Question

In a small village in England about 150 years ago, a mail coach ( 郵車) 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 (郵資) , 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 .

1. The first postage stamp was made ___________ .

A．in England B．in America

C．by Alice D．in 1910

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

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

4.The idea of using stamps was thought of by __________________ .

A．the government B. Sir Rowland Hill

C. Alice Brown D. Tom

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

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.D

3.A

4.B

5.C

【解析】

試題分析：這篇短文告訴了我們郵票的由來。在150年前，當時人們通過寫信進行交流的時候，是由收信人來付郵費的，而且郵費很高。所以一些人就會想辦法來避免拿郵費，如在信封上做一些標記等。后來Rowland Hill提議由寄信人付郵費，在信封上貼郵票。

1.細節理解題。根據短文的開頭In a small village in England about 150 years ago可知，文中記敘的這個故事發生在150年前的英國。當時人們通過寫信來交流時，需要收信人付郵費。后來Rowland Hill改變了這一做法。故選A。

2.細節理解題。根據短文中那個女孩跟Rowland Hill說的話可知，小女孩收到信后，又把信退了回去，她說她付不起郵費，其實是她已經知道了信的內容。因為她和她的男朋友約好，在信封上做一些標記，如叉號表示他很好，圓圈表示他已經找到了工作。因此正確答案是D。

3.推理判斷題。根據短文中那個女孩跟Rowland Hill 說的話可知，小女孩通過信封上的標記已經知道了信的內容，如叉號表示他很好，圓圈表示他已經找到了工作。由此可見她和她的男朋友Tom已經約好了什么樣的記號代表什么意思。故選A。

4.細節理解題。根據短文的最后兩段可知，是Rowland Hill 提議由寄信人付郵費，寄信人需要購買郵票，把它貼在信封上。由此可見，使用郵票的這樣想法是Rowland Hill提出的。故選B。

5.推理判斷題。根據短文記敘的這個故事我們可以看出，當時由于寫信需要的郵費很高，所以人們會想一些辦法來避免拿郵費。如故事中的女孩就和自己的男朋友Tom約好了一些符號，代表想表達的內容。故應該選C。其他選項都與文意不符。

考點：文化類短文閱讀。