Questions 14 to 17 are based on the following passage.

In the early days of the United States, postal charges were paid by the recipient and charges varied with the distance carried. (15) In 1847 the United States Post Office Department adopted the idea of a postage stamp，which of course simplified the payment for postal service but caused grumbling by those who did not like to prepay. Besides, the stamp covered only delivery to the post office and did not include carrying it to a private address. In Philadelphia，for example，with a population of 150,000, people still had to go to the post office to get their mail. The confusion and congestion of individual citizens looking for their letters was itself enough to discourage the use of mail. It is no wonder that, during the years of these cumbersome arrangements，private letter- carrying and express businesses developed. (16) Although their activities were only semi-legal，they thrived, and actually advertised that between Boston and Philadelphia they were a half-day speedier than the government mail. The government postal service lost volume to private competition and was not able to handle efficiently even the business it had. (17) Finally，in 1863, Congress provided that the ail carriers who delivered the mail from the post offices to private addresses should receive a government salary，and that there should be no extra charge for that delivery.

 

题目

Passage 4

Now, listen to the passage.

14. What is the passage mainly about?

A. The increased use of private mail services.

B. The development of a government postal system.

C. A comparison of urban and rural postal services.

D. The history of postage stamps.

15. Which of the following was seen as a disadvantage of the postage stamp?

A. It had to be purchased by the sender in advance.

B. It increased the cost of mall delivery.

C. It was difficult to affix to letters.

D. It was easy to counterfeit.

16. The private postal services of the nineteenth century claimed that they could do which of the following better than the government?

A. They could deliver a higher volume of mail.

B. They could deliver mail more cheaply.

C. They could deliver mail faster.

D. They could deliver mail to rural areas.

17. In 1863 the United States government began providing which of the following to mail carders?

A. A salary.

B. Housing.

C. Transportation.

D. Free postage stamps.

 

答案解析

14. B主旨大意题。根据短文内容和文中关键词United States Post Office Department (美国邮政部KCongress(国会）可断定正确答案为B(政府邮政系统的发展）。选项 A(私人邮递服务使用的增加）；选项C(城市和乡村邮政服务的对比）；选项D(邮票 的历史）只是原文提到的细节，不能代表全文主旨。

15. A细节题。文中提到：在1847年，美国邮政部采纳了邮票的思想，但引起了不愿 提前支付邮资的人们的抱怨。故选项A(它必须被发信人提前购买）正确。

16. C细节题。文中提到：尽管私人的信件投递和快递业务只是半合法的，但他们获 得了成功，并宣传自己在波士顿和费城之间的邮递业务比政府快半天。故选项C 正确。

17. A细节题。文中提到：最终在1863年，国会提出将信件从邮局分送到私人地址的 邮递员应获得一份政府薪金，并且投递不应收取额外的费用。故选项A正确。选 项B、C、D短文未提及。