Parajumbles Question 7 - CAT 2020
Question
- Man has used poisons for assassination purposes ever since the dawn of civilization, against individual enemies but also occasionally against armies.
- These dangers were soon recognized, and resulted in two international declarations—in 1874 in Brussels and in 1899 in The Hague—that prohibited the use of poisoned weapons.
- The foundation of microbiology by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch offered new prospects for those interested in biological weapons because it allowed agents to be chosen and designed on a rational basis.
- Though treaties were all made in good faith, they contained no means of control, and so fail
Step-by-Step Explanation
- Correct Sequence: 1324
- Explanation: Sentence 1 lays down the baseline historical premise: humanity has utilized poisons for assassination objectives since the dawn of civilization. Sentence 3 advances the timeline into the modern era, explaining how the breakthroughs in microbiology by Pasteur and Koch provided brand new, rational capabilities for creating biological weapons. Sentence 2 shows the global pushback to these emerging threats ("These dangers were soon recognized..."), which directly resulted in the international prohibitory declarations of 1874 and 1899. Sentence 4 provides a structural conclusion by evaluating those treaties, noting that despite being made in good faith, they lacked enforcement controls and ultimately failed.
- FundaMakers Tip: Cause-and-Effect Expansion. Look for phrases that synthesize ongoing technical advancements with institutional responses. The phrase "These dangers" in sentence 2 serves as a direct cause-and-effect summary link that points back to the terrifying weaponization possibilities made available by the scientific discoveries mentioned in sentence 3. This cements the 3-2 progression.