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Critical Reasoning: Biodiversity and Education

CAT 1999 Slot 1 · Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension · Medium · Verbal Ability

This is a medium Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension question from the CAT 1999 Slot 1 paper. It tests Verbal Ability. The full answer key and a step-by-step explanation are below — try it yourself first, then reveal the solution.

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Various studies have shown that our forested and hilly regions and, in general, areas where biodiversity — as reflected in the variety of flora — is high, are the places where poverty appears to be high. And these same areas are also the ones where educational performance seems to be poor. Therefore, it may be surmised that, even disregarding poverty status, richness in biodiversity goes hand in hand with educational backwardness.

Which one of the following statements, if true, can be said to best provide supporting evidence for the surmise mentioned in the passage?

  1. A.

    In regions where there is little variety in flora, educational performance is seen to be as good as in regions with high variety in flora, where poverty levels are high.

  2. B.

    Regions which show high biodiversity also exhibit poor education performance, at low levels of poverty.

  3. C.

    Regions which show high biodiversity reveal high levels of poverty and poor educational performance.

  4. D.

    In regions where there is low biodiversity, at all levels of poverty, educational performance is seen to be good.

Answer

C

Explanation

Finding high biodiversity associated with poor educational performance across poverty levels strengthens the direct link between biodiversity and educational backwardness.

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