CAT 2025 Slot 3 VARC Question 2

Multiple choice (+3 / −1) · Verbal Ability · Sentence Placement · Try it, then check the answer and solution below.

CAT 2025 Slot 3VARCVerbal Ability • Sentence PlacementHard
The given sentence is missing in the paragraph below. Decide where it best fits among the options 1, 2, 3, or 4 indicated in the paragraph. Sentence: Productivity gains, once expected to feed through to broader living standards, now primarily serve to enhance returns to wealth. Paragraph: Economists now argue that inequality is no longer a by-product of growth but a condition of it. ____ (1) ____. Unlike wages, wealth reflects not just income but also access to assets, favourable institutional conditions – such as low interest rates – and public policies like low taxes and housing shortages. ____ (2) ____. In other words, wealth depends on political choices in ways that income currently does not. It’s not just the inequality itself that is the issue but the erosion of mechanisms that once constrained it. ____ (3) ____. Wealth and income inequality are linked, but where wages have stagnated and collective bargaining has weakened, capital income – derived from profits, rents and interest – has been boosted by design. ____ (4) ____.
Answer and solution

Answer: D) Option 4

Step-by-Step Explanation:
1
Passage Context & Central Idea: The paragraph discusses how inequality is a condition of growth, focusing on wealth's role influenced by political choices and public policies. It highlights the shift in productivity gains from improving living standards to boosting wealth returns.
2
Question Stem Analysis: The task is to place the sentence about productivity gains in the paragraph where it best fits the flow and context.
3
Option Analysis:
Option A (1): Fits but doesn't directly connect to the discussion of wealth and capital income.
Option B (3): Discusses mechanisms constraining inequality, less directly related to productivity gains.
Option C (2): Talks about factors influencing wealth, not the effect of productivity.
Option D (4): Links productivity gains to enhancing wealth returns, aligning with the boost in capital income.
4
Final Answer: The sentence best fits after the fourth sentence, explaining how productivity gains contribute to wealth enhancement, directly relating to the paragraph's conclusion.
Correct Answer: D

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