Have you tried reading the passages first, and then answering the questions? Also, you don't need previous knowledge about the passage subjects to do well. Don't let this freak you out. I didn't have background information on any of the passages that I had and I did just fine.
I am a native English speaker, but I found that it was better for me to just read through it and then answer the questions. This is not everyone's strategy, but it worked well for me. Have you tried this?
I never got a "student research paper" to read during my test... I've never heard this anywhere on this forum before, and I was on here a lot when studying for the DAT. I'm not sure this is accurate.
It is true that not all of the passages will be about science, though. The most infamous "piano passage" is a technical article about pianos that is apparently very difficult.
If you have trouble reading quickly enough, perhaps you should try reading some scientific articles just to get more comfortable with pacing. I have heard some people suggest this strategy, though I never tried it myself.
One tip for you on test day, this section is right after a 15 minute break. Take some time during this break to eat something like a granola bar or you may find that about thirty minutes in you are hungry and cannot focus as well as you could and it could slow you down.
Best wishes!
