Passage Reading: GATE2011 MN: GA-05 Nimbus clouds are dark and ragged, stratus clouds appear dull in colour and cover the entire sky. Cirrus clouds are thin and delicate, whereas cumulus clouds look like cotton balls. It can be inferred from the passage that A. A cumulus cloud on the ground is called fog. B. It is easy to predict the weather by studying clouds. C. Clouds are generally of different shapes, sizes and mass. D. There are four basic cloud types: stratus, nimbus, cumulus and cirrus.

GATE 2011 · General Aptitude · Passage Reading · easy

Answer: D. There are four basic cloud types: stratus, nimbus, cumulus and cirrus.

1. List all cloud types mentioned in the passage: The passage mentions: (1) Nimbus — dark and ragged, (2) Stratus — dull colour, covers entire sky, (3) Cirrus — thin and delicate, (4) Cumulus — looks like cotton balls. Exactly four types are described.
2. Evaluate each option against passage content: A. 'Cumulus on ground is fog' — the passage says nothing about fog; requires outside knowledge. B. 'Easy to predict weather by studying clouds' — the passage describes appearance, not prediction ability. C. 'Clouds are of different shapes, sizes and mass' — partially inferable but mass is not mentioned in the passage. D. 'There are four basic cloud types: stratus, nimbus, cumulus and cirrus' — all four types are explicitly and exclusively listed in the passage.