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UNIT 7 GOING TO THE POST OFFICE

Lesson 14

Part Ⅱ John At The Post Office

Exercises:

1．____ The airmail rate to Venezuela is 50 cents a half ounce.

2．____ It usually takes two or three days for a letter to get to Venezuela by air.

3．____ It may take three to four weeks for a letter to get to the interior of the country by air.

4．____ Regular mail to Venezuela goes by boat.

5．____ Regular mail to Venezuela takes a longer time, because the sailings are irregular.

Part Ⅲ How Did Postage Stamps Come Into Use

Exercises:
Ⅰ．

1．Why were people unhappy to pay postage for letters in the early nineteenth century?

___________________________________________________

2．Why was the postage rate high at that time?

___________________________________________________

Ⅱ．

Rowland Hill, a schoolmaster in England, was the first to____ forward a proposal to____ stamps. He thought it would be much easier for people to use stamps to____ postage. They could ____ to the nearby post office to____ stamps and put them on envelopes before they____ the letters. The post office could simply____ seals on the stamps so that people could not use the stamps again. In this way, the post office did not need to send postmen to____ postage. It only needed to send fewer postmen to____ letters. That was a good idea and the government finally____ it.

■听力参考答案■

Key:
PART II
1．F 2．T 3．F 4．T 5．T

PART III.
I
1． Because they had to pay for a letter which they did not wish to receive at all.
2． Because the post offices had to send many people to collect the postage.
II
put/use/cover/go/buy/sent/put/collect/deliver/accepted.

Tapescript:

John At The Post Office (43")

John: Do you happen to know the airmail rate to Venezuela ?

Clerk: I can easily look it up. Airmail to Venezuela is 15 cents a half ounce.

John: How long does it take a letter to get there by air-mail ?

Glerk: It shouldn't take more than two or three days at most.

If a letter is going to some small town in the interior of the country, it may take a little longer.

John: How long does regular mail take ?

Clerk: Regular mail to Venezuela will take anywhere from three to four weeks. It goes by boat and the sailings are irregular. Sometimes there are also other delays caused by weather conditions, etc.

Tapescript:

How Did Postage Stamps Come Into Use (1＇44〃)

When you send a letter or a postcard, you have to put stamps on the envelope or on the card. When did people first begin to use stamps ? Who was the first to think of this idea ?

In the early nineteenth century, people did not use stamps. They had to pay postage when they received letters. They were unhappy about this, especially when they paid for a letter which they did not wish to receive at all. The postage rate was high at that time, because the post offices had to send many people to collect the postage.

Rowland Hill, a schoolmaster in England, was the first to put forward a proposal to use stamps. He thought it would be much easier for people to use stamps to cover postage. They could go to the nearby post office to buy stamps and put them on envelopes before they sent the letters. The post office could simply put seals on the stamps so that people could not use the stamps again. In this way, the post office did not need to send postmen to collect postage. It only needed to send fewer postmen to deliver letters. That was a good idea and the government finally accepted it.

On May 6, 1840, post offices throughout England began to sell stamps----“One Penny” black stamps and “Two Pence” blue stamps.