Half of this biocontainment operation was going to be news containment. C. J. Peters'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

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?

Which detail supports the central idea?

The topic of the passage is the subject that the passage talks about. This topic is news containment. We are told of the efforts of a particular group to minimize a story and prevent it from causing panic among people.

The central idea of the passage is the main message the author wants to convey. This message is the fact that the truth needed to be kept from the news. This is clear when we look at all the effort and thought that went into preventing this story from growing.

One of the details that supports this idea is the fact that C.J.'s comments are designed to create an impression. It is clear that a lot of thought and design went into creating the right comments that would allow C.J. to put the media and the public at ease.