【题文】 In a small village in England about 150 years ago, a mail coach ( 邮车) was standing on the street . It didn’t come to that village often . People had to pay a lot to get a letter . The person who sent the letter didn’t have to pay the postage (邮资) , while the receiver had to .
“Here’s a letter for Miss Alice Brown , ” said the mailman .
“ I’m Alice Brown , ” a girl of about 18 said in a low voice .
Alice looked at the envelope(信封) for a minute , and then handed it back to the mailman .
“ I'm sorry I can’t take it , I don’t have enough money to pay it", she said .
A gentleman standing around were very sorry for her . Then he came up and paid the postage for her .
When the gentleman gave the letter to her , she said with a smile , “ Thank you very much ,This letter is from Tom . I’m going to marry him . He went to London to look for work . I’ve waited a long time for this letter , but now I don’t need it , there is nothing in it .”
“ Really ? How do you know that ? ” the gentleman said in surprise .
“ He told me that he would put some signs on the envelope . Look ,sir ,this cross in the corner means that he is well and this circle means he has found work . That’s good news .”
The gentleman was Sir Rowland Hill . He didn’t forgot Alice and her letter .
“ The postage to be paid by the receiver has to be changed ,” he said to himself and had a good plan .
“ The postage has to be much lower , what about a penny (便士 ) ? And the person who sends the letter pays the postage . He has to buy a stamp and put it on the envelope .” he said .
The government accepted his plan . Then the first stamp was put out in 1840 . It was called the “ Penny Black “ . It had a picture of the Queen on it .
【小题1】 The first postage stamp was made ___________ .
A.in England | B.in America |
C.by Alice | D.in 1910 |
【小题2】The girl handed the letter back to the mailman because ______________ .
A.she didn’t know whose letter it was |
B.she had no money to pay the postage |
C.she received the letter but she didn’t want to open it |
D.she had already known what was written in the letter |
【小题3】We can know from Alice’s words that _________________ .
A.Tom had told her what the signs meant before leaving |
B.Alice was clever and could guess the meaning of the signs |
C.Alice had put the signs on the envelope herself |
D.Tom had put the signs as Alice had told him to |
【小题4】The idea of using stamps was thought of by __________________ .
A.the government | B.Sir Rowland Hill |
C.Alice Brown | D.Tom |
【小题5】From the passage we know the high postage made _____________ .
A.People never send each other letters |
B.lovers almost lose every touch with each other |
C.people try their best to avoid(避免) paying it |
D.receivers refuse to pay the coming letters |