CAT odd sentence out practice: 10 questions with answers

The method

1. Find the argument. Read all five and ask what claim four of them build together.
2. Beware the topic trap. The odd sentence is usually on the same topic but not on the same argument.
3. Check the links. The four that belong connect through references and connectors. The odd one connects to nothing.
4. Confirm by reordering. Quickly arrange the four. If they make a smooth paragraph, you have your answer.

Practice set: 10 questions

1. Question 1

   Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

   1. 1. Studies in mice show that the brain’s cleaning system becomes far more active during sleep.
   2. 2. Sleep is when the brain clears away metabolic waste that builds up during waking hours.
   3. 3. This may explain why chronic sleep loss is linked to long-term damage.
   4. 4. Many people now track their sleep with smartwatches and phone apps.
   5. 5. The brain’s need for rest, on this view, is partly a need for maintenance.
   Show answer
2. Question 2

   Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

   1. 1. Medieval cathedrals took generations to build.
   2. 2. Gothic architecture is known for its pointed arches and flying buttresses.
   3. 3. Masons who laid the foundations knew they would not live to see the spires.
   4. 4. Some economists argue that modern societies have lost this capacity for long-term projects.
   5. 5. Climate policy, which asks people to pay now for benefits decades away, tests exactly that capacity.
   Show answer
3. Question 3

   Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

   1. 1. A good translator does not replace each word with its dictionary equivalent.
   2. 2. Instead, she asks what the sentence is doing: joking, warning, persuading.
   3. 3. Machine translation has improved dramatically with neural networks.
   4. 4. She then looks for words in the new language that do the same job.
   5. 5. Fidelity, in this sense, is loyalty to effect rather than to vocabulary.
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4. Question 4

   Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

   1. 1. Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants on earth.
   2. 2. Some species can grow almost a metre in a single day.
   3. 3. Pandas depend on bamboo for nearly all of their diet.
   4. 4. This speed makes bamboo a promising material for low-cost, renewable construction.
   5. 5. Some engineers compare its strength in tension to that of mild steel.
   Show answer
5. Question 5

   Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

   1. 1. Inflation quietly transfers wealth from savers to borrowers.
   2. 2. A loan taken at a fixed rate becomes cheaper to repay as prices rise.
   3. 3. Meanwhile, money kept in a savings account loses purchasing power.
   4. 4. This is why sudden inflation is often described as a hidden tax on prudence.
   5. 5. Central banks in many countries now publish their inflation targets.
   Show answer
6. Question 6

   Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

   1. 1. Some species of ants farm fungus in underground chambers.
   2. 2. Ants find the shortest route to food without any ant knowing the route.
   3. 3. Each ant leaves a trail of pheromone that others tend to follow.
   4. 4. Shorter paths are completed faster, so their trails are reinforced sooner.
   5. 5. Order emerges from simple rules, not from a plan.
   Show answer
7. Question 7

   Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

   1. 1. Early photographs required exposures of several minutes.
   2. 2. Subjects had to sit perfectly still, sometimes with hidden head clamps.
   3. 3. This is one reason people in old portraits rarely smile: holding a smile that long is hard.
   4. 4. Today, smartphone cameras combine several exposures to improve low-light images.
   5. 5. Our image of the Victorians as stern may owe something to technology.
   Show answer
8. Question 8

   Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

   1. 1. Stepwells in western India were built to reach groundwater that fell far below the surface in dry months.
   2. 2. Modern borewells have lowered water tables across many Indian states.
   3. 3. Their descending stairs let people follow the water level down as the season changed.
   4. 4. Many were richly carved, and also served as cool gathering places in summer.
   5. 5. A stepwell was thus at once engineering, architecture and public space.
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9. Question 9

   Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

   1. 1. Chess engines now beat every human player.
   2. 2. Yet more people play chess today than at any point in history.
   3. 3. The first chess programs were written in the 1950s.
   4. 4. Players use engines to study, much as athletes study recordings of their own games.
   5. 5. Machines outperforming humans has not, it seems, made human play pointless.
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10. Question 10

    Four of the five sentences form a coherent paragraph. Type the number of the sentence that does not belong.

    1. 1. Rumours spread fastest when information is scarce and anxiety is high.
    2. 2. In a crisis, people share unverified claims partly to feel they are doing something.
    3. 3. Correcting a rumour often repeats it, which can help it spread further.
    4. 4. Effective responses therefore fill the information gap quickly, rather than simply denying.
    5. 5. The word gossip originally meant a godparent.
    Show answer

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