单选题
At first, I thought it was just useless e-mails. It was the end of the weekend and I hadn"t checked my e-mails since last Friday afternoon. There was a long list of messages. Some I removed without reading. Others were from friends—I saved those to read later when I had more time.
One stood out from the rest for two reasons. The first was the name, Maher Nawaf, which I didn"t recognize. The second was the subject line: "pleas papers." Clearly, the e-mail was from someone who did not have a complete mastery of the English language.
The message was from an Iraqi, a university research scientist in Mosul who wanted permission to reprint a research paper I had written. As a scientist, I"m used to getting these kinds of requests; it"s part of the give-and-take among researchers that I especially like. I wrote back the next day, asking for more information about the type of work he was doing. I also wished him and his family best for their safety and well-being during this dangerous time in his land.
A couple of days later, his reply appeared in my inbox. It read, in part: "hi dear Dr. I"m very happy to hear good news from you and your help, also I"d like to thank you for your feelings towards me and my family ... thank you very much for help. I want to tell you that I"m ready to help you in mosul university/iraq if you need that."
Maher also explained in his broken English that he was interested in a paper I"d written on the use of lactobacillus acidophilus (a healthy product that can be found in yogurt (酸奶) and other foods). It was his hope that he could use my findings to help find a treatment for gastrointestinal (消化系统的) illness. He signed off: "warmest regards to you and lovely family."
Despite his difficulty with the language, he had painted a picture for me that was far more than a simple request for information. The humanity displayed (流露出的) in his message made me want to both smile and cry.
单选题
Why did the e-mail from an Iraqi catch the author"s attention?