Today we are sure that the mail will be sent every day to our door. But in the early days, noone could be sure about where--or when--the mail would arrive.
There is a stump (树桩) of a big tree in the state of Washington. It was once a "post office". Because people needed a place for the mail carrier(信使) to leave their letters, they found a tree at the cross of roads and cut it down ten feet from the ground. Then they hollowed it out and covered it with something. Inside, they put many boxes. Each box had a family's name on it. The mail carrier could leave letters there for everyone.
Even earlier, when there was no post services, people gave their letters to any traveler going in the right direction. Often they gave them to a traveling shoe maker. The traveler might stop in a small hotel and he would leave the letters there. But the letters stayed there until the person to re- ceive them happened to come by and stop at the hotel.today an airmail letter can travel across the world in much less time than that. And you knowthat your letter will go where you want it to go, and when.
What is the text about?
【译文】
今天我们确信邮件会每天送到我们家门口。但在早期，没有人能确定邮件会在哪里或何时到达。
华盛顿州有一棵大树的树桩。它曾经是一个“邮局”。因为人们需要一个地方让邮递员留下他们的信件，他们在十字路口发现了一棵树，把它砍倒在离地十英尺的地方。然后他们把它挖空，用东西盖住。在里面，他们放了很多盒子。每个盒子上都有一个家族的名字。邮递员可以在那里给每个人留信。
甚至更早的时候，当没有邮政服务，人们把他们的信给任何朝着正确方向走的旅行者。他们经常把它们送给一个旅行鞋匠。旅行者可能会停在一家小旅馆里，把信留在那里。但这些信件一直留在那里，直到重新收到它们的人碰巧过来并停在酒店，今天一封航空信可以在比这短得多的时间内穿越世界。你知道你的信会寄到你想去的地方，什么时候。
【解析】
句意：这篇文章是关于什么的?主旨题。文章除首末段引入和结语外，主体的二、三两段都是关于早期邮递服务的，可以推断出，这篇文章是关于早期信件邮递的，故选B。
Why did people cut down the tree?
句意：为什么人们会砍断那棵树?细节题。从文章第二段第二句“It Was once a‘post office’.”可知，人们砍断这棵树把它做成了一个“邮局”。故选A。
What does "hollowed it out" mean in "Then they hollowed it out..."?
句意：在“Then they hollowed it out…”这句话中“hollowedit out”是什么意思?词汇题。“hollowed it out”是挖空的意思，B项意为将树桩盖起来，C意为把它砍短。故选A。
Who often worked as a mail cartier when there was no post service?
句意：在还没有邮政服务的时候是什么人充当信使的?细节题。从文章第三段第二句“0ften they gave them to a trave—ling shoe maker.”可以看出，人们会把信件托付给四处旅行做生意的鞋匠。故选C。
What do we know about the post service in the old days?
句意：关于古代的邮政服务，我们了解了哪些?推理题。从文章第一段第二句“But in the early days，no one could be sureabout where—or when一the mail would arrive.”可推出C项符合。而文章第三段虽提到旅行者会将信件存放在旅馆直到收信人碰巧路过取走，但是并没有说旅馆提供邮政服务，故A项不符合文意;B项信件会被送到门口也在文中无法证实。故选C。