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.
persuade the reader that newspapers always blow things out of proportion.

Answer 1

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

Evidence: C.J. avoids talking about “space suits” and “scary military terms” to prevent panic (traffic jams, mothers screaming, “Where are my children?”), showing the author’s point is why they downplayed details—not to criticize newspapers.