Question

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 .

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】

试题分析：这篇短文告诉了我们邮票的由来。在150年前，当时人们通过写信进行交流的时候，是由收信人来付邮费的，而且邮费很高。所以一些人就会想办法来避免拿邮费，如在信封上做一些标记等。后来Rowland Hill提议由寄信人付邮费，在信封上贴邮票。

1.细节理解题。根据短文的开头In a small village in England about 150 years ago可知，文中记叙的这个故事发生在150年前的英国。当时人们通过写信来交流时，需要收信人付邮费。后来Rowland Hill改变了这一做法。故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据短文中那个女孩跟Rowland Hill说的话可知，小女孩收到信后，又把信退了回去，她说她付不起邮费，其实是她已经知道了信的内容。因为她和她的男朋友约好，在信封上做一些标记，如叉号表示他很好，圆圈表示他已经找到了工作。因此正确答案是D。

3.推理判断题。根据短文中那个女孩跟Rowland Hill 说的话可知，小女孩通过信封上的标记已经知道了信的内容，如叉号表示他很好，圆圈表示他已经找到了工作。由此可见她和她的男朋友Tom已经约好了什么样的记号代表什么意思。故选A。

4.细节理解题。根据短文的最后两段可知，是Rowland Hill 提议由寄信人付邮费，寄信人需要购买邮票，把它贴在信封上。由此可见，使用邮票的这样想法是Rowland Hill提出的。故选B。

5.推理判断题。根据短文记叙的这个故事我们可以看出，当时由于写信需要的邮费很高，所以人们会想一些办法来避免拿邮费。如故事中的女孩就和自己的男朋友Tom约好了一些符号，代表想表达的内容。故应该选C。其他选项都与文意不符。

考点：文化类短文阅读。