Hey everyone,
I hope you all are doing good with the preparation of GRE.
I just have a question with this TC question
I came out with the answer: (A) fervent…vulnerable, cause I took the clue from the word in 4th line: “enmeshed” . So I thought that enmeshed is the connotation of something “risky”.
Yet the answer turns out to be (D) disinterested…passionate. I’m not completely convinced with that answer.
Can someone explain why it is (D)?
Hello @achyuth.varma1,
First of all, the sentence contrasts between two ideas (expectation and reality) - how science is being thought of as, and how scientists are in reality.
The sentence tells us that the scientists succumb to personal circumstances (reality). If that is the case (reality), then how should ‘science’ be regarded as, by the people (what can be the expectation)? They should be thought of as disinterested exploration of external reality (external reality here is the personal and social circumstances)
I find it quite hard to explain. 
I hope this helps. 
The word often indicates a contrast, and if we look at the second half, we learn that the scientists are paying attention to “personal and social” stuff. This indicates that they are subjective (letting emotions take over).
Hence, we can come up with SUBJECTIVE as a guess for the second blank and OBJECTIVE for the first one (since the ideas should be contrasting).
This brings us to answer choice D. (disinterested = objective, just looking at the facts)
Thank you very much for your replies.
I understood that scientists are different on the way people perceive and reality. Yeah your explanation really makes sense.
Once again, thanks a lot!! 
I think this is really a vocabulary question. Most people think disinterested means uninterested (I know I did) but it means “unbiased.”
If you manage to get past that trap, it’s straightforward because you are looking for two blanks that mean logic vs. emotion, external reality vs. internal feelings.
Only disinterested-passionate fits