CAT 2024 Question Paper and Answer Key PDF (Nov 24, 2024) (Slot 3)

CAT 2024 Slot 3 Question Paper and Answer Key PDF with Detailed Solutions is available here to download and attempt as a test. CAT 2024 Slot 3 was conducted on November 24, 2024, from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM by IIM Calcutta. The evening session included 68 questions carrying 204 marks across VARC, DILR, and Quantitative Aptitude.

CAT 2024 Nov 24 Slot 3 Question Paper PDF with Answer Key

1. There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.
Sentence: Many have had to leave their homes behind, with more than 1.3 million people being displaced due to the drought.
Passage: Somalia has been dealing with an enormous humanitarian catastrophe, driven by the longest and most severe drought the country has experienced in at least 40 years. ___(1)___. Five consecutive rainy seasons have failed, causing more than 8 million people - almost half of the country’s population – to experience acute food insecurity. ___(2)___. More than 43,000 people are believed to have lost their lives, with half of the lives lost likely being children under five. The damage the drought has caused is far-reaching. ___(3)___. Farmers have lost all their agricultural income, while pastoralists have lost more than 3 million livestock, impoverishing entire communities, and leaving them on the brink of famine. ___(4)___. Some, like the pastoralists, may never be able to go back as their livelihoods have been irreversibly wiped out.

1. Option 3

2. Option 2

3. Option 4

4. Option 1

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2. 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.

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3. The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
When the tradwife puts on that georgic, pinstriped dress, she is not just admiring the visual cues of a fantastical past. She takes these dreams of storybook bliss literally, tracing them backward in time until she reaches a logical conclusion that satisfies her. And by doing so, she ends up delivering an unhappy reminder of just how much our lives consist of artifice and playacting. The tradwife outrages people because of her deliberately regressive ideals. And yet her behaviour is, on some level, indistinguishable from the nontradwife’s. The tradwife’s trollish genius is to beat us at our own dress-up game. By insisting that the idyllic cottage daydream should be real, right down to the primitive gender roles, she leaves others feeling hollow, cheated. The hullabaloo and headaches she causes may be the price we pay for taking too many things at face value: our just deserts, served Instagram-perfect by a manicured hand on a gorgeous ceramic dish, with fat, mouthwatering maraschino cherries on top.

1. By promoting an idealized past, the tradwife exposes the artifice of contemporary values and mocks societal norms.

2. The tradwife, with her vintage dress and traditional roles, highlights the superficiality of modern life and challenges current societal norms.

3. The tradwife’s vintage dress and adherence to traditional roles reveal the artificial nature of modern life and its superficial values.

4. The tradwife’s commitment to outdated gender roles and retro fashion critiques the superficiality of today's societal ideals.

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4. 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. Part of the appeal of forecasting is not just that it seems to work, but that you don’t seem to need specialized expertise to succeed at it.

2. The tight connection between forecasting and building a model of the world helps explain why so much of the early interest in the idea came from the intelligence community.

3. This was true even though the latter had access to classified intelligence.

4. One frequently cited study found that accurate forecasters’ predictions of geopolitical events, when aggregated using standard scientific methods, were more accurate than the forecasts of members of the US intelligence community who answered the same questions in a confidential prediction market.

5. The aggregated opinions of non-experts doing forecasting have proven to be a better guide to the future than the aggregated opinions of experts.

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(DIRECTIONS for questions 5-8)

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

There is a group in the space community who view the solar system not as an opportunity to expand human potential but as a nature preserve, forever the provenance of an elite group of scientists and their sanitary robotic probes. These planetary protection advocates [call] for avoiding “harmful contamination” of celestial bodies. Read More

5. The author’s overall tone in the first paragraph can be described as

1. approving of the amount of money NASA spends to restrict the spread of contamination in space.

2. equivocal about the reasons extended by the group of scientists seeking to limit space exploration.

3. sceptical about the excessive efforts to sanitise planets where life has not yet been proven to exist.

4. indifferent to the elitism of a few scientists aiming to corner space exploration.

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6. The author is unlikely to disagree with any of the following EXCEPT:

1. space contamination should be minimised until the possibility of life on the astronomical body being explored is ruled out.

2. the exorbitant costs of continuing to keep the space environment pristine may be unsustainable.

3. the proposal for a zonal segregation of the Martian landscape into regions for different purposes.

4. that while NASA’s earlier missions were not ideal in their approach to space contamination, they likely did no grave damage.

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7. The contrasting reactions to the Chinese and Israeli “contaminations” of lunar space

1. indicate that national scientists may have different sensitivities to issues of biosphere protection.

2. are valid as the contamination of the lunar environment from animal sources is far greater than from plants.

3. are evidence of China’s reasonable approach towards space contamination.

4. reveal global biases prevalent in attitudes towards different countries.

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8. The author mentions all of the following reasons to dismiss concerns about contaminating Mars EXCEPT:

1. the use of similar probes on astronomical bodies like the moon have had little effect on the environment.

2. earlier explorations have already contaminated pristine space environments.

3. the lack of evidence of living organisms on Mars makes possible contamination from earthly microbes a moot point.

4. efforts to contain contamination on Mars are likely to be derailed as competitor countries may not follow similar restrictions.

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(DIRECTIONS for questions 9-12)

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

Moutai has been the global booze sensation of the decade. A bottle of its Flying Fairy which sold in the 1980s for the equivalent of a dollar now retails for $400. Moutai’s listed shares have soared by almost 600% in the past five years, outpacing the likes of Amazon. . . .

It does this while disregarding every Western marketing mantra. It is not global, has meagre digital sales and does not appeal to millennials. It scores pitifully on environmental, social and governance measures. In the Boy Scout world of Western business it would leave a bad taste, in more ways than one. Read More

9. Which one of the following is both a reason for Moutai’s success as well as a possible threat to that success?

1. Its appeal to the older age group.

2. Chinese love of liquor filled celebration.

3. Its appeal to the rich.

4. Government involvement in its business.

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10. In the context of the passage we can infer that to succeed in the liquor industry in China, a marketing firm must consider all of the following factors affecting the Chinese liquor market EXCEPT that

1. the government may control the pricing of products.

2. the competition for winning over the middle class is very stiff.

3. there are few competitors to meet the demands of high end liquor consumers.

4. there is money to be made from marketing to the middle class.

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11. The phrase “would make it an invention to rival gunpowder” has been used in the passage in a sense that is

1. literal.

2. synonymical.

3. metaphorical.

4. substantive.

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12. In the context of the passage, it is most likely that the author refers to Moutai’s marketing strategy as “the unholy trinity” because

1. it profits from Chinese nationalist feelings.

2. it contradicts the Western strategy of marketing.

3. there is nothing holy about marketing techniques for liquor.

4. it exposes the firm to long term risks.

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The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

13. Humans have managed to tweak the underlying biology of various plants and animals to produce high-tech crops and microbes. But regulating these entities is complicated, as the framework of policies and procedures are outdated and not flexible enough to adapt to emerging technology. The question is whether regulation will ever be able to keep up with human innovation, to regulate living things, which are apt to be unpredictable and unique; to capture all the potential risks when new biological entities are introduced, or when they pass on variations of their genes?

1. The mercurial nature of biological entities calls for scientists to shape the regulations governing emerging technology, with regular calibration to handle variations in the field.

2. The problem with formulating regulation for innovation in the scientific arena it that it is impossible to imagine the outcomes or risks related to the outcomes of all the research.

3. Current regulation of biotechnology is outdated, but it is debatable if we can create a framework, imaginative and flexible, to cover all contingencies in this fast-changing area.

4. A new framework of rules and procedures for regulating the most recent research emerging from biotechnology is urgently needed, to keep up with this rapidly changing discipline.

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The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

14. Lyric poetry is a genre of private meditation rather than public commitment. The impulse in Marxism toward changing a society deemed unacceptable in its basic design would seem to place demands on lyric poetry that such poetry, with its tendency toward the personal, the small scale, and the idiosyncratic, could never answer. There is within Marxism, however, also a strand of thought that would locate in lyric poetry alternative modes of perception and description that call forth a vision of worlds at odds with a repressive reality or that draw attention to the workings of ideology within the hegemonic culture. The poetic imagination may indeed deflect larger social concerns, but it may also be implicitly critical and utopian.

1. The focus of lyric poetry as personal may not seem compatible with Marxism. However, it is possible to envisage lyric poetry as a symbol of resistance against an oppressive culture.

2. Marxism has internal contradictions due to which one strand of Marxism sees no merit in lyric poetry while another appreciates the alternative modes of perception in poetry.

3. Marxism makes unreasonable demands on lyric poetry. However, lyric poetry has its own merits that are largely ignored by Marxism due to its personal nature.

4. The focus of lyric poetry is largely personal while that of Marxism is bringing change in society. Unless the difference is resolved, poetry will remain largely utopian.

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(DIRECTIONS for questions 15-18)

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

Languages become endangered and die out for many reasons. Sadly, the physical annihilation of communities of native speakers of a language is all too often the cause of language extinction. In North America, European colonists brought death and destruction to many Native American communities. Read More

15. In the context of the passage, which one of the following hypothetical scenarios, if true, is NOT an example of the kind of loss that occurs when a language becomes extinct?

1. The Inuits of Alaska have 35 different words to describe the texture of snow. When the language becomes extinct, we will lose that understanding of nature.

2. The Andamanese language has a word to describe someone who has lost a step-sister. When the language dies, we will lose the concept of the word and the emotions it evokes.

3. The Lamkangs of Manipur have only 3 remaining native speakers of the language. When they die, we will lose one more group from the government list of indigenous tribes.

4. The Nicobarese language describes 20 different moods of the ocean. By the time the last speaker is educated in a Central Board school, they will have forgotten their language.

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16. It can be inferred from the passage that it is likely South America had a slightly better language survival rate than North America for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

1. the colonial government was unable to mainstream the locals.

2. not many native speakers were killed by European colonists.

3. European colonists allowed children of native speakers to stay at home with their families.

4. locals were provided job opportunities in the colonial administration.

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17. The author believes that a liberal arts education combined with participation in language preservation empower students in all of the following ways EXCEPT that they will

1. learn different languages.

2. overcome cultural barriers to communication.

3. develop a better understanding of their own culture.

4. establish schools to preserve languages spiralling towards extinction.

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18. Which one of the following hypothetical scenarios, if true, would most strongly undermine the central ideas of the passage?

1. Recording a dying language that has only a few remaining speakers freezes it in time: it stops evolving further.

2. Most liberal arts students will pursue jobs in publishing and human resource management rather than doctorates in linguistics.

3. A liberal arts education requires that, in addition to being fluent in English, students gain fluency in two of the top five most spoken languages globally.

4. Schools that teach endangered languages can preserve the language only for a generation.

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(DIRECTIONS for questions 19-22)

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

Fears of artificial intelligence (AI) have haunted humanity since the very beginning of the computer age. Hitherto these fears focused on machines using physical means to kill, enslave or replace people. But over the past couple of years new AI tools have emerged that threaten the survival of human civilisation from an unexpected direction. AI has gained some remarkable abilities to manipulate and generate language, whether with words, sounds or images. AI has thereby hacked the operating system of our civilisation. Read More

19. The author terms language “the operating system of our civilization” for all the following reasons EXCEPT that it

1. has laid the foundation for the creation of cultural artefacts through writing and telling of stories.

2. can influence political views and opinions as it engenders close emotional ties among people.

3. is fundamental to the articulation and spread of human values and culture in our society.

4. is the basis of AI tools like ChatGPT which can be used to generate academic content and opinion.

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20. The tone of the passage could best be described as

1. prescient, as the author analyses the future impact of the use of new AI tools on crucial areas of our society and culture.

2. alarmist, because the passage discusses scenarios of the influence of new AI tools on language and human emotions.

3. quizzical, as the passage poses several questions, concluding with the question of whether or not the passage content has been generated by AI.

4. cautionary, because the author lays out some adverse effects of the proliferation of unregulated AI tools.

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21. We can infer that the author is most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

1. One of the biggest casualties from the spread of unregulated AI is likely to be the democratic process.

2. Apart from its drawbacks, AI tools have been beneficial in boosting technological and industrial advance worldwide.

3. People’s fears of the dangers of students using ChatGPT and other new AI tools are unfounded.

4. The commonly expressed fear that future AI developments will fatally harm humans is unfounded.

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22. The author identifies all of the following as dire outcomes of the capture of language by AI EXCEPT that it could

1. out-strip human creativity and endeavours in the spheres such as art and music and, in the formulation of laws.

2. spawn a completely new culture through its ability to create new ideas and opinions.

3. eventually subvert democratic processes through the mass creation and spread of fake political content and news.

4. apply its mastery of language to create strong emotional ties which could exacerbate the polarization of political views.

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There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

23. Sentence: This reality is putting stress on employees who have to pay for transport, desk lunches, more childcare, clothing and that after-work socialisation – costs they haven’t incurred for nearly two years.
Paragraph: ___(1)___. Prices are rising at their fastest rate in 40 years, consequently, return-to-office-related costs have shot up – think petrol and food, for instance. ___(2)___. Yet wages haven’t kept up with inflation – even despite the salary growth many workers have enjoyed during a favourable pandemic labour market. ___(3)___. This is especially jarring for workers who were able to save during remote work, when these expenditures weren’t a factor. ___(4)___. In April 2022, Umus, a London university lecturer, told BBC Worklife that they were spending nearly a quarter of what they made every day on return-to-work costs.

1. Option 1

2. Option 4

3. Option 2

4. Option 3

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There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide where (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

24. Sentence: Taken outside the village of Trang Bang on June 8, 1972, the picture captured the trauma and indiscriminate violence of a conflict that claimed, by some estimates, a million or more civilian lives.
Paragraph: The horrifying photograph of children fleeing a deadly napalm attack has become a defining image not only of the Vietnam War but the 20^th century. ___(1)___. Dark smoke billowing behind them, the young subjects’ faces are painted with a mixture of terror, pain and confusion. ___(2)___. Soldiers from the South Vietnamese army’s 25^th Division follow helplessly behind. ___(3)___. The picture was officially titled “The Terror of War,” but the photo is better known by the nickname given to naked 9-year-old at its centre “Napalm Girl”. ___(4)___.

1. Option 2

2. Option 1

3. Option 4

4. Option 3

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CAT 2024 Slot 3 Section-Wise Question Distribution

CAT 2024 Slot 3 consisted of 68 questions divided into three sections. VARC carried the highest number of questions, followed by DILR and Quantitative Aptitude, with 22 questions each.

The paper included both MCQs and TITA questions. Candidates received three marks for each correct answer, while one mark was deducted for every incorrect MCQ. TITA questions did not carry negative marking.

CAT 2024 Slot 3 Difficulty Level and Section-Wise Review

CAT 2024 Slot 3 was generally rated moderate, although candidates faced challenging questions in VARC and time-consuming DILR sets. Some Reading Comprehension passages required careful interpretation, while Quantitative Aptitude tested conceptual understanding and calculation skills.

The difficulty levels represent broad expert assessments and may vary according to individual candidate performance.

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CAT 2024 Slot 3 Important Topics for Future Preparation

The CAT 2024 Slot 3 question paper covered a variety of topics across the three sections. Practising these topics with detailed solutions can help candidates improve their conceptual understanding and examination strategy.

Candidates can revise these areas after solving the complete paper and use the answer key to analyse their mistakes.

Why Should Candidates Practise CAT 2024 Slot 3 Question Paper?

Practising CAT 2024 Slot 3 helps candidates become familiar with the actual examination structure and develop a better solving strategy. The paper also provides an opportunity to compare performance across different CAT slots.

Candidates should attempt the paper under timed conditions, review the detailed solutions, and identify questions that consumed unnecessary time. Regular practice with CAT previous year question papers can improve speed, accuracy, and confidence.

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