英语博客：How much for postage?

　　Today, I  found in my bag forty stamps that I had bought around Christmas time, and not used. I had bought them for mailing Christmas cards, but this year, for some odd reason, I didn't mail out any cards at all. I usually do. I must have just completely forgotten. Anyway, I'm keeping them with my stationary¹ and office supplies for sending off bills. One thing that I have noticed about stamps is how they increase in price every year. Mailing, or posting letters as we say in England, is becoming more and more expensive. Living far away from friends and family doesn't help either. My mother recently sent off a package of Christmas presents to my sister; we shared the cost of the package, and it is just as well. The postage generally costs more than the value of what you are sending! Then there are all the different options you can choose for the freight². There is Federal Express which is super speedy and very costly³. US postal⁴ service offers regular delivery, next day air mail (for national deliveries), or mail with tracking. A few days ago my mother also sent a small package to my brother who lives in New Zealand. She was told in the post office that it would cost eighty nine dollars. "What?" she replied. "Why so expensive?" was her next question. Apparently⁵, they had added the tracking charge which was the majority of the total cost. "Forget about the tracking," she said. "Just send it the cheapest way possible." They did, and the price was only one tenth of the original cost. The world of mail is fascinating. When you think of how we manage to communicate with and send things to people on the other side of the planet, and most of the time with success, it is quite impressive! Yes, there are disasters with mail getting lost, held up, or broken, but most of the time, our precious packages arrive on time and in one piece.
Grammar notes
Common expressions: .... doesn't help, forget the...., to be held up.
1. The car is stuck in the mud, and this rain doesn't help!
OR  It doesn't help that the only supermarket is closed, and we don't have any food!
2. Forget the travel insurance; just buy the plane ticket!
3. My parcel was held up in customs for three weeks.

1 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

2 freight   

n.货物，货运；vt.运送（货物）看，装货于

参考例句：

• Tons of freight were flown into this airport every day.每天有许多吨货物被空运到这个机场。
• There is ten yuan in the bill for freight.发票中包括运费十元。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。