Question

Read the paragraph from The Hot Zone and the summary that follows it.

Once the cells in a biological machine stop working, it can never be started again. It goes into a cascade of decay, falling toward disorder and randomness. Except in the case of viruses. They can turn off and go dead. Then, if they come in contact with a living system, they switch on and multiply. The only thing that "lived" inside this monkey was the unknown agent, and it was dead, for the time being. It was not multiplying or doing anything, since the monkey's cells were dead. But if the agent touched living cells, Nancy's cells, it would come alive and begin to amplify itself. In theory, it could amplify itself around the world in the human species.
Summary of central idea: It is petrifying that even if viruses are dead, they have the potential to "come alive.”

Which changes should be made to improve this summary of the paragraph’s central idea? Select two options.

Remove the phrase “It is petrifying” because it expresses a personal feeling.
Include the detail that there was a dead virus living inside the monkey.
Remove the detail that viruses can come alive even if they are dead.
Add the phrase “and spread throughout the human species” to the end of the statement to more fully express the central idea.
Add a personal opinion about what may happen if the virus does “come alive.”

Answer 1

Answer:

In a monkey's body, the only thing that "lived" was the unknown agent, and it was dead. If the agent touched living cells, Nancy's cells, it would come alive and begin to amplify itself. In theory, it could amplify itself around the world in the human species. It is petrifying that even if viruses are dead, they have the potential to "come alive," says Dr. David Perry.

Answer 2

Answer:

THE HOT ZONES

traces the true events surrounding an outbreak of the Ebola virus at a monkey facility in Reston, Virginia in the late 1980s. In order to contextualize the danger posed by this outbreak, Preston provides background about several other viral outbreaks, particularly in Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. The result is a fast-paced scientific thriller that, while lacking the traditional narrative of a fictional work, is all the more terrifying because it describes factual events. While Preston does not overstate the danger of Ebola and other filoviruses, he argues that the greater threat lies in emerging viruses like the AIDS virus, whose effect on the human race cannot yet be measured.