The Spread of Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a dangerous disease that is primarily found in tropical climates. Sometimes, people infected with yellow fever suffer only mild flu-like symptoms. In other cases, however, yellow fever can be much more serious, causing kidney problems, liver failure, and sometimes, even death. For many years, people believed that the disease was spread from person to person, much like the cold or flu. However, this was not the case. It took the dedicated research of a doctor named Carlos Juan Finlay to show people how to prevent a disease that was killing people by the thousands.
In the 1800's, yellow fever was a serious threat to Cuba's population. Because people believed that the disease was spread from person to person, they tried to prevent the spread of the disease by quarantining people. However, this did not help.
Dr) Finlay had a different hypothesis. He noticed the worst outbreaks of yellow fever happened when mosquitoes were most active. This led him to theorize that mosquitoes spread the disease, not people. This was a revolutionary idea; no one had considered the possibility of mosquitoes being vectors of disease. In fact, the idea was so revolutionary that no one believed Finlay for over 20 years.
Eventually, Finlay's theory was proven. A team of military doctors led by Dr. Walter Reed conducted a series of experiments that proved once and for all that mosquitoes were indeed responsible for spreading yellow fever. Armed with this information, people took new measures to protect themselves from yellow fever. As a result of this discovery, yellow fever has almost completely disappeared from Cuba and many other nations.
Why does the author include the sentence "This was a revolutionary idea; no one had considered the possibility of mosquitoes being vectors of disease," in paragraph 3?

Question

The Spread of Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a dangerous disease that is primarily found in tropical climates. Sometimes, people infected with yellow fever suffer only mild flu-like symptoms. In other cases, however, yellow fever can be much more serious, causing kidney problems, liver failure, and sometimes, even death. For many years, people believed that the disease was spread from person to person, much like the cold or flu. However, this was not the case. It took the dedicated research of a doctor named Carlos Juan Finlay to show people how to prevent a disease that was killing people by the thousands.
In the 1800's, yellow fever was a serious threat to Cuba's population. Because people believed that the disease was spread from person to person, they tried to prevent the spread of the disease by quarantining people. However, this did not help.
Dr) Finlay had a different hypothesis. He noticed the worst outbreaks of yellow fever happened when mosquitoes were most active. This led him to theorize that mosquitoes spread the disease, not people. This was a revolutionary idea; no one had considered the possibility of mosquitoes being vectors of disease. In fact, the idea was so revolutionary that no one believed Finlay for over 20 years.
Eventually, Finlay's theory was proven. A team of military doctors led by Dr. Walter Reed conducted a series of experiments that proved once and for all that mosquitoes were indeed responsible for spreading yellow fever. Armed with this information, people took new measures to protect themselves from yellow fever. As a result of this discovery, yellow fever has almost completely disappeared from Cuba and many other nations.
Why does the author include the sentence "This was a revolutionary idea; no one had considered the possibility of mosquitoes being vectors of disease," in paragraph 3?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The sentence following "This was a revolutionary idea; no one had considered the possibility of mosquitoes being vectors of disease," explains that the idea was different and unexpected that people did not consider it to be a plausible explanation. Therefore, the purpose of this sentence is to introduce the revolutionary nature of the idea and that it was so different that it took decades for people to finally accept it.
To support the idea that mosquitoes carried the disease.
Incorrect. The idea that mosquitoes carried the disease was mentioned before this sentence. "This was a revolutionary idea; no one had considered the possibility of mosquitoes being vectors of disease," is commenting on the fact that this was a new idea that others' hadn't thought of, not to support the idea that mosquitoes were the carriers of the disease.
To introduce the idea that Dr. Finlay was ahead of his time.
Incorrect. The idea that Dr. Finlay "was ahead of his time" is an opinion that is not explicitly expressed in the passage.
To support the idea that Dr. Finlay had found the cure for yellow fever.
Incorrect. Although Dr. Finlay contributed research and time to find the cause of yellow fever, the purpose of the sentence, "This was a revolutionary idea; no one had considered the possibility of mosquitoes being vectors of disease," does not support the idea that a cure had been found.