101 Conversations in Intermediate English

44. The strange substance

The officer comes back a few moments later with Alan, his Chinese friend who works in one of the shops at King’s Cross train station. The woman in the red scarf looks very nervous. Alan greets both Detective Smith and Natalie and reads the label of the suspicious package. He looks horrified when he reads it!

Alan: I can’t believe it! That’s horrible!

Laura: What does the label say?

Alan: It says: “Black rhinoceros horn”.

Laura: What? The species of rhino that became extinct a few months ago because they were being killed for their horns?

Alan: Exactly… This is terrible! It must be worth a fortune… But the worst thing is that a rare animal died. Many practitioners of Chinese medicine think that it has healing properties. I think it’s awful that they kill animals for this.

Woman in the Red Scarf: I don’t know anything! My friend gave it to me…. And told me it was sugar. I was supposed to take it to a friend of hers here in London.

Laura: Keep your story for our questioning. This is an illegal substance, and it is very probable that you will go to prison. Thank you for your help, Alan.

Alan: No problem, detective.