NinetynineCAT 2024 Slot 3 VARC Q2 Sentence Placement
Question 2 of the Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) section, CAT 2024 Slot 3, with CAT's official answer and a worked solution.
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: 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 20th 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 25th 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)___.
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 20th 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 25th 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)___.
- AOption 4
- BOption 3
- COption 1
- DOption 2
Answer: (B) Option 3 Sentence Placement MCQ
Solution
- Blank 1 would separate 'children fleeing' from 'Dark smoke billowing behind them', where 'them' points back to the children, so the sentence cannot go there; blank 2 also splits the description of the children and the soldiers behind them.
- The sentence steps back from the scene to give place, date and meaning ('the picture captured the trauma'), which fits once the description ends with the soldiers.
- It then leads naturally into 'The picture was officially titled ...'. So blank 3, Option 3 (B).
Shortcut. Check pronouns after each blank: 'them' after blank 1 must refer to the children, so nothing can be inserted there.