The American Pepper        “Mommy! Mommy!” shouted little Murna racing from the front door through to the kitchen. “There’s a package. Thepostman’s brought a package!” Her mother, Savni, looked at her in surprise. She had no idea who could have sent them a package.Maybe it was a mistake. She hurried to the door to find out. Sure enough, the postman was there, holding a package about the size ofa small brick (磚塊).         “From America, madam (女士),” he said. “See! American stamps.” It was true. In the top right-hand corner of the brown paperpackage were three strange-looking stamps, showing a man’s head. The package was sent to Savni, in big clear black letteres.        “Well, I bet it must be from Great-Aunt Pasni,” said Savni to herself. “Although it must be twenty years since we heardanything from her. I thought she would have been dead by now.         Savni’s husband Jornas and her son Arinas were just coming in from the garden. “Well, open it then!” said Arinas impatiently(焦急地). “Let’s see what’s inside!”         Setting the package down in the middle of the table, Savni carefully began to tear open the paper. Inside, there was a large darkgray wooden pot with a lid, which was taped shut(關閉). There was also a letter.          “What is it? What is it?” “Is it a present?” “I have no idea,” said Savni in confusion (困惑). “I think it must be from Great-AuntPasni. She went to America thirty years ago. But we haven’t heard from her in twenty years. Perhaps the letter will tell us.” Sheopened the letter with care, then looked up in dismay(沮喪). “Well, this is no help,” she said angrily. “It’s written in English! Howdoes she expect (期待) us to read English? We’re poor people, we have poor knowledge. Maybe Pasni has forgotten her native (本國的) language, after thirty years in America.”         “Well, open the pot, anyway,” said Jornas. “Let’s see what’s inside.” Slowly, Savni pulled the tape from the neck of the woodenpot, and opened the lid. “Strange,” said Arinas. All I see is powder (粉).” The pot was about one-third full of a kind of light-graypowder. “What is it?” asked Murna curiously (好奇地). “We don’t know, honey,” said Savni. “What do you think?” Murna lookedinto the pot again with eyes open wide. “I think it’s coffee,” she said, finally. “American coffee.”        “It’s the wrong color for coffee, honey,” said Jornas, after careful thought. “But maybe she’s thinking in the right way. It mustbe some kind of food.” Murna, by now, had her nose right down into the pot. Suddenly, she raised her head and sneezed (打噴嚏)loudly. “I’ve got it,” she shouted. “It must be pepper.” (胡椒粉) “That’s it!” said Arinas. “Let me try some.” Dipping (蘸) a fingerinto the powder, he tasted it. “Yes,” he said, “it’s pepper all right. Not too strong but quite tasty. It’s American pepper.”        “All right,” said Savni, “we’ll try it on the stew (燉) tonight. We’ll have American-style beef stew. That evening, the wholefamily agreed that the American pepper had added a special extra (額外的) taste to their usual evening stew. They were cheerfulabout it. By the end of the week, there was only a teaspoonful of gray powder left in the pot. Then Savni called a halt (暫停). “We’resaving the last bit (少量) for Sunday. Dr. Haret is coming to dinner, and we’ll let him have some as a special treat. Then it will befinished.”        The following Sunday, the whole family looked forward to Dr. Haret’s visit, who’s a local doctor. He had become the family’sfriend many years before, when he had saved Arinas’s life in an accident. During dinner, Savni explained to the doctor about themysterious (神秘的) American pepper, the last of which she had put in the stew they were eating, and the letter they couldn’t read.“Well, give it to me, give it to me!” “I speak English! I can translate (翻譯) it for you.” Savni brought the letter, and the familywaited, as the doctor began to translate.         “Dear Savni: you don’t know me, but I am the son of your old Great-Aunt Pasni. She never talked much to us about her oldcountry, but when she was seriously sick earlier this year, she told us that after her death, she wanted her ashes (灰) to be sent backhome to you, so that you could put them on the hills of the country where she was born. My mother passed away two weeks ago.Please do as she asked, and spread (撒) them over the ground of her hometown. Your cousin, George Leary.”
【題組】36. Why didn’t the family read the letter?
(A) It was gone.
(B) It was written in English.
(C) It was hidden by the doctor.
(D) They were too happy to read it.