Question

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

explain some of the reasons for downplaying the seriousness of the situation.
describe the ways in which people overreact whenever danger is suspected.
persuade the reader that newspapers always blow things out of proportion.
illustrate the idea that scientists frequently have to hide the truth from civilians.

Answer 1

explain some of the reasons for downplaying the seriousness of the situation.

The paragraph shows C.J. deliberately withholding dramatic details and scary terminology to avoid causing panic (traffic jams, frantic parents), which explains why the situation was downplayed.