Final answer:
If a file is removed in Unix using 'rm', the file cannot be recovered by a user. However, it may be possible to recover the file using specialized tools or techniques.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a file is removed in Unix using 'rm', the file cannot be recovered by a user. When 'rm' is used to delete a file, the file is immediately removed from the file system and cannot be accessed by normal users anymore. However, it is important to note that the file can potentially be recovered using specialized tools or techniques, but this requires expertise and is not something that a normal user can do.
Therefore, the correct answer is option 2) The file cannot be recovered by a user.
If the system is not rebooted and there are no other processes running that might overwrite the data, it is possible to recover the file using file recovery tools. However, this is not guaranteed and depends on various factors such as the file system being used and the specific circumstances of the deletion.