You ought to know how to go about solving the critical reasoning questions in verbal ability that require you to draw assumptions and inferences on the basis of the information given in the questions passage. You are precisely required to do that only in the current practice exercise.

1. African red-billed oxpeckers had long been thought to aim mammals like the impala by picking ticks off their hides, an example of mutualism. But British biologists Paul Week kept Oxpeckers away from a group of oxen and found no change in the number of ticks. On other oxen, oxpeckers picked at their existing wounds delaying the healing time.

A conclusion that can be drawn from the above is:

a)      Oxpeckers and Impalas have been thought to have a symbiotic relation for long now

b)      Ticks multiply if not scavenged by oxpeckers.

c)       Oxpeckers may be carnivorous.

d)      All but (c ).

2.  Global financial markets froze in the morning New York trade on Wednesday as projections of a Republican sweep of the White House and Congress came unstuck over a recount in the pivotal state of Florida, leaving the Presidential election results in balance. The dollar but pared earlier gains against the Euro after the White House race was put on hold.

In the event of a clear Republican win in America, which of the following predictions about the dollar are most likely to come true?

a)      It will be at an advantage against the Euro

b)      It will rise to some advantage but eventually slide

c)       It will be stable

d)      It will continue to be volatile and unstable

3. Inefficiency and its natural corollary, corruption still persists, and nothing symbolizes this better than the stacks of files that continue to choke the system. But the department of Income Tax is moving towards computerization in a bid to speed up processes and improve productivity. However, are these developments enough? Why not go a step forward and free the individual from the whole cumbersome process of filing returns?

Which of the following would most effectively meet the author’s aim?

a)      Allowing the individuals to make payments through the internet and thus avoiding paperwork.

b)      Introducing a tax on consumption at the point of sale of goods and abolishing income tax.

c)       Introducing a system whereby the government and not the individual is responsible for correct evaluation and payment of income tax.

d)      All of the above.

4. Prince William had better watch out. If the proponents of multiculturalism have their way, the most English of British heirs to the throne may have to swerve the bloodline to warmer climes. If the report on multi-ethnic Britain’  by Lord Bhikhu Parikh is to be believed that is. The good Lord concludes that the word British itself has racial connotations and the ex-Empire in its twilight years should now be on the lookout for a more inclusive image then the one it had when the sun never set.

Which of the following assumptions is being made by the author in the given passage?

a)      Bhikhu Parikh is an authority on the history of the British Empire.

b)      Lord Parekh’s observations of multiculturalism in Britain are echoed in the reality of Britain today.

c)       Prince William’s marriage to a non-British should dilute the ‘English’ bloodline and initiate multiculturalism.

d)      Prince William represents an image of Britain that is at odds with Bhikhu Parikh’s reports.

5. By the time it’s completed in 2005, a statue now slated for construction in Bodh Gaya, India, will be the tallest edifice in that country–and the tallest figure of Buddha on the planet. Artists and engineers in India and Britain are planning the Maitreya Project, a meditation park funded by Buddhist donors from all over the world. The centre piece of the 40 acre park will be the 500-foot bronze clad figure, so large that the Statue of Liberty would just reach its arm.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

a)      The Maitreya project will take five years to complete.

b)      The Statue of Liberty is the tallest structure in the world.

c)       A statue taller than the 500 foot Buddha will not be built anywhere in the world in the next five years time.

d)      Bodh Gaua is a holy place.

Answers: 1 (c) , 2 ( a ), 3 (b), 4 ( d ), 5 ( b )

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