Read the following paragraph. Which option below BEST expresses the main idea of the paragraph?
There was no excuse, in this country and in this time, for the spread of a deadly new epidemic. For this was a time in which the United States boasted the world's most sophisticated medicine and the world's most extensive public health system, geared to eliminate such pestilence from our national life. When the virus appeared, the world's richest nation housed the most lavishly financed scientific research establishments-both inside the vast governmental health bureaucracy and in other institutions-to investigate new diseases and quickly bring them under control. And making sure that government researchers and public health agencies did their jobs were the world's most unfettered and aggressive media, the public's watchdogs.
-Randy Shilts, And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
A. The U.S. government does not spend much money on medical research.
B. An epidemic should not have occurred.
C. In the U.S., the media act as watchdogs.
Answer (2)
The main idea of the paragraph is that given the United States' advanced medical and public health capabilities, there was no excuse for the occurrence of a deadly epidemic. The best option to express this idea is that 'an epidemic should not have occurred.' It highlights the unexpected nature of such an outbreak in a wealthy nation with extensive healthcare resources. ;
The paragraph indicates that the occurrence of a deadly epidemic in the U.S. was unacceptable due to its advanced medical and public health capabilities. The best option reflecting this main idea is that 'an epidemic should not have occurred.' This emphasizes the notion that adequate resources were available to prevent such an outbreak.
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