Question 1 · Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
NAT
Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out and key in the number of the sentence as your answer:
1. The legal status of resources mined in space remains ambiguous; and while the market for asteroid minerals is currently nonexistent, this is likely to change as technical hurdles diminish.
2. Outer space is a commons, and all of it is open for exploration, however, space law developed in the 1950s and 60s is state-centric and arguably ill-suited to a commercial future.
3. Laws adopted by the US and Luxembourg are first steps, but they only protect firms from competing claims by their compatriots; a Chinese company will not be bound by US law.
4. Critics say the US is conferring rights that it has no authority to confer; Russia in particular has condemned this, citing the US’ disrespect for international law.
5. At issue now is commercial activity, as private firms—rather than nation states — look to space for profit.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key idea: This is a thematic scope shift question, recognisable because four sentences focus on the structural inadequacy of space law for emerging commercial activities, while one shifts to a specific geopolitical criticism.
Why it applies: Sentences 5, 2, 1, and 3 build a cohesive argument about how existing state-centric space laws are ill-equipped for private commercial ventures. Sentence 4 abruptly introduces a diplomatic dispute (Russia condemning the US), which is a tangential political detail rather than a structural analysis of space law.
Step 1: Identify the core theme. Sentence 5 introduces the shift to commercial activity by private firms seeking profit in space.
Step 2: Establish the problem. Sentence 2 states that existing space law from the 1950s/60s is state-centric and ill-suited for this commercial future.
Step 3: Develop the argument. Sentence 1 notes the current ambiguity of legal status for mined resources, anticipating future changes. Sentence 3 provides concrete examples of this inadequacy: US and Luxembourg laws only protect their own firms, leaving gaps for international actors like Chinese companies.
Step 4: Examine Sentence 4. It discusses critics and Russia condemning the US for disrespecting international law. This is a specific geopolitical reaction, not an analysis of the structural inadequacy of space law for commerce.
Step 5: Verify coherence. Sentences 5-2-1-3 form a tight logical chain about the mismatch between old space laws and new commercial realities. Sentence 4 is the outlier.
Answer: 4
Question 2 · Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
NAT
Five jumbled sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence out and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.
1. About half of all the oxygen we breathe is made near the surface of the ocean by phytoplankton that photosynthesize just like land-dwelling plants.
2. A team of scientists that includes Boston University experts has discovered they also produce oxygen on the seafloor.
3. The research team used deep-sea chambers that land on the seafloor and enclose the seawater, sediment, polymetallic nodules, and living organisms.
4. The discovery is a surprise considering oxygen is typically created by plants and organisms with help from the sun—not by rocks on the ocean floor.
5. The deep-sea rocks, called polymetallic nodules, don’t only host a surprising number of sea critters.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key idea: This is an Odd Sentence Out question based on thematic scope and pronoun linkage. Four sentences discuss a specific new discovery regarding oxygen production by polymetallic nodules on the seafloor, while one sentence states a general fact about oxygen production by surface phytoplankton.
Step 1: Tag each sentence. Sentence 5 introduces polymetallic nodules. Sentence 2 states the discovery that 'they' also produce oxygen. Sentence 4 explains why this discovery is a surprise. Sentence 3 describes the methodology used by the research team.
Step 2: Check the common pattern. Sentences 2, 3, 4, and 5 form a cohesive narrative about the specific discovery of oxygen production by seafloor rocks.
Step 3: Examine Sentence 1. It states a general fact about phytoplankton producing oxygen near the ocean surface.
Step 4: Decide the odd one. Sentence 1 shifts the focus to a different biological process (surface photosynthesis) and breaks the tight thematic focus on the new seafloor discovery. Furthermore, the pronoun 'they' in Sentence 2 requires Sentence 5 to precede it, making Sentence 1 structurally disconnected.
Answer: 1
Question 3 · Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
NAT
Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.
1. Having an appreciation for the workings of another person’s mind is considered a prerequisite for natural language acquisition, strategic social interaction, reflexive thought, and moral judgment.
2. It is a ‘theory of mind’ though some scholars prefer to call it ‘mentalizing’ or ‘mindreading’, which is important for the development of one's cognitive abilities.
3. Though we must speculate about its evolutionary origin, we do have indications that the capacity evolved sometime in the last few million years.
4. This capacity develops from early beginnings in the first year of life to the adult’s fast and often effortless understanding of others’ thoughts, feelings, and intentions.
5. One of the most fascinating human capacities is the ability to perceive and interpret other people’s behaviour in terms of their mental states.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key idea: This is an ontogeny vs. phylogeny distinction question, recognisable because four sentences discuss individual cognitive development within a lifespan, while one shifts to species-level evolutionary history.
Step 1: Identify the central subject. Sentence 5 introduces "the ability to perceive and interpret other people’s behaviour in terms of their mental states".
Step 2: Name the capacity. Sentence 2 labels this capacity as "theory of mind" (or "mentalizing"), linking directly to Sentence 5.
Step 3: Track the developmental angle. Sentence 1 lists prerequisites for individual cognitive functions. Sentence 4 describes how the capacity develops "from early beginnings in the first year of life to the adult's fast and often effortless understanding". Both trace growth within a single person's lifespan.
Step 4: Examine Sentence 3. It states "we must speculate about its evolutionary origin" and that "the capacity evolved sometime in the last few million years". This is about when the species acquired it, jumping from months or years to millions of years.
Step 5: Verify coherence without Sentence 3. Sentences 5-2-1-4 form a clean arc: introduce capacity -> name it -> list functions -> describe developmental trajectory.
Answer: 3
Question 4 · Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
NAT
Five jumbled-up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.
1. To create a synapse, the neuron has specialized structures, often seen as tiny swellings, at its terminal end of the axon where it stores the chemicals that are emitted to transmit a signal to the next neuron.
2. This fetal warm-up act—the soldering of neural connections before the eyes actually function—is crucial to the performance of the visual system.
3. The reasons for this paring back of synapses is a mystery, but synaptic pruning is thought to sharpen and reinforce the “correct” synapses, while removing the weak and unnecessary ones.
4. Neural connections between the eyes and the brain are formed long before birth, establishing the wiring and the circuitry that allow a child to begin visualizing the world the minute she emerges from the womb.
5. During this rehearsal period, synapses—points of chemical connection—between nerve cells are generated in great excess, only to be pruned back during later development.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key idea: This is a process vs. definition question, recognisable because four sentences narrate a chronological developmental sequence, while one provides a static anatomical definition.
Step 1: Identify temporal markers. Sentence 4 mentions "long before birth". Sentence 5 refers to "During this rehearsal period" and "pruned back during later development".
Step 2: Sentence 3 refers to "this paring back of synapses", linking directly to the pruning mentioned in Sentence 5. Sentence 2 calls it "This fetal warm-up act", summarizing the process described in 4 and 5.
Step 3: Examine Sentence 1. It reads as a present-tense structural description ("the neuron has specialized structures...") with no temporal markers, reading like a glossary entry.
Step 4: Verify the narrative chain without Sentence 1. Sentences 4-5-3-2 tell a complete story: neural connections form before birth, synapses are overproduced then pruned, the purpose of pruning is to sharpen correct connections, and this whole process is a crucial fetal rehearsal for vision.
Answer: 1
Question 5 · Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
NAT
Five jumbled up sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.
1. The banning of Northern Lights could be considered a precursor to censoring books for “moral”, world view or religious reasons.
2. Attempts to ban books are attempts to silence authors who have summoned immense courage in telling their stories.
3. Now the banning and challenging of books in the US has escalated to an unprecedented level.
4. The widely acclaimed fantasy novel Northern Lights was banned in some parts of the US, and was the second most challenged book in the US.
5. The American Library Association documented an unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022, about 2,500 unique titles.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key idea: This is an empirical vs. moral question, recognisable because four sentences stay within a factual register while one introduces a moral generalisation.
Why it applies: Sentences 1, 3, 4, and 5 stay within a factual, report-like register documenting challenges and bans in the US. Sentence 2 introduces a moral generalisation about silencing courageous authors.
Step 1: Identify the core theme. Sentence 3 introduces the escalation of book banning and challenging in the US to an unprecedented level.
Step 2: Provide empirical support. Sentence 5 documents an unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 (about 2,500 unique titles).
Step 3: Give a specific example. Sentence 4 notes that the fantasy novel Northern Lights was banned in some parts of the US and was the second most challenged book. Sentence 1 adds that this banning could be considered a precursor to censoring books for moral, world view, or religious reasons.
Step 4: Examine Sentence 2. It states that attempts to ban books are attempts to silence authors who have summoned immense courage. This is a moral generalisation and evaluative statement, breaking the empirical, data-driven register of the paragraph.
Step 5: Verify coherence. Sentences 3-5-4-1 form a cohesive, factual paragraph about the rise of book challenges in the US, using specific data and examples. Sentence 2 is the outlier.
Answer: 2