The job was done，and it was time for a last cigarette．Eddie began tapping the pockets of his overalls，looking for the new packet of Marlboro he had bought that morning．It was not there．

It was as he swung around to look in his toolbox for the cigarettes that Eddie saw the lump（腫塊）．Right in the middle of the brand new bright red carpet，there was a lump．A lump，the size of packet of cigarettes．

“I've done it again!” said Eddie angrily．“I've left the cigarettes under the carpet!”

He had done this once before，and taking up and refitting the carpet had taken him two hours．Eddie was determined that he was not going to spend another two hours in this house．He decided to get rid of the lump another way．It would mean wasting a good packet of cigarettes，nearly full，but anything was better than taking up the whole carpet and fitting it again．He turned to his toolbox for a large hammer．

Eddie didn't want to damage the carpet itself，so he took a block of wood and placed it on top of the lump．Then he began to beat the block of wood as hard as he could．He kept beating，hoping Mrs. Vanbrugh wouldn't hear the noise and come to see what he was doing．It would be difficult to explain why he was hammering the middle of her beautiful new carpet．The lump was beginning to flatten out．

After three or four minutes，the job was finally finished．Eddie picked up his tools，and began to walk out to his car．Mrs. Vanbrugh accompanied him．She seemed a little worried about something．

“Young man，while you were working today，you didn't by any chance see any sign of Armand，did you? Armand is my bird．I let him out of his cage，you see，this morning，and he's disappeared．He likes to walk around the house，and he usually just comes back to his cage after an hour or so and gets right in．Only today he didn't come back．He's never done such a thing．．．”

“No，madam．I haven't seen him anywhere．” said Eddie，as he reached to start the car．

And he saw his packet of Marlboro cigarettes on the panel，where he had left it at lunchtime…

And he remembered the lump in the carpet…

1．What did Eddie want to do when he had finished fitting the carpet?

A．To have a cigarette．                                  B．To hammer the carpet flat．

C．To put back his tools．                               D．To start work in the dining room．

2．Why didn't Eddie take out the thing under the carpet?

A．It was impossible for him to take up the carpet once it was fitted．

B．He didn't need the cigarettes because he had some more in the car．

C．It would take too long to take up the carpet and refit it．

D．He intended to come hack and remove the lump the next day．

3．What did Eddie do with the hammer?

A．He drove nails into the lump．                     B．He fixed his toolbox

C．He refitted the carpet．                               D．He flattened the lump．

4．Mrs. Vanbrugh worried that _________．

A．her pet was nowhere to be found                 B．fitting the carpet would be expensive

C．Eddie would smoke in the house                   D．Eddie hadn't done a proper job

5．What was really under the carpet?

A．The packet of cigarettes．                    B．Eddie's hammer．

C．A lump of wood．                          D．The missing pet．