Scientists’ pristine reputation as devotees of the disinterested pursuit of truth has been ------- by recent evidence that some scientists have deliberately ------- experimental results to further their own careers.
reinforced…published
validated…suppressed
exterminated…replicated (My Doubt)
compromised…fabricated (Answer)
resuscitated…challenged
Both the blanks have to be negative, why is “replicated” not a negative term in the context of the above question, as if the scientist is replicating results this means they are not innovating and just copying experiments?
“Replicating” is not a negative term in this context because “replicating experimental results” demonstrates that they did the experiment again and got the same results. Thus, the results were not just an anomaly, lending more credibility to them.
In this case, you are bringing in outside information. The sentence does not discuss the scientists’ innovation. It discusses their reputation as pursuers of truth and the effects of recent evidence on that reputation.
“Fabricated” means that they lied about the results, which is negative.
Additionally, “exterminated” does not make sense. That is a very strong word that is used for eradicating populations of pests for example not for the destruction of someone’s reputation. You are likely thinking that means destroyed, but it does not work in this context.