Science, to the ordinary reader of newspapers, is represented by

Question

Science, to the ordinary reader of newspapers, is represented by a varying selection of sensational triumphs, such as wireless telegraphy and aeroplanes, radio-activity, and the marvels of modern alchemy. It is not this aspect of science that I wish to speak of. Science, in this aspect, consists of detached up-to-date fragments, interesting only until they are replaced by something newer and more up-to-date, displaying nothing of the systems of patiently constructed knowledge out of which, almost as a casual incident, have come the practically useful results which interest the man in the street. The increased command over the forces of nature which is derived from science is undoubtedly an amply sufficient reason for encouraging scientific research, but this reason has been so often urged and is so easily appreciated that other reasons, to my mind quite as important, are apt to be overlooked. It is with these other reasons, especially with the intrinsic value of a scientific habit of mind in forming our outlook on the world that I shall be concerned in what follows.  
 1  
 1. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To discuss the several definitions of science
B. To argue that an ordinary person‘s view of science is actually incorrect
C. To propose increased investment the field of scientific research
D. To state that science has several aspects beyond the one that average people take into consideration
E. To explain certain lesser known aspects of science

2  
 2. According to the passage, which of the following could be true of an ordinary reader of newspapers?

A. He is aware that science has more than one aspect to it
B. He is ignorant of scientific developments taking place every day
C. He would regard a dam as a scientific accomplishment
D. He has a sensationalist view of science
E. His scientific beliefs lead him to have a narrow outlook of the world

3  
 3. Which of the following would the author of the passage most likely NOT agree with?

A. The knowledge of science is as valuable, if not more valuable, than its end results
B. To an ordinary person the end results of science are what matter most
C. The final tangible results of scientific knowledge are everlasting
D. One important aspect of science is its ability to help us form our outlook of the world
E. There are several equally important reasons why scientific research should be encouraged

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Topic and Scope/ Passage Map The passage discusses what science means to an ordinary person and how the realm ofscience actually extends much beyond this definition

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Official Answers and Explanations

Q1) What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To discuss the several definitions of science
B. To argue that an ordinary person‘s view of science is actually incorrect
C. To propose increased investment the field of scientific research
D. To state that science has several aspects beyond the one that average people take into consideration
E. To explain certain lesser known aspects of science
The author never states that people think of science incorrectly. He merely states that there are several other aspects of science which are equally important and that these
would be the subject of his discussion. Thus (D) is the best answer
A – The passage doesn‘t provide several definitions of science
B – The author never states that this view is incorrect but that this may be just one aspect of science
C – The author never mentions investment in scientific research
E – The author merely states that he would like to discuss these; he never actually explains these aspects in the passage

Q2) According to the passage, which of the following could be true of an ordinary reader of newspapers?
A. He is aware that science has more than one aspect to it
B. He is ignorant of scientific developments taking place every day
C. He would regard a dam as a scientific accomplishment
D. He has a sensationalist view of science
E. His scientific beliefs lead him to have a narrow outlook of the world
The passage states that an ordinary reader of newspapers is more concerned with the end results of science. The passage also mentions that anything that provides man
control over the forces of nature is considered a scientific accomplishment. (C) follows best from here.A – Opposite. The passage states that he is unaware of this
B – He is ignorant of other aspects of science but that does not mean he is ignorant of scientific developments
D – The passage mentions ̳sensational triumphs‘ but this does not necessarily translate into a sensationalist view of science
E – The passage never mentions his outlook of the world

Q3) Which of the following would the author of the passage most likely NOT agree with?
A. The knowledge of science is as valuable, if not more valuable, than its end results
B. To an ordinary person the end results of science are what matter most
C. The final tangible results of scientific knowledge are everlasting
D. One important aspect of science is its ability to help us form our outlook of the world
E. There are several equally important reasons why scientific research should be encouraged
In the middle of the passage the author states that the end results of science are fleeting
in nature and will be eventually be replaced with newer results; it is actually the scientific knowledge on which these results are based that is everlasting. So the author would
never agree with (C), the correct answer.
A – The author would agree with this since this is the main thesis of the passage
B – The author states this in the passage
D – The last line of the passage states this
E – The author states this in the passage as w

kris19 · Answer

Passage analysis: After reading this passage, I felt that the author could be a scholar/critic. He says that ordinary people see science in one way, which is filled with sensational triumphs, and these factors overwhelm other factors, which the author is interested in.

Q1) What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To discuss the several definitions of science -  not correct, no definition of science is given

B. To argue that an ordinary person‘s view of science is actually incorrect -  not correct, not mentioned that ordinary person's view is incorrect

C. To propose increased investment the field of scientific research -  not correct, author said 'encouraging scientific research' but no mention of increased investment 
 
D. To state that science has several aspects beyond the one that average people take into consideration -   correct, closely matches with our passage analysis

E. To explain certain lesser known aspects of science -  not correct, author just mentioned 'It is with these other reasons, especially with the intrinsic value of a scientific habit', but not explained in details about these aspects 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q2) According to the passage, which of the following could be true of an ordinary reader of newspapers?
 OA is C, but my choice is D as per my reasoning, which is given below

A. He is aware that science has more than one aspect to it -  not correct, if ordinary reader reads only newspapers, then he knows only one aspect of science. But, by saying 'Science, in this aspect, consists of detached up-to-date fragments, interesting only until they are replaced by something newer and more up-to-date', the author gives us some information that the ordinary reader depends mainly/only on newspapers for regular updates about science. So, we can conclude that he is aware of one aspect of science.

B. He is ignorant of scientific developments taking place every day -  not correct, from newspapers ordinary person gets information, which 'consists of detached up-to-date fragments', so we can infer that he is not ignorant of scientific developments. If the ordinary person doesn't read newspapers, then we can say he is ignorant, but we have to assume that..

C. He would regard a dam as a scientific accomplishment -  not correct, newspapers are filled with 'sensational triumphs', and author gives specific examples of these triumphs - wireless tele, aeroplanes, radio activity, and then says 'marvels of modern alchemy'. Here is my reasoning, from this passage I can't infer that this 'dam' is a 'marvels of modern'. From any other piece of info in the passage, I can't infer that the ordinary person considers dam as a sci accomplishment. 'The increased command over the forces of nature which is derived from science is undoubtedly an amply sufficient reason for encouraging scientific research' this statement is from the author, not from the ordinary person.

D. He has a sensationalist view of science -   correct, by saying 'Science, in this aspect, consists of detached up-to-date fragments, interesting only until they are replaced by something newer and more up-to-date' and 'Science, to the ordinary reader of newspapers, is represented by a varying selection of sensational triumphs', the author gives us some information that the ordinary reader depends mainly/only on newspapers for regular updates about science. So, the ordinary person knows one aspect that is sensational view about science.

E. His scientific beliefs lead him to have a narrow outlook of the world -  not correct, we can't infer that the ordinary person has a narrow outlook of the world 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q3) Which of the following would the author of the passage most likely NOT agree with?

A. The knowledge of science is as valuable, if not more valuable, than its end results -  not correct, supported by the passage, author emphasises end results 'wireless tele, aeroplanes, etc', and knowledge of science 'systems of patiently constructed knowledge'

B. To an ordinary person the end results of science are what matter most -  not correct, supported by the passage, newspapers give sensational triumphs - examples wireless tele, aeroplanes, etc..

C. The final tangible results of scientific knowledge are everlasting -   correct, passage never talks about ever lasting results

D. One important aspect of science is its ability to help us form our outlook of the world -  not correct, supported by the passage, which says 'It is with these other reasons, especially with the intrinsic value of a scientific habit of mind in forming our outlook on the world that I shall be concerned in what follows.'

E. There are several equally important reasons why scientific research should be encouraged -  not correct, supported by the passage.

GDT · Answer

SajjadAhmad

Can you pls provide a better explanation for choosing b/w C & D in Q2

Thanks in advance!

carouselambra · Answer

SajjadAhmad  /  GMATNinja

Need some help with the official explanation given for Q2. Agreed that Option C might be the correct answer, but for option D:
D – The passage mentions ‗sensational triumphs‘ but this does not necessarily translate into a sensationalist view of science

If the author mentions that the triumphs were sensational, does that not mean that the public, in general would opine the same? The triumphs simply cannot be sensational until tagged by the larger public, correct? Similarly, triumphs won't become sensational just because the author thinks the same. If the public thinks of something as a sensational triumph, would that not imply that the public will hold a sensationalist view of science?

Please point the flaw in my thinking.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

Q2) According to the passage, which of the following could be true of an ordinary reader of newspapers?

Difficulty Level:   750

Explanation

The passage states that an ordinary reader of newspapers is more concerned with the end results of science. The passage also mentions that anything that provides man control over the forces of nature is considered a scientific accomplishment.  (C)  follows best from here.

A  – Opposite. The passage states that he is unaware of this

B  – He is ignorant of other aspects of science but that does not mean he is ignorant of scientific developments

D  – The passage mentions  "sensational triumphs"  but this does not necessarily translate into a sensationalist view of science

E  – The passage never mentions his outlook of the world

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hello  shivangishar

I am totally agreed with your reasoning,  C  and  D  both are equally close for OA, remember this is a  could be true  question and not a  must be true  question so  C  could be the answer, if it would have been a  must be true  question then neither C nor D were close to the answer. Here is my 2 cents on this question.

The question is debatable 
 C could be the answer no doubt.  
 We have a very limited data in the passage to eliminate answer option D, OE of this question is not sufficient to eliminate the D,  
 C and D here have equal chances of being the OA.

Conclusion:

Questions like this differentiate the official course and a private source, although Aristotle is a good private source but it is not a perfect one.

Best regards
Sajjad

Science, to the ordinary reader of newspapers, is represented by

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Science, to the ordinary reader of newspapers, is represented by

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