Test Papers – ICSE – Class – X
MBA Entrance Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension 1, Module 2
Dear Students, in continuing the chapter on Reading Comprehension we take up a very important
module of Active Reading.
What do good readers do? They form hypotheses about the author’s purpose for writing. What
does this mean? It means that when the person is reading he is also thinking about why the author
has written this piece. They make predictions on the bases of illustrations, charts and subheadings.
They consider what they already know about the topic or the genre. They set purposes for reading
and establish goals to help them pace their reading. They build a repertoire of useful strategies.
Sort relevant and irrelevant information, which means that they tend to organise data to find the
gist or the main idea. Now how do good readers do this, with a set of good reading skills. First is the
quick view one, making predictions, thinking about what the text will be about after taking just a
glance at it. Anticipation, the ability to activate prior knowledge in order to help the text become
comprehensible. They infer, they understand a certain aspect of the text based on the meaning of
the rest of the information. In fact it is necessary to use ideas stated in the text plus your own
personal experience. Next are context clues.
Increase your scores by Studying with the BEST TEACHERS – Anytime and anywhere you want
MBA Entrance Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension 1, Module 1
Dear Students, the chapter on Reading Comprehension is extremely important for the CAT.
We start off with an introduction. Generally, 400 to 600 word long passages on any topic under the
sun is chosen. Abstract passages and passages on Economics are common. Unfamiliar and obscure
subject matter is chosen so that your comprehension will be tested, and not your knowledge of a
particular subject. Also, the more esoteric the subject the more likely everyone taking the test will
be on the same level playing field. The passages are meant for general reading and not in-depth
technical matter on any subject. They will have a compact and formal style. Passages would be
edited from a long technical passage to quite a smaller one. They may begin and end abruptly. They
are untitled, so you need to hit the ground running. Let us look at what kind of questions come at
the reading.
Increase your scores by Studying with the BEST TEACHERS – Anytime and anywhere you want
MBA Entrance Quantitative Aptitude, Races, Module 3
Hi, in this session we will be learning more about clocks. I know you have been seeing clocks
everyday but you have never done some calculations on clocks. You will be doing it today. So what
really is a clock? It is a circular race between the hour hand and the minute hand. Don’t believe me,
have a look. The minute hand is the faster runner and the hour hand is the slower runner and they
are running in the same direction. Isn’t it a circular race? What really is the circumference of this
circular race? Well, circumference is given in two units, one is degrees, so the entire dial is nothing
but 360 degrees so that is one unit of circumference and the other unit is minute spaces. So what
really is a minute space, it is a one minute space on the circumference. Distance corresponding to
one minute, so it has totally 60 minute spaces, right, the full dial consists of 60 minute spaces. Now
for some calculations, if you look at the speed of the minute hand tell me in one hour the minute
hand covers how many degrees. In one hour the minute hand covers the full dial, so it covers 360
degrees. In terms of minute spaces, it covers the entire dial once again so it is 60 minute spaces in
one hour. On the other hand the hour hand covers only one twelfth of the dial in one hour. One
twelfth of 360 is nothing but 30 degrees or it is 5 minute spaces, if you know the hour hand covers
only 5 minute spaces in one hour. Let’s convert all of these units in per minute which means I would
divide each one of them by 60. So, the speed of the minute hand will be 6 degrees per minute or 1
minute spaces per minute. Likewise the speed of the hour hand would be, divide by 60, right, it is
half a degree per minute or 1 by 12 minute spaces per minute. Let’s now calculate their relative
speed, as you know they were travelling in the same direction, which means the relative speed will
be nothing but the difference. So the relative speed in terms of degrees will be 11 by 2 or 5 and a
half degrees per minute. Or in terms of minute spaces, it will be 11 by 12 minute spaces per minute.
Now you need to know these two values very well in order to solve questions on clocks. So just
remember them.
Well, some general facts about clocks. Okay, let’s fill in the blanks these values.
Increase your scores by Studying with the BEST TEACHERS – Anytime and anywhere you want
MBA Entrance Quantitative Aptitude, Races, Module 2
Hi, in this session we will be learning the concepts of Circular Races. Now what really is a difference
between Linear and Circular Races apart from the fact that one is a straight line and the other one is
a circle. Well, there is one more difference and that is in a Circular Race there is a possibility that the
two runners will keep meeting again and again. Didn’t understand? Let’s see a circular track and the
two people are starting the race, something like this, tell me when will the faster runner B once
again meet A. When will the two of them meet for the first time? If you realise here, right, they have
met once again, and did you realise that in this case the faster runner has taken a lead of one full lap.
One full circumference over the slower runner A. Didn’t understand? Let’s put some values you will
understand. Right, if you realise A has completed only quarter of a circumference, that is quarter of
a circle, whereas B has completed one full round, one full circle and another quarter, one quarter.
So did you realise that A has taken a lead of one full lap over the slower runner. Right, B has taken a
one full lap lead over the slower runner. So when will they meet for the first time, when the faster
runner takes a lead of one lap over the slower runner. In this case slower runner is A. Right, and
now that they have met here we can always assume that this is the fresh race starting and hence
every subsequent meeting will happen at multiples of these values. Which means, if I assume that
the race starts here they would now meet another quarter of a circle in clockwise direction from this
point. So the second meeting will happen here, where A has completed half a lap and B has
completed two full laps and another half a lap and hence the lead now is two, right. Okay, the third
meeting hence would happen here when A has completed three quarter of a lap and B has
completed three full laps and another three quarters. The lead is three laps. And finally they would
meet again at the starting point. Because A would have now completed one full lap and B would
have completed his fifth lap, right. And now the lead between them is four laps as you can see
there, right, which means they will come back at this starting point for the fourth time, their fourth
meeting. Now how would you put them in perspective, right? If you realise the ratio of their speeds
is 1 is to 5. How did we find that? Well, for every 1 lap that A covers B has covered 5 laps. So it is
obvious that the ratio of their speeds is 1 is to 5. And since they were running in the same direction
the difference in these parts 1 and 5 is 4. So there are two things that we should know, one they will
meet at four points along the circumference, right, as you can see that they would have met at four
points at every ninety degrees distance. Secondly their fourth meeting will happen back at the
starting point, right, just remember this, four meet points and fourth meeting, right. Now let’s see
what happens if they were to travel in opposite directions, something like this, right, now tell me
when the two of them will meet for the first time. Look at this they are travelling at the opposite
direction, and now you would realise that they have met here for the first time and in this case
together they have completed one full lap, right. If you see A has covered that much distance in
anticlockwise direction whereas B has covered the remaining distance in clockwise direction,
together they have managed to complete one full lap. So in opposite direction the two of them will
keep meeting the moment they complete one-one full laps together, right. The first meeting would
happen when they complete one full lap.
Increase your scores by Studying with the BEST TEACHERS – Anytime and anywhere you want
MBA Entrance Quantitative Aptitude, Races, Module 1
Hi, in this session we will be learning the concepts of Linear Races. Now when it comes to Linear
Races there are some terminologies that you need to be familiar with. And this session is all about
making our acquaintance with these terms, right.
Let’s see, the first terminology is A gives B a start of 10 meters. Now what does this mean, A gives B
a start of 10 meters. First of all they are starting together, but A gives B a start of 10 meters, means
he allows B to run for 10 meters before he starts the race. Something like this, so B starts initially, A
allows him to run for 10 meters, only then he starts the race. This is what it means, A gives B a start
of 10 meters, right. Let’s go to the second terminology, A gives B a start of 10 seconds. Now this is
something similar to the earlier one, except that in the earlier case the reference was with respect to
distance and in this case it was with reference to time, which means the two of them start and A
allows B to run for 10 seconds before he starts the race. Look at it, B runs for 10 seconds only then A
starts the race. So he allows B to run for 10 seconds before he starts the race, that’s what is A gives B
a start of 10 seconds, right. Now, let’s look at two more terms, A beats B by 10 meters. Now what
does this mean, A beats B by 10 meters.
Increase your scores by Studying with the BEST TEACHERS – Anytime and anywhere you want
MBA Entrance Quantitative Aptitude, Speed Time Distance, Module 3
Hi, in the last session we did the concept of Relative Speed. In this session we will be doing its
applications in trains, and boats and streams. So let’s take a situation, we will try and calculate the
time taken by a train to completely cross this object which is an object of negligible width. Right, the
object could be a man, a pole or a tree. In this case it is a pole, as you know time taken to cross is
nothing but distance covered upon the speed. So what really would be the distance covered to
completely cross this particular pole. So let’s say I was standing with a stop watch actually
calculating the time. When do you think I will start my stop watch? When the front end is just
touching the pole, am I right, or just coinciding with the pole, right now. And when will I stop it,
when the rear end is just leaving the pole, right. In this time duration how much was the total
distance covered by the train. As you can see the distance covered is nothing but the length of the
train, if I compare the front ends of the train before and later, the distance covered is nothing but
the length of the train, right. And since there is just one object moving which is the train, the speed
would be nothing but the speed of the train, right. So time taken for a train to completely cross an
object of negligible width will be nothing but its own length upon its speed, right. Now, what if this
object was not an object of negligible width, but it had some substantial width, like a bridge or a
platform, or a river. In this case it is a bridge, right, once again time taken is nothing but distance
covered upon the speed, right. Let’s now again come back to the stop watch, the train will be
crossing the bridge, this is where we will start the stop watch, right, when it is just entering the
bridge, and we will stop the stop watch when the rear end is just leaving the bridge, right here, right.
And now if you realise the distance covered by the train to completely cross will be nothing but the
width of the object, which in this case is the bridge plus the length of the train, right, width of the
object plus the length of the train. And once again it is only the train that is moving. So speed will
be nothing but speed of the train. So in order to cross an object of substantial width the time taken
will be nothing but width of the object plus the length of the train upon the speed of the train, right.
Now let’s take another situation altogether, boats and streams, so what we have here is a stream
flowing from top to bottom, let’s say the speed of the stream is b meters per second. Right, on top
of it is a boat which is travelling at a meters per second. So the speed of the boat.
Increase your scores by Studying with the BEST TEACHERS – Anytime and anywhere you want
