DSAT Evidence-Based Reading 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reads a passage arguing that urban green spaces reduce stress. The author cites a study showing lower cortisol levels in city residents who visit parks weekly. What is the primary purpose of including this study?
- To entertain readers with anecdotes about park visitors
- To provide empirical support for the claim about stress reduction (Correct answer)
- To compare urban and rural cortisol levels
- To explain how cortisol is measured in laboratory settings
Correct answer: To provide empirical support for the claim about stress reduction
The study provides empirical data (cortisol measurements) that directly supports the author's central argument about green spaces reducing stress.
Question 2: In a passage about deep-sea ecosystems, the author writes: 'These organisms have evolved extraordinary adaptations—bioluminescence, pressure-resistant cell membranes, and chemosynthetic metabolisms—that allow them to thrive where sunlight never reaches.' The word 'extraordinary' most nearly suggests that these adaptations are:
- Common among most marine species
- Unusually remarkable given their environment (Correct answer)
- Scientifically unverified
- Dangerous to the organisms themselves
Correct answer: Unusually remarkable given their environment
The author uses 'extraordinary' to convey that these adaptations are remarkably exceptional, contrasting them with typical biological traits found in most organisms.
Question 3: A passage presents two historians debating whether economic factors or political ideology primarily caused the French Revolution. Historian A emphasizes bread prices and famine; Historian B emphasizes Enlightenment ideas. Based on this structure, the passage is best described as:
- Presenting a single authoritative explanation for a historical event
- Exploring competing interpretations of a complex historical cause (Correct answer)
- Dismissing economic explanations as irrelevant
- Arguing that the French Revolution was inevitable
Correct answer: Exploring competing interpretations of a complex historical cause
The passage presents two contrasting scholarly perspectives on causation, which is a classic structure for exploring interpretive disagreement in historical writing.
Question 4: A passage about social media states: 'While platforms claim to connect people, research consistently shows that heavy social media use correlates with increased loneliness among teenagers.' The phrase 'While platforms claim' signals that the author is about to:
- Agree with the platforms' stated mission
- Contrast a stated claim with contradicting evidence (Correct answer)
- Explain how social media platforms operate
- Recommend that teenagers use social media more moderately
Correct answer: Contrast a stated claim with contradicting evidence
'While' introduces a concessive contrast, signaling that the research evidence will challenge or complicate the platforms' own claims.
Question 5: In a literary passage, a character named Elena discovers her grandmother's hidden letters and feels 'a vertigo of recognition—as if the stranger's handwriting were somehow her own.' This figurative language primarily conveys:
- Elena's confusion about the letters' historical period
- An overwhelming sense of unexpected personal connection (Correct answer)
- Elena's physical dizziness from reading too quickly
- The poor quality of her grandmother's penmanship
Correct answer: An overwhelming sense of unexpected personal connection
The metaphor 'vertigo of recognition' conveys the disorienting emotional intensity of Elena feeling a profound, unexpected connection to her ancestor.
Question 6: A student reads a passage claiming that a new teaching method improves math scores. The passage notes that students using the method showed a 15% improvement, but does not mention whether a control group was used. Which question is most important for evaluating this claim?
- What grade levels were the students in?
- Did a comparable group not using the method show similar improvement? (Correct answer)
- How long has the method been available to schools?
- Which publisher produced the teaching materials?
Correct answer: Did a comparable group not using the method show similar improvement?
Without a control group, it's impossible to determine whether the improvement was caused by the method or by other factors, making this the most critical question for evaluating the claim.
Question 7: A passage about climate science includes this sentence: 'The data, while imperfect, paint an unambiguous picture.' The phrase 'while imperfect' functions primarily to:
- Undermine the author's overall conclusion about the data
- Acknowledge a limitation while reinforcing the strength of the overall finding (Correct answer)
- Suggest that the data should not be trusted
- Introduce a counterargument that will be fully developed later
Correct answer: Acknowledge a limitation while reinforcing the strength of the overall finding
The concessive phrase 'while imperfect' anticipates objections by acknowledging data limitations but immediately reasserts confidence in the conclusion with 'unambiguous picture.'
DSAT Evidence-Based Reading 2
A student reads a passage arguing that urban green spaces reduce stress.
The author cites a study showing lower cortisol levels in city residents who visit parks weekly.
What is the primary purpose of including this study?