passage challenges the populist view of Satan while providing factual support for all of
the author’s arguments.
b. The passage felicitates the populist view of Satan while providing factual support for all of
the author’s arguments
c. The passage challenges the populist view of Satan while not providing any factual support
for all of the author’s arguments.
d. The passage felicitates the populist view of Satan while not providing any factual support for
all of the author’s arguments

Ans A; The passage challenges the populist view of Satan while providing factual support for all of
the author’s arguments.

Question 2. Which of the following can be devised about the Satan?

a. The Satan of the Book resembles a more lawyer like personality.

b. Satan lives in a world of ideas rather than passions.
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A and B

Ans A; Both the statements are in sync with the factual information stated in the passage.

Question 3. Which of the following is a correct inference from the Book of Job?

a. The devil roams the earth disinterested and conspicuous supervisor of human affairs.
b. God’s most loyal follower on Earth was Job.
c. The Satan suspends the protection that surrounds Job to see whether his faith survives.
d. None of the above
Ans B; Both option A and C contain counter intuitive statements towards the author’s argument.
Option B reasoning is in sync with the author’s reasoning the last para.

Question 4. Which of the following, if true, would help author’s argument?

a. There is no evidence, according to history, that the Devil ever persuaded Jesus to perform
any specific act.
b. The role of Biblical Satan is to put a rare example of human worthiness into relief and, more
importantly, to affirm the transcendent power of the humans.
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A nor B

Ans A; option A helps support the authors argument that Satan never persuaded Jesus into doing
any act. Option B refutes authors claim about the book of Satan mentioned in the last para.

Question 5. Which of the following is not a synonym of the word “Caricature” mentioned in the
above passage?

a. Farce
b. Sham
c. Travesty
d. Tribute

Ans d; No explanation

Passage 4

The discovery of numerical abilities across the animal kingdom, even among ants, raises the question
of whether, to some extent, our own abilities might have descended from the common ancestor of
ants and humans. To establish the link, scientists would need to be able to identify genes that we
and other animals share that are implicated in numerical abilities. Maybe this isn’t so far-fetched: we
share with other animals, even fruit flies, genes for timing.

One thing that my colleagues and I discovered in working with fish was that some individual fish
seem to be much worse on numerical tasks than others of the same species. We are now
investigating whether there is a genetic basis to these individual differences. This could help explain
why around 5 per cent of people – those with dyscalculia – have serious trouble with even simple
number tasks. It is possible that this learning disability, rather like colour vision deficiency, is the
result of one or more genetic variants that makes the number mechanism less efficient in
representing numbers, which in turn makes learning arithmetic more difficult.

Of course, even if we have inherited a basic number sense from distant ancestors, there are some
big differences between humans and other creatures. First, we have languages, and counting words
can be useful for careful and accurate enumeration – even if counting does not fundamentally
depend on counting words. Second, we have very elaborate methods of social learning that depend
in part on language, including formal and informal education. This means that numerical methods
can be passed down and improved from generation to generation. The most commonly used system
of symbolic numbers – the Hindu-Arabic digits with zero – is a relatively recent invention in the
history of humanity. These digits make calculation much easier, which is why Leonardo Fibonacci’s
book Liber Abaci (1202), which explained how to use them, became a bestseller, and why 13th-
century merchants sent their sons to scuole d’abaco (schools of calculation) in Italy to learn them.
Nevertheless, modern, sophisticated numerical skills seem to be founded on a mechanism we have
inherited from our nonhuman ancestors. When that mechanism isn’t working properly, then it is
very difficult to acquire these skills.

(https://psyche.co/ideas/a-basic-sense-of-numbers-is-shared-by-countless-creatures)

Question 1. Which of the following statements weakens the author’s argument?

a. Leonardo Fibonacci’s book Liber Abaci (1202) became a bestseller solely because of the
pictorial illustrations present in the book.
b. We share the genes for timing with fruit flies.
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A and B

Ans A; the statement refutes the author ‘s claim that Leonardo Fibonacci’s book Liber Abaci (1202)
became a bestseller because it taught how to use digits for easier calculation.

Question 2. Choose the phrasing that most accurately captures the passage's core point.

a. The text illuminates the possibility hypothesis that suggests mathematical prowess is passed
down through genes that may have also been carried down into humans by non-humans.
b. The text illuminates the impossibility hypothesis that suggests mathematical prowess is
passed down through genes that may not have been carried down into humans by non-
humans.
c. The text illuminates the possibility hypothesis that suggests mathematical prowess is passed
down through genes that may not have been carried down into humans by non-humans.
d. The text illuminates the impossibility hypothesis that suggests mathematical prowess is
passed down through genes that may have also been carried down into humans by non-
humans.

Ans A; The text illuminates the possibility hypothesis that suggests mathematical prowess is passed
down through genes that may have also been carried down into humans by non-humans.

Question 3. What is the meaning of the word “dyscalculia” mentioned above passage?

a. Is a disability resulting in difficulty learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in

understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, performing mathematical
calculations, and learning facts in mathematics.
b. Is an ability resulting in difficulty learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in
understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, performing mathematical
calculations, and learning facts in mathematics.
c. Is a ability resulting in difficulty learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as effortlessness
in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, performing mathematical
calculations, and learning facts in mathematics.
d. None of the above.

Ans A; from the second para, it can be easily assumed that dyscalculia Is a disability resulting in
difficulty learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in understanding numbers,
learning how to manipulate numbers, performing mathematical calculations, and learning facts in
mathematics.
Question 4. Why did Leonardo Fibonacci’s book Liber Abaci (1202) become a bestseller?

a. Leonardo Fibonacci’s book Liber Abaci (1202) became a bestseller solely because of the
pictorial illustrations present in the book.
b. Leonardo Fibonacci’s book Liber Abaci (1202) became a bestseller because it taught how to
use digits for easier calculation.
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A nor B

Ans B; the option A refutes the author ‘s claim that Leonardo Fibonacci’s book Liber Abaci (1202)
became a bestseller because it taught how to use digits for easier calculation which is clearly stated
in the third paragraph.

Question 5. Which of the following best describes the passage's tone?

a. Belligerent
b. Commiserating
c. Informative
d. Sarcastic

Ans C; Belligerent- displaying eagerness to fight. Commiserating- empathizing, sympathizing.

Informative- providing useful information or knowledge. Sarcastic- marked by the use of wit that is
intended to cause hurt feelings.

Passage 5.

Music has been called a ‘universal language’ – the language of emotion – but there is a broad range
of differences in people’s emotional fluency. When listening to music, much like when we listen to a
friend who’s despairing, angry or elated, some of us seem to pick up on emotions more readily than
others. One listener can’t help but shudder when they hear a certain Billie Holiday song,
sympathetically grasping its tragedy and perhaps feeling a bit of it themselves, while another listener
is left cold. One person might feel emboldened and empowered by a joyful pop hit, while you just
feel bored. Perhaps these differences are more than just a product of musical taste: is the tendency
to contemplate and vicariously experience the emotional content of music related to how attuned
someone is to other people’s emotions generally, in daily life?

Most people don’t often think about the relationship between empathy and musical experiences,
but there is good reason to. Scholars have long speculated that music and empathy have a similar
function in human social evolution, and that they might have arisen through similar (if not the same)
neurocognitive architecture that evolved to bring people together. Indeed, music is often thought of
as a form of social communication, as evidenced by its involvement in every human culture
throughout known human history. Accounting for the relationship between empathy and the
experience of music could have major implications for how we understand the function of music in
our world, and possibly in our evolutionary past. And if social empathy (feeling or inferring another
person’s emotions in interpersonal interactions) is closely related to musical empathy (feeling or
inferring emotions communicated via music), then the deliberate modulation of one may affect the
other.
Research on the link between music and empathy has yielded some intriguing insights: for instance,
studies indicate that people who self-report high levels of empathic concern for others – that is, they
say they tend to strongly care about other people’s feelings – also tend to experience heightened
emotional reactivity to music, especially sad music. This may help to account for individual
differences in how people respond to teary ballads, for instance. In previous work, one of us
(Zachary Wallmark) used fMRI to find that individuals who report being highly empathic e cortical
areas involved in social processing when listening to familiar music to a higher degree than do lower-
empathy individuals. This suggests that music-listening and self-reported empathic processes might
share similar circuitry in the brain.

(https://psyche.co/ideas/can-you-feel-the-music-youre-probably-an-empathetic-person)

Question 1. What is the main idea of the text you just read?

a. The passage makes a significant suggestion regarding a potential connection between

music listening and self-reported empathetic processes while citing existing studies to back
up the claim.
b. The passage makes an insignificant suggestion regarding a potential connection between
music listening and self-reported empathetic processes while citing existing studies to back
up the claim.
c. The passage makes a significant suggestion regarding a potential connection between
music listening and self-reported empathetic processes while not citing existing studies to
back up the claim.
d. The passage makes a significant suggestion regarding a potential connection between
music listening or self-reported empathetic processes while citing existing studies to back
up the claim.

Ans A; The passage makes a significant suggestion regarding a potential connection between music
listening and self-reported empathetic processes while citing existing studies to back up the claim.

Question 2. Which of the following is an incorrect factual statement from the passage above?

a. Researchers have long hypothesised that empathy and music both play similar roles in the
social development of humans.
b. The fact that music has been a part of every known human society throughout history is
evidence that it is frequently viewed as a means of social communication.
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A nor B

Ans D; Both option A and B are in sync towards the factual information mentioned in the passage.

Question 3. Which of the following statements weakens the research’s thesis?

a. University of Mukesh conducted a study with the participant size of 1000, the researchers
found that the people who self-report high levels of empathic concern for others doesn’t
tend to experience heightened emotional reactivity to music.
b. University of Mukesh conducted a study with the participant size of 1000, the researchers
found that the people who self-report high levels of empathic concern for others does tend
to experience heightened emotional reactivity to music.
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A nor B
Ans A; option A contains counter intuitive statement towards the author’s cited research . Option B
reaffirms the thesis of the cited research.

Question 4. Which of the following best describes the passage's tone?

a. Belligerent
b. Commiserating
c. Informative
d. Sarcastic

Ans C; Belligerent- displaying eagerness to fight. Commiserating- empathizing, sympathizing.

Informative- providing useful information or knowledge. Sarcastic- marked by the use of wit that is
intended to cause hurt feelings.

Question 5. What do you understand from the term “Universal language” mentioned in the above
passage?

a. It refers to a means of communication said to be understood by all humans.

b. The language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or
region.
c. The linguistic style used for casual communication.
d. None of the above.

Ans A; self-explanatory

Passage 6

If you’ve ever moved to a beat, joined in a chorus or felt your heart quicken to the lyrics of a song,
you’ve felt the power of music. That power runs deep in the human experience, and the urge to dive
fully into the sounds, to make those sounds and share them, is strong.

Like millions who’ve learned to play or sing as an adult, I had no idea that music would become so
important to me. As a teen I enjoyed playing guitar and singing, and in college I took a few bass
lessons. I married a singer/songwriter who had gigged in his youth. But it wasn’t until we’d settled
into our middle years that I returned to music. Now I struggle to imagine my life without it. If I could
learn music as an adult – with little innate talent or musical upbringing – surely anyone can.

Most of us had musical experiences as children, whether it was singing during religious services,
taking lessons that our parents supervised, or attending music clubs in school. But playing music as
an adult is different. We have pressing obligations, no supervising parents and fewer opportunities
thrust upon us. We have to choose to do more with music, and then we have to make time for it.

Those who have the desire to play often fear that they waited too long, that learning music as an
adult is just too hard. But it’s never too late. I’ve spoken with people of all ages who have chosen
music and are prospering with it. As adults, we have learned how to learn, we value what music has
to offer, and we have the patience to watch our abilities and joys compound with time. We might
not learn to play as quickly as a teenager would, but we can play with feeling and nuance, and
deeply appreciate those we play with.

If you’ve tried an instrument and struggled to keep up with it, if someone has made fun of your
voice, if life’s demands stripped you of free time, then you might be reluctant to dive in. But this
moment can be different as you explore new methods and discover what works for you. Because it’s
not a question of if but how. Everyone can make music.

(https://psyche.co/guides/how-to-start-making-music-alone-or-with-others)

Question 1. Which of the following is not true in relation to the passage?

a. The impact of music on the human experience is profound, and there is a tremendous
impulse to immerse oneself completely in the sounds, to create those sounds, and to share
them.
b. Anyone can create music.
c. The author had no idea that music would become so arbitrary to him.
d. None of the above

Ans C; The author had no idea that music would become so important to him (Para 2).

Question 2. What makes playing music as an adult different from playing it as a child?

a. Adults typically believe that they have delayed too long and that the learning curve would be
too difficult for them.
b. A child typically believes that they have delayed too long and that the learning curve would
be too difficult for them.
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A nor B

Ans A; Author in the penultimate para clearly states that due to the perception of how hard the
learning curve will be and the lack of time for an adult, they usually refrain.

Question 3. Which of the following best describes the passage's tone?

a. Populist
b. Technical
c. Incendiary
d. Commiserating

Ans A; Populist- used to explain the features and behaviour of common people. Technical- used to
discuss the core ideas of particular fields of study. Incendiary- meant to incite people in a negative or
positive direction. Commiserating- to express grief or show sympathy for a person or a group of
people suffering from prejudiced practices or cultural norms.

Question 4. Which of the following is not the synonym of the word “innate” mentioned in the above
passage?

a. Superficial
b. Peculiar
c. Inveterate
d. None of the above

Ans A; no explanation

Question 5. Which of the following is an appropriate title for the passage?

a. How to make music for dummies.

b. Music- its nuances and much more!
 c. Both A and B
d. Neither A and B

And C, self-explanatory