Read the paragraph from The Hot Zone. At six-thirty, he gave an order to move out, and the column of vehicles left Fort Detrick'
s main gate and headed south, toward the Potomac River. It consisted of a line of ordinary automobiles—the officers' family cars, with the officers inside wearing civilian clothes, looking like commuters. The line of cars followed behind two unmarked military vehicles. One was a supply van and the other was a snow-white ambulance. It was an unmarked Level 4 biocontainment ambulance. Inside it there were an Army medical-evacuation team and a biocontainment pod known as a bubble stretcher. This was a combat medical stretcher enclosed by a biocontainment bubble made of clear plastic. If someone was bitten by a monkey, he would go into the bubble, and from there he would be transferred to the Slammer. The supply van was a white unmarked refrigerator truck. This was to hold dead monkeys and tubes of blood. What is the author’s purpose for including this paragraph?
- to help the reader visualize the thorough precautions that were in place
- to persuade the reader that safety precautions should always be followed
- to inform the reader of what could happen if precautions were overlooked
- to explain in great detail why such precautions were needed for the situation
Answer:
- to help the reader visualize the thorough precautions that were in place.
Explanation:
In the given excerpt, the key purpose for which the author includes the given paragraph is that '<u>it assists the readers in visualizing the detailed precautions that were there</u>.' It <u>includes every minute detail regarding the cautions to be kept in mind while following the order which is reflected through the descriptions of even the directions</u>('left Fort...headed South) along with the other small details like 'line of...automobiles...officers wearing civilian clothes...line of cars...behind two unmarked...snow-white..etc.'). These details allow the readers to imagine the seriousness of the zone in real and understand it better.
