单选题 Today we are sure that the mail will be sent every day to our door. But in the early days, no one 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 carder (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 {{U}}hollowed it out{{/U}} and covered it with something. Inside, they put many boxes. Each box had a family's name on it. The mail carder 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 receive 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 know that your letter will go where you want it to go, and when.
单选题 What is the text about?
  • A.The uses of a mail box.
  • B.The early days of the mail.
  • C.The post service in Washington State.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 句意：这篇文章是关于什么的?主旨题。文章除首末段引人和结语外，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。
单选题 Why did people cut down the tree?
  • A.To make it into a "post office".
  • B.To use it for building houses.
  • C.To build mail boxes.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 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。
单选题 What does "hollowed it out" mean in "Then they hollowed it out..."?
  • A.Made its inside empty.
  • B.Covered its stump up.
  • C.Cut it short.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 句意：在“Then they hollowed it out...”这句话中“hollowed it 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。
单选题 Who often worked as a mail carrier when there was no post service?
  • A.A hotel owner.
  • B.A letter writer.
  • C.A shoe maker.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 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“Often they gave them to a traveling 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。
单选题 What do we know about the post service in the old days?
  • A.Hotels offered post service.
  • B.Letters were sent to the door.
  • C.When letters would arrive was not clear.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 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 sure about where—or when—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。