4. A thorough search of Edgar Allan Poe's correspon-
dence has turned up not a single letter in which he
mentions his reputed morphine addiction. On the basis
of this evidence it is safe to say that Poe's reputation
for having been a morphine addict is undeserved and
that reports of his supposed addiction are untrue.
Which of the following is assumed by the argument
above?
(A) Reports claiming that Poe was addicted to mor-
phine did not begin to circulate until after his
death.
(B) None of the reports of Poe's supposed morphine
addiction can be traced to individuals who actu-
ally knew Poe.
(C) Poe's income from writing would not have been
sufficient to support a morphine addiction.
(D) Poe would have been unable to carry on an
extensive correspondence while under the
influence of morphine.
(E) Fear of the consequences would not have pre-
vented Poe from indicating in his correspon-
dence that he was addicted to morphine.
为什么选E