đ Whatâs Inside This CAT RC Practice Post?
đ Authentic CAT Reading Comprehension Passage: Practice with a real RC passage from a previous CAT exam.
â
Detailed Questions with Step-by-Step Solutions: Each question is explained thoroughly for better understanding.
đ In-Depth Passage Analysis: Gain insights through line-by-line and paragraph-wise analysis, supplemented with a quick summary table for efficient revision.
đ Vocabulary Enhancement: Get a separate post explaining all tough words from the passage.
RC Passage
Direction for the questions 1 to 4: The passage below is accompanied by a set of four questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Many human phenomena and characteristics â such as behaviors, beliefs, economies, genes, incomes, life expectancies, and other things â are influenced both by geographic factors and by non-geographic factors. Geographic factors mean physical and biological factors tied to geographic location, including climate, the distributions of wild plant and animal species, soils, and topography. Non-geographic factors include those factors subsumed under the term culture, other factors subsumed under the term history, and decisions by individual people. . . .
[T]he differences between the current economies of North and South Korea . . . cannot be attributed to the modest environmental differences between [them] . . . They are instead due entirely to the different [government] policies . . . At the opposite extreme, the Inuit and other traditional peoples living north of the Arctic Circle developed warm fur clothes but no agriculture, while equatorial lowland peoples around the world never developed warm fur clothes but often did develop agriculture. The explanation is straightforwardly geographic, rather than a cultural or historical quirk unrelated to geography. . . . Aboriginal Australia remained the sole continent occupied only by hunter/gatherers and with no indigenous farming or herding . . . [Here the] explanation is biogeographic: the Australian continent has no domesticable native animal species and few domesticable native plant species. Instead, the crops and domestic animals that now make Australia a food and wool exporter are all non-native (mainly Eurasian) species such as sheep, wheat, and grapes, brought to Australia by overseas colonists.
Today, no scholar would be silly enough to deny that culture, history, and individual choices play a big role in many human phenomena. Scholars donât react to cultural, historical, and individual-agent explanations by denouncing âcultural determinism,â âhistorical determinism,â or âindividual determinism,â and then thinking no further.
But many scholars do react to any explanation invoking some geographic role, by denouncing âgeographic determinismâ . . .
Several reasons may underlie this widespread but nonsensical view. One reason is that some geographic explanations advanced a century ago were racist, thereby causing all geographic explanations to become tainted by racist associations in the minds of many scholars other than geographers. But many genetic, historical, psychological, and anthropological explanations advanced a century ago were also racist, yet the validity of newer non-racist genetic etc. explanations is widely accepted today.
Another reason for reflex rejection of geographic explanations is that historians have a tradition, in their discipline, of stressing the role of contingency (a favorite word among historians) based on individual decisions and chance. Often that view is warranted . . .
But often, too, that view is unwarranted. The development of warm fur clothes among the Inuit living north of the Arctic Circle was not because one influential Inuit leader persuaded other Inuit in 1783 to adopt warm fur clothes, for no good environmental reason.A third reason is that geographic explanations usually depend on detailed technical facts of geography and other fields of scholarship . . . Most historians and economists donât acquire that detailed knowledge as part of the professional training.
RC Line-wise Explanation
Paragraph 1
Original: Many human phenomena and characteristics â such as behaviors, beliefs, economies, genes, incomes, life expectancies, and other things â are influenced both by geographic factors and by non-geographic factors.
Explanation: This means that different aspects of human life (like how people behave, what they believe, their income, etc.) are shaped by both where they live and other non-location-based influences.
Original: Geographic factors mean physical and biological factors tied to geographic location, including climate, the distributions of wild plant and animal species, soils, and topography.
Explanation: Geographic factors refer to things related to the physical environment, like weather, types of plants and animals in the area, the quality of soil, and the shape of the land.
Original: Non-geographic factors include those factors subsumed under the term culture, other factors subsumed under the term history, and decisions by individual people.
Explanation: Non-geographic influences are things like cultural traditions, historical events, and individual choices people make.
Paragraph 2
Original: [T]he differences between the current economies of North and South Korea . . . cannot be attributed to the modest environmental differences between [them] . . .
Explanation: The economic gap between North and South Korea is not because of environmental or geographic reasons.
Original: They are instead due entirely to the different [government] policies . . .
Explanation: Instead, these differences are caused by the distinct political and policy decisions made by the two governments.
Original: At the opposite extreme, the Inuit and other traditional peoples living north of the Arctic Circle developed warm fur clothes but no agriculture, while equatorial lowland peoples around the world never developed warm fur clothes but often did develop agriculture.
Explanation: In contrast, groups like the Inuit made clothes suited for cold climates but did not farm, whereas people near the equator farmed but didn't need or make fur clothing.
Original: The explanation is straightforwardly geographic, rather than a cultural or historical quirk unrelated to geography.
Explanation: This shows that their lifestyles were determined mainly by their environments, not by random cultural or historical reasons.
Original: Aboriginal Australia remained the sole continent occupied only by hunter/gatherers and with no indigenous farming or herding . . .
Explanation: In Australia, native populations didn't practice farming or raise animals before colonization; they only hunted and gathered.
Original: [Here the] explanation is biogeographic: the Australian continent has no domesticable native animal species and few domesticable native plant species.
Explanation: This is because Australia's native environment lacked animals and plants that could be domesticated for agriculture.
Original: Instead, the crops and domestic animals that now make Australia a food and wool exporter are all non-native (mainly Eurasian) species such as sheep, wheat, and grapes, brought to Australia by overseas colonists.
Explanation: Today, Australiaâs farming success relies on foreign plants and animals introduced by colonizers, not native species.
Paragraph 3
Original: Today, no scholar would be silly enough to deny that culture, history, and individual choices play a big role in many human phenomena.
Explanation: Nowadays, scholars widely agree that culture, history, and personal decisions influence human behavior.
Original: Scholars donât react to cultural, historical, and individual-agent explanations by denouncing 'cultural determinism,' 'historical determinism,' or 'individual determinism,' and then thinking no further.
Explanation: When someone mentions culture or history, scholars donât shut the idea down by labeling it overly simplistic or deterministic.
Paragraph 4
Original: But many scholars do react to any explanation invoking some geographic role, by denouncing 'geographic determinism' . . .
Explanation: However, when geography is used to explain things, scholars often criticize it as being too simplistic.
Paragraph 5
Original: Several reasons may underlie this widespread but nonsensical view.
Explanation: There are a few possible reasons why this negative attitude toward geographic explanations exists.
Original: One reason is that some geographic explanations advanced a century ago were racist, thereby causing all geographic explanations to become tainted by racist associations in the minds of many scholars other than geographers.
Explanation: In the past, some geographic theories were racist, which has made people wary of all geographic explanations.
Original: But many genetic, historical, psychological, and anthropological explanations advanced a century ago were also racist, yet the validity of newer non-racist genetic etc. explanations is widely accepted today.
Explanation: However, other fields also had racist ideas in the past, but scholars still accept modern, non-racist ideas from those fields.
Paragraph 6
Original: Another reason for reflex rejection of geographic explanations is that historians have a tradition, in their discipline, of stressing the role of contingency (a favorite word among historians) based on individual decisions and chance.
Explanation: Historians tend to focus on unexpected events and individual choices when explaining history.
Original: Often that view is warranted . . .
Explanation: Sometimes, focusing on chance and decisions is appropriate.
Paragraph 7
Original: But often, too, that view is unwarranted.
Explanation: However, in many cases, that view isnât justified.
Original: The development of warm fur clothes among the Inuit living north of the Arctic Circle was not because one influential Inuit leader persuaded other Inuit in 1783 to adopt warm fur clothes, for no good environmental reason.
Explanation: For example, the Inuit didnât start wearing warm clothes because of one leaderâs decisionâit was clearly due to the cold climate.
Paragraph 8
Original: A third reason is that geographic explanations usually depend on detailed technical facts of geography and other fields of scholarship . . .
Explanation: Another issue is that geographic explanations require specific technical knowledge.
Original: Most historians and economists donât acquire that detailed knowledge as part of the professional training.
Explanation: Many historians and economists donât learn that kind of technical information in their training, so theyâre less likely to use or understand it.
RC Paragraph Explanation
Paragraph 1 Summary
Human characteristics such as behaviors and economies are shaped by both geographic (like climate and topography) and non-geographic (like culture and history) factors.
Paragraph 2 Summary
While differences between nations like North and South Korea stem from policy choices, other human differencesâlike those between the Inuit and equatorial peoples or Aboriginal Australiansâare clearly due to environmental and geographic reasons.
Paragraph 3 Summary
Modern scholars generally accept the roles of culture, history, and individual decisions in shaping human societies without much resistance.
Paragraph 4 Summary
In contrast, when geographic explanations are proposed, they are often immediately dismissed as "geographic determinism."
Paragraph 5 Summary
One reason for this bias is the historical misuse of geographic theories to support racism, even though other disciplines also had racist roots but are now accepted when revised.
Paragraph 6 Summary
Historians often emphasize individual choices and chance in explaining events, a tradition rooted in their academic training.
Paragraph 7 Summary
However, not all events are due to individual choices; many are best explained by environmental or geographic needs, like the Inuitâs warm clothing.
Paragraph 8 Summary
Finally, geographic explanations require technical knowledge that many non-geographers lack, leading to underuse and misunderstanding in other academic fields.
RC Quick Table Summary
| Paragraph Number | Main Idea |
|---|---|
| Paragraph 1 | Human traits are influenced by both geographic and non-geographic factors. |
| Paragraph 2 | Some human differences are best explained by geography, others by policy. |
| Paragraph 3 | Scholars widely accept cultural, historical, and individual explanations. |
| Paragraph 4 | Geographic explanations are often dismissed as determinism. |
| Paragraph 5 | Racist misuse of geographic ideas in history has tainted current views. |
| Paragraph 6 | Historians prefer individual and chance-based explanations. |
| Paragraph 7 | Geographic explanations are often more appropriate than individual choices. |
| Paragraph 8 | Lack of technical knowledge limits scholars from using geographic explanations. |
RC Questions
Ques 1. The examples of the Inuit and Aboriginal Australians are offered in the passage to show:
Ques 2. All of the following can be inferred from the passage EXCEPT:
Ques 3. The author criticises scholars who are not geographers for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
Ques 4. All of the following are advanced by the author as reasons why non-geographers disregard geographic influences on human phenomena EXCEPT their:
