Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : On 15…
2024
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
On 15 January 2009, several interesting things happened. A plane crash landed into the Hudson River, right in the middle of New York City. The pilot, crew and 155 passengers escaped safely. But then, something else happened... Jim was nearby and watched the event happen. He immediately tweeted that he had just seen a plane crash in the Hudson. From there the news spread quickly. People contacted him immediately and asked him what was happening, and other people on the street took photos and videos with their phones and posted them online. Ordinary people suddenly became journalists. It was 15 minutes before the news broke on official news channels.
Photos, videos and tweets from ordinary people at the scene of dramatic events now provide the words and images that describe events in the news. When a meteor exploded over a Russian city in 2013, millions of people around the world watched videos and photos of the event on Facebook and YouTube. Social media can also save lives. In January 2010, an earthquake hit the Caribbean island of Haiti. The government said that there had been an earthquake, but they didn’t give many details at first. Meanwhile, people living in the disaster area were posting photos and eye witness accounts on Twitter and Facebook and telling the world that it was an emergency and houses were collapsing. A local radio presenter used this information to help people find family members, and people even phoned his program to ask if their relatives were safe.
News travels fast on social media, but false stories spread just as quickly as the truth. Some of these “facts” are erroneous, others are deliberate hoaxes. Hoaxes remind us that not everything people post and publish is reliable. But social media can change our lives for the better.
Why should we not take news on social media lightly?
- A.
The facts are erroneous.
- B.
Strangers can call you to seek information.
- C.
They can change our lives for the better.
- D.
News posted are hoax and confusing.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept: In reading-comprehension “why” questions, the correct choice restates the passage’s own general, concluding reason — not a narrower supporting detail, an isolated caveat about only some cases, or an over-generalised version of one example. Locate the sentence carrying the author’s overall point and match the option to that exact reason.
Application: The passage’s third paragraph opens with a caution (some posted facts are erroneous, some are deliberate hoaxes) but then states its general, concluding reason in the final line: social media can change our lives for the better — as shown earlier by the Haiti earthquake account, where real-time posts helped a local radio presenter connect people with family members, with callers phoning in to ask whether their relatives were safe. This closing statement is the passage’s own answer to why social-media news should be taken seriously rather than dismissed.
Cross-check: Each remaining option captures only a narrower detail or an overstatement, not the passage’s stated general reason:
“The facts are erroneous.” — describes a caveat about only some posts, not the passage’s overall concluding reason.
“Strangers can call you to seek information.” — a specific incident from the Haiti radio anecdote, not the passage’s general stated reason.
“News posted are hoax and confusing.” — generalises “some hoaxes” into “all posted news,” which the passage never claims.