Epidemiology’s Fight Against Ebola

Question

by Carol Hand

Emile was a two-year-old boy living in Meliandou, a village in the West African nation of Guinea. In December 2013, Emile may have been bitten by a fruit bat, a common animal in West Africa. On December 26, he became ill. He died two days later. By January 14, his three-year-old sister, his mother, and his grandmother had also died. No one yet realized it, but researchers now believe Emile was patient zero—the first person to contract and begin spreading the Ebola virus during this outbreak. There have been more than two dozen Ebola outbreaks since the virus’s discovery in 1976. The 2014 outbreak quickly became by far the most devastating.

Excerpt from Epidemiology: The Fight Against Ebola & Other Diseases by Carol Hand published by ABDO Publishing © 2015 ABDO Consulting Group, Inc.

Question
Use the passage to answer the question.

What technique does the writer use to engage readers in this introductory paragraph?

(1 point)
Responses

telling an interesting or surprising fact
telling an interesting or surprising fact

telling a brief related story
telling a brief related story

using a connection to the readers’ experiences
using a connection to the readers’ experiences

using a vivid image or description
using a vivid image or description

Answer 1

The technique the writer uses to engage readers in this introductory paragraph is telling a brief related story. The writer introduces Emile's situation, detailing the sequence of events surrounding his illness and the subsequent deaths in his family, which draws the reader into the narrative and provides a personal context for the outbreak of Ebola.