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Information and IdeasHardWhat a literary passage conveys about habituation

Information and Ideas practice question

The following text is from a short story. On her first night in the new flat, Dara lay awake listening to the pipes tick and the lift groan — sounds the old house had never made. By the third week she no longer heard them at all, and it took a visiting friend's remark, 'How do you sleep with that racket?', to remind her that they were still there.

Which statement best describes what the text conveys about Dara?

  1. A. She has stopped noticing sounds that once kept her awake.Correct
  2. B. She has come to enjoy the noise of the flat.
  3. C. She intends to move back to the old house.
  4. D. She still sleeps badly in the flat.

Answer: A. She has stopped noticing sounds that once kept her awake.

'She no longer heard them at all' and needs a friend to remind her they exist — the sounds have faded from her attention.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. She has come to enjoy the noise of the flat.
Not hearing something isn't enjoying it.
C. She intends to move back to the old house.
No move back is mentioned.
D. She still sleeps badly in the flat.
She lay awake on the FIRST night; by week three the sounds no longer register.

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