Read the paragraph from The Hot Zone. C. J. knew that if people learned what this virus could do, there would be traffic jams heading out of Reston, with mothers screaming at television cameras, "Where are my children?" When he talked to the Washington Post reporters, he was careful not to discuss the more dramatic aspects of the operation. ("I thought it would not be a good idea to talk about space suits," he explained to me much later.) He was careful not to use scary military terms such as virus amplification, lethal chain of transmission, crash and bleed, or major pucker factor. The author most likely included this paragraph to
Answer
A
describe the ways in which people overreact whenever danger is suspected.
B
explain some of the reasons for downplaying the seriousness of the situation.
C
persuade the reader that newspapers always blow things out of proportion.
D
illustrate the idea that scientists frequently have to hide the truth from civilians.
Explanation
C. J. expected that openly describing the virus’s danger could cause panic and people to flee Reston. He therefore avoided dramatic details and frightening military terms when speaking to reporters. This explains why he downplayed the seriousness of the situation, rather than claiming that newspapers always exaggerate or that scientists routinely hide the truth.
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