You are returning home from school. On the way, you find a sealed envelope lying in the street. It is fully addressed and has unused stamps on it. What should you do with this envelope?

Introduction / Context:
This question deals with honesty, respect for privacy and civic responsibility. On your way home from school, you find a sealed, fully addressed envelope with valid unused stamps lying on the street. The test asks what you should do, revealing whether you respect other people's correspondence and take simple steps to ensure that it reaches its intended destination.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- The envelope is sealed.- The envelope is fully addressed and has proper unused stamps on it.- It appears to have been dropped accidentally in the street.- There is a normal postal system functioning in your area.

Concept / Approach:
Respect for privacy means you should not open other people's sealed letters. Respect for civic duty means you should help ensure that important mail reaches its destination if it is easy for you to do so. The presence of proper stamps and a complete address means the postal system can handle the rest once you place the envelope in a letter box. Therefore, the correct approach is to act as a responsible intermediary without violating privacy.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that the envelope clearly belongs to someone else and is meant to be sent through the postal service.Step 2: Do not open the envelope, as opening sealed mail addressed to another person is a violation of privacy and may be legally wrong.Step 3: Check that the address and stamps appear valid and legible.Step 4: Carry the envelope to the nearest letter box or post office on your way home.Step 5: Drop the envelope in the letter box so that the postal department can deliver it to the intended addressee.

Verification / Alternative check:
Leaving the envelope where it is means it may be lost, damaged or misused by someone else. Removing the stamps for your own use is clearly dishonest and prevents the letter from being delivered at all. Opening the envelope to discover the original sender is unnecessary and interferes with private communication, especially when the postal system can deliver it directly using the address printed on it. Posting the intact sealed envelope is the simplest and most ethical solution.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A is passive and fails to help, leading to potential loss of important communication. Option B is both dishonest and destructive. Option C, though it sounds helpful, involves opening private mail, which you have no right to do. Option D alone respects the privacy of the correspondence and still ensures that it proceeds through the proper channel toward its destination.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates may be tempted by the unused stamps or by curiosity about the contents of the envelope. These reactions ignore both ethical and legal standards about mail. Being trustworthy means doing the small right things in daily life, such as posting a found letter intact instead of interfering with it.

Final Answer:
You should post the sealed envelope in the nearest letter box without opening it so that it reaches its intended addressee.