Topic of the passage: Biocontainment operation and news containment.
Central idea of the passage: C. J. Peter's efforts to downplay the severity of the situation in a biocontainment operation, particularly in his comments to the media.
Detail supporting the central idea: C. J. Peter's comments to The Washington Post were designed to create an impression that the situation was under control, safe, and not all that interesting, despite the fact that he was understating the gravity of the situation.
The passage from "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston discusses a biocontainment operation where half of the focus is on containing the news about the situation. C. J. Peter, presumably involved in the operation, communicates with reporters from The Washington Post and tries to downplay the severity of the situation. He deliberately provides information to create the impression that everything is under control, safe, and not particularly interesting or alarming. However, the text suggests that C. J. is, in fact, understating the seriousness of the situation. Despite his efforts to assure the reporters that there is no problem and that it's just a routine technical issue, the reality is that the situation is more grave than he lets on. The passage highlights the discrepancy between the information given to the media and the actual seriousness of the biocontainment operation, emphasizing the effort to control the narrative surrounding the event.
The complete probable question could be Read the excerpt from The Hot Zone by Richard
Preston, then use the drop-down menus to answer the
questions
What is the topic of the passage?
What is the central idea of the passage?
Half of this biocontainment operation was going to be
news containment, C. J. Peter's comments to The
Washington Post were designed to create an impression
that the situation was under control, safe, and not all that
interesting, C. J. was understating the gravity of the
situation. But he could be very smooth when he wanted,
and he used his friendliest voice with the reporters,
assuring them over the telephone that there really was no
problem, just kind of a routine technical situation,
Somehow the reporters concluded that the sick monkeys
had been "destroyed as a precaution" when in fact the
nightmare, and the reason for troops, was that the
animals hadn't been destroyed,
- The Hot Zone,
Richard Preston
Which detail supports the central idea?