Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) Test - 24

Direction: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

There are several key difficulties surrounding the topic of percentages. Research has shown that there has been one difficulty which is more common than others; the meaning of the terms ‘of’ and ‘out of’. Hansen (2011) states that both terms represent an operator which needs explaining. Teachers need to address these before the topic is introduced to stop any confusion. ‘Of’ represents the multiplication operator, for example: 60% of 70 means 0.6 multiplied by 70; ‘out of’ represents the division operator, for example 30 out of 50 means 30 divided by 50. The teaching of these terms needs to be clear prior to teaching, so that children are confident in what these terms represent.

Killen and Hindhaugh (2018) believe that once children understand that 1/10 is equal to 10% they will be able to use their knowledge of fractions, to determine other multiples of 10. For example; Find 40% of 200. If children are aware that 10% is 20, then it will become obvious to them that 40% must be 80. This method enlightens many other practical ways to find other percentages of a quantity. Once children know 10%, they may also start finding half percent’s, such as; 5% or 25%. However, Killen and Hindhaugh (2018) state that a difficulty could occur when they are asking for a percentage of a quantity. If children  are being asked to find the percentage, they may believe that the answer is always in percent. For example; find 60% of £480. Children may be capable of calculating the answer of 288 but instead of writing down £288, they may write down 288%. Teachers will need to explain this issue and address to children that once calculating the answer, it must be in the same units as the given quantity.

Hansen also comments that the key to succession in the understanding of percentages is the relationship and understanding the children have with fractions and decimals. For example: they should be aware that 50% is equivalent to ½ and 0.5, and 25% is equivalent to ¼ and 0.25. Teaching these topics in isolation of each other should be strictly avoided as this may destroy a child’s deep mathematical understanding. Killen and Hindhaugh agrees with this as they noted that children need to continually link decimals, fractions and percentages to their knowledge of the number system and operations that they are familiar with. Reys, et al (2010) believes however that percentages are more closely linked with ratios and proportions in mathematics and how important it is for teachers to teach these other topics to a high level. This is to later reduce the amount of errors a child has over percentages. However, these theorists also agree that understanding percentages requires no more new skills or concepts beyond those used in identifying fractions, decimals, ratios and proportions. Reys, et al states that an effective way of starting these topics is to explore children’s basic knowledge of what percentage means to them.

Barmby et al noted that a misconception occurs whenever a learner’s outlook of a task does not connect to the accepted meaning of the overall concept. Ryan and Williams state that it is more damaging for children to have misconceptions of mathematical concepts than difficulties calculating them. Killen and Hindhaugh begin to talk how the use of rules and recipes are commonly used more so by teachers that are not fully confident with percentages. The main point of the argument is that if children are taught these rules linked to percentages, misconceptions can occur. This could be caused if the child forgets or misapplies the rule to their working out. This method is not the most reliable to children but can be a quick alternative for teachers to teach their class, if they are not fully confident in the topic themselves. This links to one of the most common misconceptions in the primary classroom. Killen and Hindhaugh state that it is the teacher’s responsibility for their children’s successes in that subject area. If the teaching is effective, then the child will become more confident and develop more links revolving the topic of percentages. This will result in the child having a high level of understanding. However, if the teaching is not up to standard the child may lose confidence in themselves and end up being confused with the simplest of questions.

Direction: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

There are several key difficulties surrounding the topic of percentages. Research has shown that there has been one difficulty which is more common than others; the meaning of the terms ‘of’ and ‘out of’. Hansen (2011) states that both terms represent an operator which needs explaining. Teachers need to address these before the topic is introduced to stop any confusion. ‘Of’ represents the multiplication operator, for example: 60% of 70 means 0.6 multiplied by 70; ‘out of’ represents the division operator, for example 30 out of 50 means 30 divided by 50. The teaching of these terms needs to be clear prior to teaching, so that children are confident in what these terms represent.

Killen and Hindhaugh (2018) believe that once children understand that 1/10 is equal to 10% they will be able to use their knowledge of fractions, to determine other multiples of 10. For example; Find 40% of 200. If children are aware that 10% is 20, then it will become obvious to them that 40% must be 80. This method enlightens many other practical ways to find other percentages of a quantity. Once children know 10%, they may also start finding half percent’s, such as; 5% or 25%. However, Killen and Hindhaugh (2018) state that a difficulty could occur when they are asking for a percentage of a quantity. If children  are being asked to find the percentage, they may believe that the answer is always in percent. For example; find 60% of £480. Children may be capable of calculating the answer of 288 but instead of writing down £288, they may write down 288%. Teachers will need to explain this issue and address to children that once calculating the answer, it must be in the same units as the given quantity.

Hansen also comments that the key to succession in the understanding of percentages is the relationship and understanding the children have with fractions and decimals. For example: they should be aware that 50% is equivalent to ½ and 0.5, and 25% is equivalent to ¼ and 0.25. Teaching these topics in isolation of each other should be strictly avoided as this may destroy a child’s deep mathematical understanding. Killen and Hindhaugh agrees with this as they noted that children need to continually link decimals, fractions and percentages to their knowledge of the number system and operations that they are familiar with. Reys, et al (2010) believes however that percentages are more closely linked with ratios and proportions in mathematics and how important it is for teachers to teach these other topics to a high level. This is to later reduce the amount of errors a child has over percentages. However, these theorists also agree that understanding percentages requires no more new skills or concepts beyond those used in identifying fractions, decimals, ratios and proportions. Reys, et al states that an effective way of starting these topics is to explore children’s basic knowledge of what percentage means to them.

Barmby et al noted that a misconception occurs whenever a learner’s outlook of a task does not connect to the accepted meaning of the overall concept. Ryan and Williams state that it is more damaging for children to have misconceptions of mathematical concepts than difficulties calculating them. Killen and Hindhaugh begin to talk how the use of rules and recipes are commonly used more so by teachers that are not fully confident with percentages. The main point of the argument is that if children are taught these rules linked to percentages, misconceptions can occur. This could be caused if the child forgets or misapplies the rule to their working out. This method is not the most reliable to children but can be a quick alternative for teachers to teach their class, if they are not fully confident in the topic themselves. This links to one of the most common misconceptions in the primary classroom. Killen and Hindhaugh state that it is the teacher’s responsibility for their children’s successes in that subject area. If the teaching is effective, then the child will become more confident and develop more links revolving the topic of percentages. This will result in the child having a high level of understanding. However, if the teaching is not up to standard the child may lose confidence in themselves and end up being confused with the simplest of questions.

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.

We are never alone. And by this statement, I do not intend to argue for existence of some supernatural entities. We are never alone because we all share our bodies with trillions of symbiotic microorganisms that perform various physiological functions crucial for our health. In fact, they may be responsible for even more than that. The symbiotic microbiota is an important part of the complex system constituting our consciousness. By consciousness, I mean the type called phenomenal consciousness which stands for the subjective experience of what is it like to be someone.

If we look at the contemporary literature on consciousness, we can see that the current trend in philosophy of mind is to focus on the role of the brain. This seems quite reasonable since for so long we thought that it is just the brain that creates our mind. However, new biological discoveries in the last decade suggest that we were wrong and there are also other actors at play with a causal impact on our mental states.

We must also reject the already outdated idea that we as biological entities are unitary individuals. What constitutes us as biological organisms is actually not just our body mass in the sense of organs, muscles, bones, etc., but also the microorganisms living in symbiosis with our bodies. However, to prove that two entities living together are a biological individual, one needs to prove that there is a shared functionality. Inferring that two entities are a unique individual from the fact that they share the same physical boundaries is insufficient.

The symbiotic bacteria are responsible for various physiological processes in our bodies. Scientists call the biological entity referring to the host and its microbiota 'holobiont'. The holobiont concept of an individual applies to the vast majority of organisms on Earth. The typical example of symbiosis is the digestive process of cow. Cows are not capable of digesting grass themselves; it is the bacteria living in their stomachs doing the job. Furthermore, because of much shorter generation times of bacteria, the symbiotic microbiota can reflect changes in the environment faster and thus provide time for the host genome to evolve. Consequently, this gives the holobiont better chances to adapt to environmental changes and hence survive.

A vast majority of the symbiotic bacteria dwells in our gut. Recent research shows how important these microorganisms are for various processes we used to associate only with the central nervous system, namely with the brain. The impact of the gut microbiota on the brain begins as early as during the development of the brain itself. The microbiota is necessary for effective myelination of prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain dealing with emotions. Moreover, the bacteria seem to influence the progress of our motor control. On the other hand, brains of animals raised in sterile environments lack this structural integrity.

Microorganisms also influence the amygdala, affecting the stress response. This indicates that the influence of bacteria may spill over into every aspect of what it means to be a conscious, living organism. However, the communication is bidirectional, so our emotional states have at the same time an impact on the microbiome structure.

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.

We are never alone. And by this statement, I do not intend to argue for existence of some supernatural entities. We are never alone because we all share our bodies with trillions of symbiotic microorganisms that perform various physiological functions crucial for our health. In fact, they may be responsible for even more than that. The symbiotic microbiota is an important part of the complex system constituting our consciousness. By consciousness, I mean the type called phenomenal consciousness which stands for the subjective experience of what is it like to be someone.

If we look at the contemporary literature on consciousness, we can see that the current trend in philosophy of mind is to focus on the role of the brain. This seems quite reasonable since for so long we thought that it is just the brain that creates our mind. However, new biological discoveries in the last decade suggest that we were wrong and there are also other actors at play with a causal impact on our mental states.

We must also reject the already outdated idea that we as biological entities are unitary individuals. What constitutes us as biological organisms is actually not just our body mass in the sense of organs, muscles, bones, etc., but also the microorganisms living in symbiosis with our bodies. However, to prove that two entities living together are a biological individual, one needs to prove that there is a shared functionality. Inferring that two entities are a unique individual from the fact that they share the same physical boundaries is insufficient.

The symbiotic bacteria are responsible for various physiological processes in our bodies. Scientists call the biological entity referring to the host and its microbiota 'holobiont'. The holobiont concept of an individual applies to the vast majority of organisms on Earth. The typical example of symbiosis is the digestive process of cow. Cows are not capable of digesting grass themselves; it is the bacteria living in their stomachs doing the job. Furthermore, because of much shorter generation times of bacteria, the symbiotic microbiota can reflect changes in the environment faster and thus provide time for the host genome to evolve. Consequently, this gives the holobiont better chances to adapt to environmental changes and hence survive.

A vast majority of the symbiotic bacteria dwells in our gut. Recent research shows how important these microorganisms are for various processes we used to associate only with the central nervous system, namely with the brain. The impact of the gut microbiota on the brain begins as early as during the development of the brain itself. The microbiota is necessary for effective myelination of prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain dealing with emotions. Moreover, the bacteria seem to influence the progress of our motor control. On the other hand, brains of animals raised in sterile environments lack this structural integrity.

Microorganisms also influence the amygdala, affecting the stress response. This indicates that the influence of bacteria may spill over into every aspect of what it means to be a conscious, living organism. However, the communication is bidirectional, so our emotional states have at the same time an impact on the microbiome structure.

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.

We are never alone. And by this statement, I do not intend to argue for existence of some supernatural entities. We are never alone because we all share our bodies with trillions of symbiotic microorganisms that perform various physiological functions crucial for our health. In fact, they may be responsible for even more than that. The symbiotic microbiota is an important part of the complex system constituting our consciousness. By consciousness, I mean the type called phenomenal consciousness which stands for the subjective experience of what is it like to be someone.

If we look at the contemporary literature on consciousness, we can see that the current trend in philosophy of mind is to focus on the role of the brain. This seems quite reasonable since for so long we thought that it is just the brain that creates our mind. However, new biological discoveries in the last decade suggest that we were wrong and there are also other actors at play with a causal impact on our mental states.

We must also reject the already outdated idea that we as biological entities are unitary individuals. What constitutes us as biological organisms is actually not just our body mass in the sense of organs, muscles, bones, etc., but also the microorganisms living in symbiosis with our bodies. However, to prove that two entities living together are a biological individual, one needs to prove that there is a shared functionality. Inferring that two entities are a unique individual from the fact that they share the same physical boundaries is insufficient.

The symbiotic bacteria are responsible for various physiological processes in our bodies. Scientists call the biological entity referring to the host and its microbiota 'holobiont'. The holobiont concept of an individual applies to the vast majority of organisms on Earth. The typical example of symbiosis is the digestive process of cow. Cows are not capable of digesting grass themselves; it is the bacteria living in their stomachs doing the job. Furthermore, because of much shorter generation times of bacteria, the symbiotic microbiota can reflect changes in the environment faster and thus provide time for the host genome to evolve. Consequently, this gives the holobiont better chances to adapt to environmental changes and hence survive.

A vast majority of the symbiotic bacteria dwells in our gut. Recent research shows how important these microorganisms are for various processes we used to associate only with the central nervous system, namely with the brain. The impact of the gut microbiota on the brain begins as early as during the development of the brain itself. The microbiota is necessary for effective myelination of prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain dealing with emotions. Moreover, the bacteria seem to influence the progress of our motor control. On the other hand, brains of animals raised in sterile environments lack this structural integrity.

Microorganisms also influence the amygdala, affecting the stress response. This indicates that the influence of bacteria may spill over into every aspect of what it means to be a conscious, living organism. However, the communication is bidirectional, so our emotional states have at the same time an impact on the microbiome structure.

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question.

We are never alone. And by this statement, I do not intend to argue for existence of some supernatural entities. We are never alone because we all share our bodies with trillions of symbiotic microorganisms that perform various physiological functions crucial for our health. In fact, they may be responsible for even more than that. The symbiotic microbiota is an important part of the complex system constituting our consciousness. By consciousness, I mean the type called phenomenal consciousness which stands for the subjective experience of what is it like to be someone.

If we look at the contemporary literature on consciousness, we can see that the current trend in philosophy of mind is to focus on the role of the brain. This seems quite reasonable since for so long we thought that it is just the brain that creates our mind. However, new biological discoveries in the last decade suggest that we were wrong and there are also other actors at play with a causal impact on our mental states.

We must also reject the already outdated idea that we as biological entities are unitary individuals. What constitutes us as biological organisms is actually not just our body mass in the sense of organs, muscles, bones, etc., but also the microorganisms living in symbiosis with our bodies. However, to prove that two entities living together are a biological individual, one needs to prove that there is a shared functionality. Inferring that two entities are a unique individual from the fact that they share the same physical boundaries is insufficient.

The symbiotic bacteria are responsible for various physiological processes in our bodies. Scientists call the biological entity referring to the host and its microbiota 'holobiont'. The holobiont concept of an individual applies to the vast majority of organisms on Earth. The typical example of symbiosis is the digestive process of cow. Cows are not capable of digesting grass themselves; it is the bacteria living in their stomachs doing the job. Furthermore, because of much shorter generation times of bacteria, the symbiotic microbiota can reflect changes in the environment faster and thus provide time for the host genome to evolve. Consequently, this gives the holobiont better chances to adapt to environmental changes and hence survive.

A vast majority of the symbiotic bacteria dwells in our gut. Recent research shows how important these microorganisms are for various processes we used to associate only with the central nervous system, namely with the brain. The impact of the gut microbiota on the brain begins as early as during the development of the brain itself. The microbiota is necessary for effective myelination of prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain dealing with emotions. Moreover, the bacteria seem to influence the progress of our motor control. On the other hand, brains of animals raised in sterile environments lack this structural integrity.

Microorganisms also influence the amygdala, affecting the stress response. This indicates that the influence of bacteria may spill over into every aspect of what it means to be a conscious, living organism. However, the communication is bidirectional, so our emotional states have at the same time an impact on the microbiome structure.

Directions: The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer

Directions: The passage given below is followed by four alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow :

Harold a professional man who had worked in an office for many years had a fearful dream. In it, he found himself in a land where small slug-like animals with slimy tentacles lived on people's bodies. The people tolerated the loathsome creatures because after many years they grew into elephants which then became the nation's system of transport, carrying everyone wherever he wanted to go. Harold suddenly realised that he himself was covered with these things, and he woke upscreaming. In a vivid sequence of pictures this dream dramatised for Harold what he had never been able to put in to words; he saw himself as letting society feed on his body in his early years so that it would carry him when he retired. He later threw off the "security bug" and took upfreelance work.

Directions: The passage given below is followed by four alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.