CAT 2017 Slot 2 VARC RC Passage 5 Q22–Q24

A reading comprehension passage from the Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) section of CAT 2017 Slot 2, with 3 questions (RC · Society, History & Politics). Answers are CAT's official key.

The passage

Despite their fierce reputation, Vikings may not have always been the plunderers and pillagers popular culture imagines them to be. In fact, they got their start trading in northern European markets, researchers suggest.

Combs carved from animal antlers, as well as comb manufacturing waste and raw antler material has turned up at three archaeological sites in Denmark, including a medieval marketplace in the city of Ribe. A team of researchers from Denmark and the U.K. hoped to identify the species of animal to which the antlers once belonged by analyzing collagen proteins in the samples and comparing them across the animal kingdom, Laura Geggel reports for LiveScience. Somewhat surprisingly, molecular analysis of the artifacts revealed that some combs and other material had been carved from reindeer antlers.... Given that reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) don't live in Denmark, the researchers posit that it arrived on Viking ships from Norway. Antler craftsmanship, in the form of decorative combs, was part of Viking culture. Such combs served as symbols of good health, Geggel writes. The fact that the animals shed their antlers also made them easy to collect from the large herds that inhabited Norway.

Since the artifacts were found in marketplace areas at each site it's more likely that the Norsemen came to trade rather than pillage. Most of the artifacts also date to the 780s, but some are as old as 725. That predates the beginning of Viking raids on Great Britain by about 70 years. (Traditionally, the so-called "Viking Age" began with these raids in 793 and ended with the Norman conquest of Great Britain in l066.) Archaeologists had suspected that the Vikings had experience with long maritime voyages [that] might have preceded their raiding days. Beyond Norway, these combs would have been a popular industry in Scandinavia as wela: It' s possible that the antler combs represent a larger trade network, where the Norsemen supplied raw material to craftsmen in Denmark and elsewhere.

Question 22

The primary purpose of the passage is:
  1. A
    to explain the presence of reindeer antler combs in Denmark.
  2. B
    to contradict the widely-accepted beginning date for the Viking Age in Britain, and propose an alternate one.
  3. C
    to challenge the popular perception of Vikings as raiders by using evidence that suggests their early trade relations with Europe.
  4. D
    to argue that besides being violent pillagers„Vikings were also skilled craftsmen and efficient traders.

Answer: (C) to challenge the popular perception of Vikings as raiders by using evidence that suggests their early trade relations with Europe. RC · Society, History & Politics MCQ

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Question 23

The evidence - "Most of the artifacts also date to the 780s, but some are as old as 725" — has been used in the passage to argue that:
  1. A
    the beginning date of the Viking Age should be changed from 793 to 725.
  2. B
    the Viking raids started as early as 725.
  3. C
    some of the antler artifacts found in Denmark and Great Britain could have come from Scandinavia.
  4. D
    the Vikings' trade relations with Europe pre-dates the Viking raids.

Answer: (D) the Vikings' trade relations with Europe pre-dates the Viking raids. RC · Society, History & Politics MCQ

A worked solution for this question is being written. Meanwhile, practise it in a timed mock and see how other aspirants did.

Question 24

All of the following hold true for Vikings EXCEPT
  1. A
    Vikings brought reindeer from Norway to Denmark for trade purposes.
  2. B
    Before becoming the raiders of northern Europe, Vikings had trade relations with European nations.
  3. C
    Antler combs, regarded by the Vikings as a symbol of good health, were part of the Viking culture.
  4. D
    Vikings, once upon a time, had trade relations with Denmark and Scandinavia.

Answer: (A) Vikings brought reindeer from Norway to Denmark for trade purposes. RC · Society, History & Politics MCQ

A worked solution for this question is being written. Meanwhile, practise it in a timed mock and see how other aspirants did.

Same concept in other years

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See every question on Spotting the one claim the passage does not support — history and anthropology passages.

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