Direction: The sentences given in each question, when arranged in the proper sequence, form a coherent paragraph. Each sentence is labelled with a letter/number. Choose the most logical order of sentences from among the given choices to construct a coherent paragraph.
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A. The market mechanism gives undue weight to the desires of the rich.
B. Central planning creates the opportunity to direct resources to the society’s most pressing needs, without the distractions of conspicuous consumption.
C. As a result, a market economy may produce lots of frivolous goods while neglecting greater social needs.
D. The motivation for command economies is the conviction that central planning is more likely to produce the “right” mix of output than a decentralized market mechanism.
E. Although the goals of central planning may be worthy, their implementation is fraught with difficulty.
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- A B C D E
- E D C B A
- D A C B E
- C B D A E
Correct Option: C
A C is the key. Passage must begin with D as only it introduces the argument of ‘command economies,’ ‘ central planning,’ ‘right mix of output’ etc. A, B, C and E cannot begin the passage with ‘The market mechanism,’ ‘Central planning create,’ ‘As a result’ and ‘Although’ respectively. A should obviously follow D as A picks up the argument from ‘decentralized market mechanism’ mentioned by D, C should follow A as C tells ‘market economy may produce lots of frivolous goods,’ B should follow C as B talks of ‘Central planning’ which takes care of the society’s most pressing needs,’ E should follow B and conclude the argument as E talks of the ‘worthy’ ‘goals of central planning’ etc. Option (a) : passage wrongly begins with A whereas A should follow D, after D has talked of ‘command economies,’ ‘central planning,’ ‘more likely to produce the “right” mix of output than a decentralized market mechanism,’ A should follow it with its criticism of ‘the market mechanism.’ Option (b): passage wrongly begins with E whereas E should follow B and conclude the passage, after B has talked of ‘central planning’ taking care of ‘the society’s most pressing needs.’ E should follow it talking of ‘worthy’ ‘goals of central planning.’ Option (d): passage wrongly begins with C whereas C should follow A which in turn should follow C, after A has told of ‘market mechanism,’ ‘giving undue weight’ etc. C should follow it telling ‘a market economy may produce lots of frivolous goods’ and so on. Except (c), other options are wrong.
