Question 9.
Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.
How do we choose one discovery over any other? The physician Lewis Thomas made a choice. He bluntly asserts: “The greatest of all the accomplishments of 20th-century science has been the discovery of human ignorance.”
The science writer Timothy Ferris agrees: “Our ignorance, of course, has always been with us, and always will be. What is new is our awareness of it, our awakening to its fathomless dimensions, and it is this, more than anything else, that marks the coming of age of our species.”
It is an odd, unsettling thought that the culmination of our greatest century of discovery should be the confirmation of our ignorance. How did such a thing come about?
Which of the following statements can be BEST concluded from the above passage?
How do we choose one discovery over any other? The physician Lewis Thomas made a choice. He bluntly asserts: “The greatest of all the accomplishments of 20th-century science has been the discovery of human ignorance.”
The science writer Timothy Ferris agrees: “Our ignorance, of course, has always been with us, and always will be. What is new is our awareness of it, our awakening to its fathomless dimensions, and it is this, more than anything else, that marks the coming of age of our species.”
It is an odd, unsettling thought that the culmination of our greatest century of discovery should be the confirmation of our ignorance. How did such a thing come about?
Which of the following statements can be BEST concluded from the above passage?
A
Humans know more when they know they know very little
B
Humans became scientists when they realized that they were ignorant.
C
Humans progressed because they knew that they knew very little.
D
The realization that humans are ignorant led them to invent new things.
Question Explanation
Text Explanation
The passage emphasizes that recognizing our ignorance, or what we don’t know, has been a significant discovery. This ignorance awareness drives us to learn more, which aligns with option E. The other options, while they might seem related, do not capture the main idea of the passage as accurately as option e does.
Option A: This is not the point being made. The option implies a direct causal relationship, which distorts the idea presented.
Option B: The origin of "scientists" is not something discussed in the passage, and hence, this option can easily be eliminated.
Option C: This statement distorts the paragraph's idea in a negative tone, contrary to its positive and appreciative tone.
Option D: The paragraph is more about reflection rather than ignorance leading to direct new inventions.
Therefore, Option E is the correct answer.
Video Explanation
The passage emphasizes that recognizing our ignorance, or what we don’t know, has been a significant discovery. This ignorance awareness drives us to learn more, which aligns with option E. The other options, while they might seem related, do not capture the main idea of the passage as accurately as option e does.
Option A: This is not the point being made. The option implies a direct causal relationship, which distorts the idea presented.
Option B: The origin of "scientists" is not something discussed in the passage, and hence, this option can easily be eliminated.
Option C: This statement distorts the paragraph's idea in a negative tone, contrary to its positive and appreciative tone.
Option D: The paragraph is more about reflection rather than ignorance leading to direct new inventions.
Therefore, Option E is the correct answer.
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