DSAT R&W Practice Question-Information and Ideas-Central Ideas and Details - Hard
DSAT R&W Practice Question-Information and Ideas-Central Ideas and Details – Hard
DSAT R&W Practice Question-Information and Ideas-Central Ideas and Details – Hard is part of Expression of Ideas : This section evaluates students’ ability to identify main ideas in a passage and the ability to make inferences about what the text implies, not just stating the obvious facts. Interpreting, evaluating, and combining different pieces of information from multiple sources is tested
Weightage : 26%
Subtopic: Information and ideas
Question
The most recent iteration of the immersive theater experience Sleep No More, which premiered in New York City in 2011, transforms its performance space—a five-story warehouse—into a 1930s-era hotel. Audience members, who wander through the labyrinthine venue at their own pace and follow the actors as they play out simultaneous, interweaving narrative loops, confront the impossibility of experiencing the production in its entirety. The play’s refusal of narrative coherence thus hinges on the sense of spatial fragmentation that the venue’s immense and intricate layout generates.
What does the text most strongly suggest about Sleep No More’s use of its performance space?
A. The choice of a New York City venue likely enabled the play’s creators to experiment with the use of theatrical space in a way that venues from earlier productions could not.
B. Audience members likely find the experience of the play disappointing because they generally cannot make their way through the entire venue.
C. The production’s dependence on a particular performance environment would likely make it difficult to reproduce exactly in a different theatrical space.
D. Audience members who navigate the space according to a recommended itinerary will likely have a better grasp of the play’s narrative than audience members who depart from that itinerary.
▶️Answer/Explanation
Ans. C
Correct Answer: C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. The text says that the production’s use of its large, winding space has a very specific effect on the audience. Given that the space itself is so important to creating this effect, it would be difficult to reproduce the production in a different space.
Choice A is incorrect. The fact that the venue is in New York City isn’t connected to the experimental nature of the performance. It’s the size of the venue, not its location in New York, that affects the theatrical experience. Choice B is incorrect. The text never suggests that audience members are disappointed because they can’t see the entire production. In fact, it suggests that that’s an important part of the experience. Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t mention a recommended itinerary for audience members.
Question
The following text is adapted from María Cristina Mena’s 1914 short story “The Vine-Leaf.”
It is a saying in the capital of Mexico that Dr. Malsufrido carries more family secrets under his hat than any archbishop.
The doctor’s hat is, appropriately enough, uncommonly capacious, rising very high, and sinking so low that it seems to be supported by his ears and eyebrows, and it has a furry look, as if it had been brushed the wrong way, which is perhaps what happens to it if it is ever brushed at all. When the doctor takes it off, the family secrets do not fly out like a flock of parrots, but remain nicely bottled up beneath a dome of old and highly polished ivory.
Based on the text, how do people in the capital of Mexico most likely regard Dr. Malsufrido?
A. Many have come to tolerate him despite his disheveled appearance.
B. Few feel concerned that he will divulge their confidences.
C. Some dislike how freely he discusses his own family.
D. Most would be unimpressed by him were it not for his professional expertise.
▶️Answer/Explanation
Ans. B
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The text describes a saying in the capital that Malsufrido keeps more secrets than an archbishop. It also says that when he takes off his hat, “the family secrets do not fly out… but remain nicely bottled up,” suggesting that he will not betray his confidences.
Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t reflect the text. While his hat is large and appears to have been brushed in the wrong direction, Dr. Malsufrido does not seem to be regarded as ill-dressed or disheveled. Choice C is incorrect. This choice is the opposite of what the text says. The secrets of families (his and others’) remain “bottled up” in his head. Choice D is incorrect. This choice isn’t supported by the text. His professional expertise is not discussed in the passage.