Question

read the excerpt from a genetics of justice by julia alvarez. my father and mother were once again trapped in a police state. they laid low as best they could. now that they had four young daughters, they could not take any chances. for a while, that spark which has almost cost my father his life and which he had lighted in my mother seemed to have burnt out. periodically, trujillo would demand a tribute, and they would acquiesce. a tax, a dummy vote, a portrait on the wall. to my father and other men in the country, the most humiliating of these tributes was the occasional parade in which women were made to march and turn their heads and acknowledge the great man as they passed the review stand. what is the central idea in this paragraph? having four young daughters made the family more of a target because of trujillo’s mandatory tributes. trujillo required people to take part in tributes and parades, which were enforced by the police state. the author’s parents fought against the dictatorship, even though they participated in the tributes. the author’s parents tried to get by in the dictatorship, but felt humiliated by the tributes they were forced to participate in.

Explanation:

1. Analyze Option 1: The excerpt says the family was trapped in a police state, and having four daughters made them a target? No, the text says "they had four young daughters, they could not take any chances" (implying danger from the regime, not that daughters made them a target for tributes). So this is incorrect.
2. Analyze Option 2: The text says "they would acquiesce" (comply) to Trujillo's demands (tributes, tax, dummy vote, portrait). It doesn't say they "fought against the dictatorship"—in fact, it says the spark that almost cost the father's life was lit by him, but the parents "seemed to have burnt out" and "would acquiesce". So this is incorrect.
3. Analyze Option 3: The text states "Periodically, Trujillo would demand a tribute... a portrait on the wall" and "the most humiliating of these tributes was the occasional parade... women were made to march... acknowledge the great man". Also, the family "were once again trapped in a police state. They laid low as best they could" (tried to get by) and the tributes were humiliating. This matches the option's description: parents tried to get by in the dictatorship, felt humiliated by the tributes they were forced to participate in.
4. Analyze Option 4: The text says "they could not take any chances" (so they didn't take chances, not that Trujillo required people to take chances). Also, the tributes were demanded by Trujillo, not that people were required to "take part in tributes and parades" as a way to take chances. This is incorrect.

Answer:

The author’s parents tried to get by in the dictatorship, but felt humiliated by the tributes they were forced to participate in.