Deriving Conclusions from Passages Questions and Answers

Answer: D

Correct answer: Neither I nor II follows

The first sentence gives wisdom as a necessary condition for being a good wrangler, not a sufficient one: every good wrangler is wise, but not every wise man is a wrangler.

• II - does not follow. It reverses that relation outright.
• I - does not follow. Boring is asserted of good wranglers. Since only some wise persons are wranglers, the property cannot be carried back to all wise persons.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Only conclusion II follows

Read the second sentence carefully: most of the unorganised workforce earns either the minimum or uncertain wages.

• II - follows. Those on the minimum wage are on a regular, fixed income, and they are part of the unorganised sector. So some workers there do have fixed earnings.
• I - does not follow. The statement describes the unorganised sector only. Nothing is said about facilities or job tenure in the organised sector, so the comparison is imported.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Only conclusion II follows

The state provides 150 beds per thousand against a norm of 100 - half as many again as required.

• II - follows. Exceeding the norm is evidence that the state’s health system is taking adequate care on this measure.
• I - does not follow. The statement reports what the norm is, not whether it is well chosen. Judging the norm appropriate would need evidence about health needs, which is not given.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Only conclusion I follows

The statement observes a fact of succession: the old order changed and gave place to the new.

• I - follows. Describing change as something the old order undergoes is a general observation about how things go, which is what conclusion I states.
• II - does not follow. This is advice, not observation, and it adds a reason the statement never gives. That the old yields place does not mean age alone is grounds for discarding an idea.

Answer: E

Correct answer: Both I and II follow

The notice warns of a known, dated, temporary shortfall - supply down by about half on Friday because the mains are being repaired. A warning issued in advance exists so that people can prepare.

• I - follows. Less water on the day means using it sparingly.
• II - follows. The shortage is announced beforehand, so storing water the previous day is the obvious preparation.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Only conclusion I follows

Unlike in the past is doing the work here. Modern man shapes his destiny by the choice he makes, and that is said to distinguish him from earlier man - so earlier man had less to choose from.

• I - follows. Fewer options is exactly what the contrast asserts.
• II - does not follow. The statement contrasts the availability of choice, not the desire for it. Wanting to influence one’s destiny and being able to are different things.

Answer: E

Correct answer: Both I and II follow

The statement points at people who denounce dowry loudly and yet took it themselves - a gap between what they say and what they do.

• I - follows. That gap is precisely what easier said than done describes.
• II - follows. Condemning in public what one has practised in private is a double standard.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Neither I nor II follows

Money plays a vital role says money matters. It does not say money is the only thing that matters, nor that everyone with money uses it this way.

• I - does not follow. Never is far stronger than vital role. An important factor is not an absolute barrier.
• II - does not follow. That money helps in politics is no reason to think all rich men enter politics.

Both conclusions fail on the same fault: replacing a statement of degree with an absolute.

Answer: E

Correct answer: Both I and II follow

The statement concedes that the panel may select someone lacking both the qualification and the values sought - that is, the method can produce a wrong result.

• II - follows. A method that can produce the wrong result has limitations.
• I - follows. The admission covers the panel as such. Adding specialists to it does not remove the possibility, so their presence guarantees nothing.

Answer: E

Correct answer: Both I and II follow

The rule is that previous experience is normally required, but may be waived for outstanding candidates. A waiver implies both a default and an exception.

• I - follows. Candidates admitted under the ordinary condition will have the experience.
• II - follows. Those admitted under the waiver will not.

Both conclusions say some, which is what a rule with exceptions supports.