Reading Comprehension

PT124 · S4 · P3 · Q18 Research Commercialization

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The passages discuss relationships between business interests and university research

Passage A

Central Topic - researchers at universities sharing research vs. hiding it (to profit from) Purpose - Old vs. New Main Point- It used to be that discoveries made at universities were eagerly shared with the rest of the scientific community, but increasingly market forces are creating situations where these discoveries are buried, patented, and profited off of.

Passage B

Central Topic- the fruits of science: public goods or private commodities? Purpose - Old vs. New Main Point - It used to be that scientific discoveries were treated as public goods that couldn't and shouldn't be patented, but scientific discoveries in the "information economy" have gotten so lucrative and exploitable that the lines are blurrier.

Other Commentary

Since the passages have very similar topics and purposes, we might ask ourselves, "How were they different?"

It seems like Passage A had a slightly narrower scope targeted at universities, and it had a more discernibly negative tone about this new trend.

18.

It can be inferred from the passages that the authors believe that the increased constraint on access to scientific information and ideas arises from

  1. the enormous increase in the

    Out of Scope: "enormous increase"

    Neither author blames the sheer quantity of discoveries being made. It also doesn't make a ton of common sense why having more knowledge would lead to less access to that knowledge.

    1% picked this

  2. the desire of individual researchers

    Out of Scope: "receive credit"

    The passages imply that the researchers want to make money off their discoveries, but this answer is more about receiving the glory of being the man/woman who made the discovery.

    5% picked this

  3. Correct

    the striving of commercial enterprises

    Why this is right

    This is the closest answer to saying "market forces".

    Skill tested: Inference · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    92% picked this

  4. moral reservations about the social

    Out of Scope: "moral reservations"

    This is kind of a funny opposite. The authors were never saying that scientists were withholding research discoveries because they had moral qualms about what revealing the truth would mean. To the contrary, at the end of the second passage, the author is considering that there used to be more of a moral urge to publicize discoveries, and nowadays people are acting less morally by hiding them.

    1% picked this

  5. a drastic reduction in government

    Too Strong: "drastic reduction"

    The passages do imply that industry is putting in some of its money for research, but they never blame the hiding of scientific discoveries on a drastic reduction in government research funding.

    1% picked this

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