Module 1: Fundamentals of RCs
Reading Comprehension or RC, as it is commonly called, consists of a passage followed by questions. We need to understand the passage and then answer the questions by choosing the best option. RC questions test your ability to read and understand the writer’s message. RCs test our reading and comprehension skills, vocabulary, contextual understanding and speed of reading. But the most important skills tested by RCs are our logical and critical reasoning skills and our comfort with a wide variety of genres and writing styles.
Practically all MBA entrance examinations feature RCs. This is currently the most important topic for CAT, as the last few CAT examinations have seen a huge increase in the number of RC passages and questions. Close to 70% of the questions from Verbal Ability come from RCs, and therefore, preparing well for this topic could be the difference between a great and an average score. There is good reason for the increased number of questions from this topic. As we learnt, RCs test multiple skills – the ability to read quickly and comprehend well; the ability to analyse a passage and understand the author’s message, hypothesis and arguments; the ability to understand the author’s tone; and most importantly, the ability to analyse the information given and use this to answer the questions (by choosing the most suitable option).
The key types of passages which occur in MBA entrance tests are:
(1) Descriptive
(2) Analytical
(3) Abstract
Passages are usually of varied genres, including (but not restricted to)
(1) Science (
e.g., astronomy, evolution, etc.)
(2) Technology (
e.g., tech devices, renewable energy, e-commerce, etc.)
(3) History (
e.g., ancient or medieval tribes or groups)
(4) Geography (
e.g., different countries, climate change, flora or fauna, etc.)
(5) Economics & Business (
e.g., economic principles, financial events, impact of etc.)
(6) Politics (
e.g., government services, globalisation, global issues, etc.)
(7) Psychology (
e.g., team dynamics, behavioural psychology concepts, etc.)
(8) Socio-culture (
e.g., impact of imperialism, gender gap, analysis of human behaviour, etc.)
(9) Literature (
e.g., writing styles, origin of books or plays, etc.)
(10) Poem (
technically not a genre, but the XAT exam typically includes a symbolic poem)
The key types of questions are Direct (factual) and Inferential questions. There are a few more question types, as well. These matter because the question type determines show to go about answering the question.
We will be discussing the types of passages, writing styles, genres and question types in detail in this chapter.
Across these exams, RCs will differ in the genres, writing styles, number of words and questions. For instance, CAT has had 4-6 RCs in the last few years. The RCs have ranged between 400-600 words across all these styles of writing. XAT, on the other hand, has RCs of 300 words with 2-3 questions. We also have Inference questions, which will have 1-2 questions based on a single paragraph; as well as a poem with 2 questions. Some exams like IIFT and NMAT will have longer RCs. At the same time, these are dynamic and can change from year to year. Therefore, we will prepare for each of these types, so that you can tackle any type of passage and question.
Example 1
Read the passage below and answer the questions:
[CAT 2020]
[There is] a curious new reality: Human contact is becoming a luxury good. As more screens appear in the lives of the poor, screens are disappearing from the lives of the rich. The richer you are, the more you spend to be off-screen. . . .
The joy — at least at first — of the internet revolution was its democratic nature. Facebook is the same Facebook whether you are rich or poor . mail is the same Gmail. And it’s all free. There is something mass market and unappealing about that. And as studies show that time on these advertisement-support platforms is unhealthy, it all starts to seem déclassé, like drinking soda or smoking cigarettes, which wealthy people do less than poor people. The wealthy can afford to opt out of having their data and their attention sold as a product.The poor and middle class don’t have the same kind of resources to make that happen.
Screen exposure starts young. And children who spent more than two hours a day looking at a screen got lower scores on thinking and language tests, according to early results of a landmark study on brain development of more than 11,000 children that the National Institutes of Health is supporting. Most disturbingly, the study is finding that the brains of children who spend a lot of time on screens are different. For some kids, there is premature thinning of their cerebral cortex. In adults, one study found an association between screen time and depression. . . .
Tech companies worked hard to get public schools to buy into programs that required schools to have one laptop per student, arguing that it would better prepare children for their screen based future. But this idea isn’t how the people who actually build the screen-based future raise their own children. In Silicon Valley, time on screens is increasingly seen as unhealthy. Here, the popular elementary school is the local Waldorf School, which promises a back-to nature, nearly screen-free education. So as wealthy kids are growing up with less screen time, poor kids are growing up with more. How comfortable someone is with human engagement could become a new class marker.
Human contact is, of course, not exactly like organic food . . . . But with screen time, there has been a concerted effort on the part of Silicon Valley behemoths to confuse the public. The poor and the middle class are told that screens are good and important for them and their children. There are fleets of psychologists and neuroscientists on staff at big tech companies working to hook eyes and minds to the screen as fast as possible and for as long as possible. And so human contact is rare. . . .
There is a small movement to pass a “right to disconnect” bill, which would allow workers to turn their phones off, but for now a worker can be punished for going offline and not being available. There is also the reality that in our culture of increasing isolation, in which so many of the traditional gathering places and social structures have disappeared, screens are filling a crucial void.
Question 1 of 4
Which of the following statements about the negative effects of screen time is the author least likely to endorse?
(1) It is shown to have adverse effects on young children’s learning.
(2) It increases human contact as it fills an isolation void.
(3) It can cause depression in viewers.
(4) It is designed to be addictive.
Question 2 of 4
The statement “The richer you are, the more you spend to be off-screen” is supported by which other line from the passage?
(1) “Gmail is the same Gmail. And it’s all free.”
(2) “How comfortable someone is with human engagement could become a new class marker.”
(3) . . . screens are filling a crucial void.”
(4) “. . . studies show that time on these advertisement-support platforms is unhealthy.
Question 3 of 4
The author claims that Silicon Valley tech companies have tried to “confuse the public” by:
(1) pushing for greater privacy while working with advertisement-support platforms to mine data.
(2) concealing the findings of psychologists and neuroscientists on screen-time use from the public.
(3) developing new work-efficiency programmes while lobbying for the “right to disconnect” bill.
(4) promoting screen time in public schools while opting for a screen-free education for their own children.
Question 4 of 4
The author is least likely to agree with the view that the increase in screen-time is fuelled by the fact that:
(1) screens provide social contact in an increasingly isolating world.
(2) there is a growth in computer-based teaching in public schools.
(3) some workers face punitive action if they are not online.
(4) with falling costs, people are streaming more content on their devices.
Solution 1
In this RC, the author speaks about the negative effects of screen time (time spent on electronic devices), explaining that poorer people (especially children) are spending more screen time than richer people. The negative effects of screen time are described in the third paragraph.
We are looking for an option which the author will not endorse, and hence, we can eliminate any options which the author has mentioned in the passage. We can eliminate options (1) and (3), which are mentioned in the third paragraph (children who spent more than two hours a day looking at a screen got lower scores on thinking and language tests and one study found an association between screen time and depression).
The author has also mentioned option (4), while referring to tech companies (fleets of psychologists and neuroscientists...working to hook eyes and minds to the screen as fast as possible and for as long as possible).
Option (2) is actually a positive point, as it suggests that screen time increases human content. We know that this is not true, the author merely mentions that screens fill a void in our increasingly isolated culture. Therefore, we can select this option.
Answer: (2) It increases human contact as it fills an isolation void.
Solution 2
The phrase mentioned in the question is correlating time spent off-screen with wealth. While all the options are from the passage, the only one which is related to wealth is option (2). It means that being comfortable with human interaction could show what class (rich, middle-class, poor) people are from.
Option (1) is unrelated to wealth, as Gmail is the same for everyone.
Options (3) and (4) are unrelated to wealth, and can also be eliminated.
Therefore, option (2) is the correct choice.
Answer: (2) “How comfortable someone is with human engagement could become a new class marker.”
Solution 3
The author tells us that tech companies based in the Silicon Valley (a region in California, USA) are getting schools to provide one laptop to each student, and engaging psychologists and neuroscientists to get people addicted to screens. At the same time, we can infer that the tech employees are aware of the issues with spending more time on screens, as they are educating their own kids in schools which focus more on nature and human interaction.
This is mentioned in option (4) – note that both parts (promoting screen time and opting for a screen-free education for their own children) are important to showcase the intent to confuse.
Options (1) is incorrect, and has not been mentioned in the passage.
Similarly, option (2) is also incorrect – the author states that psychologists and neuroscientists are actually hired by tech companies to get people addicted. Concealing their findings is not mentioned.
Similarly, we have not been told that it is the tech companies that are lobbying for the “right to disconnect” bill.
Therefore, we can eliminate the other options and select option (4) as the correct choice.
Answer: (4) promoting screen time in public schools while opting for a screen-free education for their own children.
Solution 4
Since we need to select an option that the author is least likely to agree with, let us eliminate the options which the author will probably agree with.
The author will agree with option (1) as it is mentioned in the last paragraph (in our culture of increasing isolation, ... screens are filling a crucial void).
Similarly, option (2) can also be inferred from the fact that tech companies have convinced schools to have one laptop per student.
Option (3) is mentioned in the last paragraph (for now a worker can be punished for going offline).
Therefore, these three options can be eliminated, and we can select option (4). Falling cost of either content or devices has not been mentioned anywhere. As the other points have been mentioned by the author, this is the one which is least likely in comparison.
Answer: (4) with falling costs, people are streaming more content on their devices.
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