CAT Exam Model Paper 7 with solutions for free online practice

The word in the first blank has to be a negative one. We have clues in phrases like ‘toxic mixture of secrecy'. Out of the options ‘hobbled’, ‘paralysed’ and ‘beleaguered would all fit the first blank. However, the second blank is the decisive factor. Option (d) can be eliminated as ‘persecuted’ means ‘oppressed’ or ‘tormented’. This is inappropriate in the given context as ‘persecution’ implies an agent that is acting to grieve or injure somebody. Here we need a word like ‘hampered’, which would mean being held back or impeded by something. Option (c) comes the closest. However, the use of the word ‘scuttled’ would be too extreme in the given context. ‘Scuttled’ means ‘destroyed or wrecked’. An organization paralysed by secrecy and then destroyed by too much information? ‘Bedevilled’ fits best out of the options. It means ‘cause great and continual trouble’