CAT 2021 Slot 2 — VARC Question 17
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Biologists who publish their research directly to the Web have been labelled as “rogue”, but physicists have been routinely publishing research digitally (“preprints”), prior to submitting in a peer-reviewed journal. Advocates of preprints argue that quick and open dissemination of research speeds up scientific progress and allows for wider access to knowledge. But some journals still don’t accept research previously published as a preprint. Even if the idea of preprints is gaining ground, one of the biggest barriers for biologists is how they would be viewed by members of their conservative research community.
Answer & solution
- A
One of the advantages of digital preprints of research is they hasten the dissemination process, but these are not accepted by most scientific communities.
- B
Preprints of research are frowned on by some scientific fields as they do not undergo a rigourous reviewing process but are accepted among biologists as a quick way to disseminate information.
Compared to biologists, physicists are less conservative in their acceptance of digital pre-publication of research papers, which allows for faster dissemination of knowledge.
- D
While digital publication of research is gaining popularity in many scientific disciplines, almost all peer-reviewed journals are reluctant to accept papers that have been published before.
Easy
This is a para-summary. Lock onto the central idea and the relationships it asserts, then reject any option that distorts a fact, adds information not in the passage, or omits the key contrast. The passage's spine: physicists routinely use digital preprints; biologists are far more hesitant because their conservative community looks down on it; preprints speed up and widen access to research.
Distortion (Added claim). "Not accepted by most scientific communities" overstates the passage. It says only that some journals still don't accept preprints and that biologists are wary. "Most communities" is an unsupported addition. Reject.
Contradiction. The passage's whole point is that biologists are hesitant; calling researchers who post to the web "rogue" and noting the conservative-community barrier. Saying preprints "are accepted among biologists" reverses the passage. Reject.
Captures the essence. It keeps the core contrast (physicists less conservative than biologists about digital pre-publication) and retains the benefit (faster dissemination of knowledge). This matches the passage exactly. Keep.
Omission + Distortion. It drops the physicist-vs-biologist contrast entirely and overgeneralises with "almost all peer-reviewed journals are reluctant," whereas the passage says only some journals. Reject.
Option (c) best captures the essence: physicists are less conservative than biologists about digital pre-publication, which speeds up dissemination of knowledge.