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Read the following passage about Mary Kingsley, a famous British explorer. Answer the questions.

Mary Kingsley was born in London in 1862, the daughter of a doctor and a domestic servant. She received little formal education, as in those days, people did not think that it was necessary to educate girls. However, she spent time in her father's library, which was full of travel and science books.

In 1892, her parents died and Mary inherited £4,300, a considerable sum at that time. Mary had always dreamed of travelling to Africa, and with the money, she could now do this. She arrived in Sierra Leone in August 1893, lived with local people, and learned from them the skills needed to survive in the jungle. She often went alone into dangerous areas to collect plant and animal specimens. She returned to Britain in 1893 just to be back in Africa the next year. She daringly climbed the 4,040-metre-high Mount Cameroon by a previously unknown route wearing a long black dress.

In 1895, Mary went home again, taking some rare specimens, including a live reptile which she gave to a zoo. Mary wrote two books with her experiences - Travels in West Africa and West African Studies - in which she described the way of life of the indigenous people. She was very critical both of the missionaries who set out to convert the local people and of British colonial rule. She thought they damaged the African culture. Her fame grew and she gave lectures all over Britain. She went out to Africa again in March 1900, but before she could travel north to the part she loved, she died of typhoid in South Africa at the age of 37.

1 Why was Mary not sent to school?

2 How could she afford to travel to Africa?

3 What did she wear to climb Mount Cameroon?

4 What was her opinion of missionaries and of British colonial rule?

5 How many expeditions to Africa did she go on? 6 What did she die of?

 

1
D
datcoder
CTVVIP
22 tháng 11 2023

1. Mary was not sent to school because it was not considered necessary to educate girls in those days.

2. Mary inherited £4,300 when her parents died, which was a considerable sum at that time, and she used this money to travel to Africa.

3. Mary wore a long black dress to climb Mount Cameroon.

4. Mary was critical of the missionaries who set out to convert the local people and of British colonial rule. She thought they damaged the African culture.

5. Mary went on three expeditions to Africa.

6. Mary died of typhoid in South Africa at the age of 37.

Read the story of Helen Keller's life as a young girl. Are the sentences true or false? Write T or F.Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Alabama, with the ability to both see and hear, like any normal child. She began to speak when she was six months old and to walk at the age of one. But six months later, she contracted a serious illness, possibly meningitis. After she had recovered, her mother noticed that Helen didn't react to sounds, or when she waved her hand in front of Helen's face. The...
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Read the story of Helen Keller's life as a young girl. Are the sentences true or false? Write T or F.

Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Alabama, with the ability to both see and hear, like any normal child. She began to speak when she was six months old and to walk at the age of one. But six months later, she contracted a serious illness, possibly meningitis. After she had recovered, her mother noticed that Helen didn't react to sounds, or when she waved her hand in front of Helen's face. The illness had left her both deaf and blind. As she grew up, she learned to communicate with the daughter of the family cook using sign language that they invented together. But Helen was an unhappy child and often flew into a rage. Her mother was very patient with her and tried to help her. She had read about the successful education of another deaf-blind child, and when Helen was seven she contacted a special school for blind children in Boston. The director of the school suggested that Helen work with Anne Sullivan, who was herself visually impaired and a recent graduate of the school. It was the beginning of a 49-year relationship between pupil and teacher.

Anne travelled to Helen's home and immediately began teaching her 'finger-spelling': spelling out words on the palm of Helen's hand. The first word she tried to teach her was 'doll' - Anne had brought Helen a doll as a present. But Helen could not make the connection between the letters and the objects and became very frustrated. After about a month, however, there was a breakthrough. Helen realised that the movements of Anne's fingers on her palm, while she poured water over her other hand, signified 'water. By the end of the day Helen had learned thirty new words.

1 As a baby, Helen had normal sight and hearing.

2 A relation of one of the family servants gradually taught Helen sign language.

3 Helen's mother was very unhappy and frequently got cross with her.

4 Anne Sullivan was partially blind.

5 The first word that Helen understood through finger-spelling was 'doll'

1
D
datcoder
CTVVIP
18 tháng 11 2023

1 As a baby, Helen had normal sight and hearing.

(Khi còn bé, Helen có thị giác và thính giác bình thường.)

Thông tin: “"Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Alabama, with the ability to both see and hear, like any normal child.”

(Helen Keller sinh năm 1880 tại Alabama, có khả năng nhìn và nghe như bất kỳ đứa trẻ bình thường nào.)

Chọn True

2 A relation of one of the family servants gradually taught Helen sign language.

(Mối quan hệ của một trong những người hầu trong gia đình dần dần dạy Helen ngôn ngữ ký hiệu.)

Thông tin: “She learned to communicate with the daughter of the family cook using sign language that they invented together.”

(Cô học cách giao tiếp với con gái của một đầu bếp gia đình bằng ngôn ngữ ký hiệu mà họ cùng nhau phát minh ra.)

Chọn True

3 Helen's mother was very unhappy and frequently got cross with her.

(Mẹ của Helen rất không vui và thường xuyên cáu kỉnh với cô.)

Thông tin: “Her mother was very patient with her and tried to help her.”

(Mẹ cô đã rất kiên nhẫn với cô và cố gắng giúp đỡ cô.)

Chọn False

4 Anne Sullivan was partially blind.

(Anne Sullivan bị mù một phần.)

Thông tin: “Anne Sullivan, who was herself visually impaired...”

(Anne Sullivan, người bị khiếm thị...")

Chọn True

5 The first word that Helen understood through finger-spelling was 'doll'

(Từ đầu tiên mà Helen hiểu được khi đánh vần bằng ngón tay là 'búp bê')

Thông tin: “The first word she tried to teach her was 'doll' - Anne had brought Helen a doll as a present.”

(Từ đầu tiên cô ấy cố gắng dạy cho cô ấy là 'búp bê' - Anne đã mang cho Helen một con búp bê như một món quà.")

Chọn True

Read the three texts and choose the best answer (A-D).Back in timeAs she stepped into the hall after nearly thirty years of absence, she realised at once that she shouldn't have come back. The smell of wood smoke, damp stone and ancient paper brought the past back so powerfully that it nearly knocked her backwards. In an instant she felt like a young girl again, alone and frightened in the house. She remembered feeling very, very cold-not from the damp and the near-freezing temperature, but...
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Read the three texts and choose the best answer (A-D).

Back in time

As she stepped into the hall after nearly thirty years of absence, she realised at once that she shouldn't have come back. The smell of wood smoke, damp stone and ancient paper brought the past back so powerfully that it nearly knocked her backwards. In an instant she felt like a young girl again, alone and frightened in the house. She remembered feeling very, very cold-not from the damp and the near-freezing temperature, but because a terrible new life was beginning. And she could do nothing to stop it.

1 What is true about the woman's feelings when she entered the house?

A She realised that she had missed her old home.

B She was happy to return to the house

C She understood that coming back was a mistake.

D She was sad about the condition of the house.

Future home?

Every few years, trend-watchers tell us that the house of the future has arrived, and gadgets from science fiction films will soon be in every home in the country. So far they've been wrong-and after viewing the 'Home of the Future' exhibition, I suspect that they are still wrong. Why do I need a super-intelligent fridge or an internet- surfing mirror? I would much rather see my face clearly in an ordinary bathroom mirror than try to surf the Internet while I'm combing my hair! If only they could design a device to stop me killing all my houseplants. If they did that, then I might be interested!

2 What was the writer's reaction to the exhibition?

A He found it very interesting.

B It reminded him of a science fiction film.

C He wanted to buy the gadgets online.

D He didn't see the use of many of the inventions.

Ackerman dream homes

Since 1893, Ackerman homes have created some of the most charming neighbourhoods in the south of England. Our homes combine a sense of history with the most modern advances in home design and technology. Now you can have the opportunity to own a beautiful contemporary Ackerman home in our new development in Acreage Woods. Experience the quality, beauty and comfort of Ackerman homes, the most trusted name in home building. With spacious semi-detached and detached homes from £275,000 to £425,000, we are sure that you will find what you're looking for. So why not visit us today?

3 The purpose of the text is to

A describe a particular home.

B attract the interest of people who are looking for a new home.

C outline the history of a home builder.

D explain what makes a quality home.

2
D
datcoder
CTVVIP
17 tháng 11 2023

Lời giải:

1. C

2. D

3. B

1. C

Điều gì là đúng về cảm xúc của người phụ nữ khi bước vào nhà?

A. Cô nhận ra rằng cô đã nhớ nhà cũ của mình.

B. Cô ấy rất vui khi trở về nhà.

C. Cô ấy buồn về tình trạng của ngôi nhà. Ngôi nhà tương lai?

D. Cô ấy buồn về tình trạng của ngôi nhà.

Thông tin: As she stepped into the hall after nearly thirty years of absence, she realised at once that she shouldn't have come back.

(Khi bước vào sảnh sau gần ba mươi năm vắng bóng, cô ấy nhận ra ngay rằng mình không nên quay lại.)

2. D

Phản ứng của nhà văn đối với cuộc triển lãm là gì?

A. Anh ấy thấy nó rất thú vị.

B. Nó làm anh ấy nhớ đến một bộ phim khoa học viễn tưởng.

C. Anh ấy muốn mua các tiện ích trực tuyến.

D. Anh ấy không thấy việc sử dụng của nhiều phát minh.

Thông tin: I suspect that they are still wrong. Why do I need a super-intelligent fridge or an internet- surfing mirror?

(Tôi nghi ngờ rằng chúng vẫn sai. Tại sao tôi cần một chiếc tủ lạnh siêu thông minh hay một chiếc gương lướt web?)

3. B

Mục đích của văn bản là để

A. mô tả một ngôi nhà cụ thể.

B. thu hút sự quan tâm của những người đang tìm kiếm một ngôi nhà mới.

C. sơ lược về lịch sử của người xây nhà.

D. giải thích điều gì tạo nên một ngôi nhà chất lượng.

Thông tin: With spacious semi-detached and detached homes from £275,000 to £425,000, we are sure that you will find what you're looking for.

(Với những ngôi nhà liền kề và liền kề rộng rãi từ £275.000 đến £425.000, chúng tôi chắc chắn rằng bạn sẽ tìm thấy những gì bạn đang tìm kiếm.)

D
datcoder
CTVVIP
17 tháng 11 2023

Tạm dịch:

Quay ngược thời gian

Khi bước vào hội trường sau gần ba mươi năm vắng bóng, cô nhận ra ngay rằng mình không nên quay lại. Mùi khói gỗ, đá ẩm và giấy cũ kỹ mang quá khứ trở lại mạnh mẽ đến nỗi nó gần như đánh bật cô ra sau. Ngay lập tức cô cảm thấy mình như một cô gái trẻ, cô đơn và sợ hãi trong nhà. Cô nhớ mình đã cảm thấy rất, rất lạnh - không phải vì ẩm ướt và nhiệt độ gần như đóng băng, mà vì một cuộc sống mới khủng khiếp đang bắt đầu. Và cô không thể làm gì để ngăn chặn nó.

Ngôi nhà tương lai?

Cứ sau vài năm, những người theo dõi xu hướng lại nói với chúng tôi rằng ngôi nhà của tương lai đã đến và các thiết bị từ các bộ phim khoa học viễn tưởng sẽ sớm có mặt trong mọi gia đình trên cả nước. Cho đến nay họ đã sai - và sau khi xem triển lãm 'Ngôi nhà của tương lai', tôi nghi ngờ rằng họ vẫn còn sai. Tại sao tôi cần một chiếc tủ lạnh siêu thông minh hay một chiếc gương lướt web? Tôi thà nhìn rõ mặt mình trong một chiếc gương phòng tắm thông thường còn hơn là cố gắng lướt Internet trong khi đang chải đầu! Giá như họ có thể thiết kế một thiết bị để ngăn tôi giết tất cả cây trồng trong nhà. Nếu họ đã làm điều đó, thì tôi có thể quan tâm!

Ackerman ngôi nhà mơ ước

Kể từ năm 1893, những ngôi nhà của Ackerman đã tạo ra một số khu dân cư duyên dáng nhất ở miền nam nước Anh. Những ngôi nhà của chúng tôi kết hợp cảm giác lịch sử với những tiến bộ hiện đại nhất trong thiết kế và công nghệ nhà ở. Giờ đây, bạn có thể có cơ hội sở hữu một ngôi nhà Ackerman hiện đại tuyệt đẹp trong khu phát triển mới của chúng tôi ở Acreage Woods. Trải nghiệm chất lượng, vẻ đẹp và sự thoải mái của những ngôi nhà Ackerman, cái tên đáng tin cậy nhất trong lĩnh vực xây dựng nhà ở. Với những ngôi nhà liền kề và liền kề rộng rãi từ £275.000 đến £425.000, chúng tôi chắc chắn rằng bạn sẽ tìm thấy những gì bạn đang tìm kiếm. Vậy tại sao không ghé thăm chúng tôi ngày hôm nay?

Read the article and answer the questions.1 What was her great interest as a young girl?2 What is Silent Spring about?Rachel Carson, an ecologist, a biologist, and a writer, was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. As a small girl, she was an avid reader and soon showed a keen interest in the natural world and writing. 1_________ She graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University) in 1929, studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, and received her MA in...
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Read the article and answer the questions.

1 What was her great interest as a young girl?

2 What is Silent Spring about?

Rachel Carson, an ecologist, a biologist, and a writer, was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. As a small girl, she was an avid reader and soon showed a keen interest in the natural world and writing. 1_________ She graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University) in 1929, studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, and received her MA in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.

Initially, Rachel Carson worked for the US Bureau of Fisheries as a part-time science writer. 2_________ She then spent the next few years serving as a marine scientist and editor for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. There, she became famous for her writings on environmental pollution and the natural history of the sea, 3_________ Climate change, rising sea-levels, melting Arctic glaciers, decreasing animal populations are part of her work. In her most influential book, Silent Spring (1962), Rachel Carson strongly disapproved of the widespread use of pesticides such as DDT. 4_________

and called for new policies to protect humans and the environment. She then was criticised by the chemical industry and some government officials, but never gave up. 5_________ Additionally, it helped spark the environmental movement, resulting in the establishment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. That's why she was called the mother of modern ecology.

Rachel Carson died of breast cancer in 1964. However, her work continues to inspire new generations to protect all the living world.

1
D
datcoder
CTVVIP
18 tháng 11 2023

1 What was her great interest as a young girl?

(Mối quan tâm lớn của cô ấy khi còn là một cô gái trẻ là gì?)

the natural world and writing.

Thông tin: “As a small girl, she was an avid reader and soon showed a keen interest in the natural world and writing.”

(Khi còn là một cô gái nhỏ, cô ấy là một người ham đọc sách và sớm thể hiện sự quan tâm sâu sắc đến thế giới tự nhiên và viết lách.)

2 What is Silent Spring about?

(Silent Spring nói về cái gì?)

Disapproved of the widespread use of pesticides and called for new policies to protect humans and the environment.

(không tán thành việc sử dụng rộng rãi thuốc trừ sâu và kêu gọi các chính sách mới để bảo vệ con người và môi trường.)

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.MARIA’S HOMECOMINGWhen the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t...
Đọc tiếp

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

MARIA’S HOMECOMING

When the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t believe it! Here I am, I’m really standing in the square.” Santa Teresa was Maria’s birthplace, but she often left the town at the age of six. She had some ... (9) ... of the town, and some photos, but did she belong here still? She didn’t know. Nobody was waiting in the square. Perhaps her cousin Pablo hadn’t received Maria’s letter. “What are we going to do now?” asked Martin. “There isn’t ... (10) ... a hotel here!”

Question 7:

Aexpecting

Bwaiting

Cwelcoming

D. receiving

1
14 tháng 4 2018

Đáp án: B

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.MARIA’S HOMECOMINGWhen the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t...
Đọc tiếp

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

MARIA’S HOMECOMING

When the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t believe it! Here I am, I’m really standing in the square.” Santa Teresa was Maria’s birthplace, but she often left the town at the age of six. She had some ... (9) ... of the town, and some photos, but did she belong here still? She didn’t know. Nobody was waiting in the square. Perhaps her cousin Pablo hadn’t received Maria’s letter. “What are we going to do now?” asked Martin. “There isn’t ... (10) ... a hotel here!”

Question 10:

A. even

B. hardly

C. too

D. very

1
15 tháng 1 2019

Đáp án: A

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.MARIA’S HOMECOMINGWhen the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t...
Đọc tiếp

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

MARIA’S HOMECOMING

When the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t believe it! Here I am, I’m really standing in the square.” Santa Teresa was Maria’s birthplace, but she often left the town at the age of six. She had some ... (9) ... of the town, and some photos, but did she belong here still? She didn’t know. Nobody was waiting in the square. Perhaps her cousin Pablo hadn’t received Maria’s letter. “What are we going to do now?” asked Martin. “There isn’t ... (10) ... a hotel here!”

Question 8:

A. was living

B. have lived

C. live

D. am living

1
3 tháng 5 2019

Đáp án: A

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.MARIA’S HOMECOMINGWhen the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t...
Đọc tiếp

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

MARIA’S HOMECOMING

When the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t believe it! Here I am, I’m really standing in the square.” Santa Teresa was Maria’s birthplace, but she often left the town at the age of six. She had some ... (9) ... of the town, and some photos, but did she belong here still? She didn’t know. Nobody was waiting in the square. Perhaps her cousin Pablo hadn’t received Maria’s letter. “What are we going to do now?” asked Martin. “There isn’t ... (10) ... a hotel here!”

Question 6:

A. reached

B. got

C. stooped

D. came

1
16 tháng 5 2019

Đáp án: C

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.MARIA’S HOMECOMINGWhen the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t...
Đọc tiếp

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

MARIA’S HOMECOMING

When the bus ... (6) ... in a small square, Maria was reading her magazine and didn’t realize that she had arrived at her destination. “This is Santa Teresa,” Martin said. “You’ve arrived home!” I suppose your cousin will be ... (7) ... for us. Come on. I’ll carry the bags.” Maria thought, “All those years when I ... (8) ... in New York, I used to dream if this moment. And now it’s real, I can’t believe it! Here I am, I’m really standing in the square.” Santa Teresa was Maria’s birthplace, but she often left the town at the age of six. She had some ... (9) ... of the town, and some photos, but did she belong here still? She didn’t know. Nobody was waiting in the square. Perhaps her cousin Pablo hadn’t received Maria’s letter. “What are we going to do now?” asked Martin. “There isn’t ... (10) ... a hotel here!”

Question 9:

A. recall

B. memories

C. thinking

D. remembering

1
28 tháng 8 2018

Đáp án: B

The Penny Black It might not have looked very impressive, but the Penny Black, now 170 years old, was the first stamp to be created and it launched the modem postal system in Britain. Before 1840 and the arrival of the Penny Black, you had to be rich and patient to use the Royal Mail. Delivery was charged according to the miles travelled and the number of sheets of paper used; a 2-page letter sent from Edinburgh to London, for example, would have cost 2 shillings, or more than £7 in today’s...
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The Penny Black

It might not have looked very impressive, but the Penny Black, now 170 years old, was the first stamp to be created and it launched the modem postal system in Britain.

Before 1840 and the arrival of the Penny Black, you had to be rich and patient to use the Royal Mail. Delivery was charged according to the miles travelled and the number of sheets of paper used; a 2-page letter sent from Edinburgh to London, for example, would have cost 2 shillings, or more than £7 in today’s money. And when the top-hatted letter carrier came to deliver it, it was the recipient who had to pay for the postage. Letter writers employed various ruses to reduce the cost, doing everything possible to cram more words onto a page. Nobody bothered with heavy envelopes; instead, letters would be folded and sealed with wax. You then had to find a post office - there were no pillar boxes - and hope your addressee didn't live in one of the several rural areas which were not served by the system. If you were lucky, your letter would arrive (it could take days) without being read or censored.

The state of mail had been causing concern throughout the 1830s, but it was Rowland Hill, an inventor, teacher and social reformer from Kidderminster, who proposed a workable plan for change. Worried that a dysfunctional, costly service would stifle communication just as Britain was in the swing of its second industrial revolution, he believed reform would ease the distribution of ideas and stimulate trade and business, delivering the same promise as the new railways.

Hill’s proposal for the penny post, which meant any letter weighing less than half an ounce (14 grams) could be sent anywhere in Britain for about 30p in today’s money, was so radical that the Postmaster General, Lord Lichfield, said, 'Of all the wild and visionary schemes which I ever heard of, it is the most extravagant.’ Lord Lichfield spoke for an establishment not convinced of the need for poor people to post anything. But merchants and reformers backed Hill. Soon the government told him to make his scheme work. And that meant inventing a new type of currency.

Hill quickly settled on 'a bit of paper covered at the back with a glutinous wash which the user might, by applying a little moisture, attach to the back of a letter’. Stamps would be printed in sheets of 240 that could be cut using scissors or a knife. Perforations would not arrive until 1854. The idea stuck, and in August 1839 the Treasury launched a design competition open to ‘all artists, men of science and the public in general’. The new stamp would need to be resistant to forgery, and so it was a submission by one Mr Cheverton that Hill used as the basis for one of the most striking designs in history. Cheverton, who worked as a sculptor and an engineer, determined that a portrait of Queen Victoria, engraved for a commemorative coin when she was a 15-year-old princess, was detailed enough to make copying difficult, and recognisable enough to make fakes easy to spot. The words ‘Postage’ and ‘One Penny’ were added alongside flourishes and ornamental stars. Nobody thought to add the word ‘Britain’, as it was assumed that the stamps would solely be put to domestic use.

With the introduction of the new postal system, the Penny Black was an instant hit, and printers struggled to meet demand. By the end of 1840, more than 160 million letters had been sent - more than double the previous year. It created more work for the post office, whose reform continued with the introduction of red letter boxes, new branches and more frequent deliveries, even to the remotest address, but its lasting impact on society was more remarkable.

Hill and his supporters rightly predicted that cheaper post would improve the ‘diffusion of knowledge’. Suddenly, someone in Scotland could be reached by someone in London within a day or two. And as literacy improved, sections of society that had been disenfranchised found a voice.

Tristram Hunt, an historian, values the ‘flourishing of correspondence’ that followed the arrival of stamps. ‘While I was writing my biography of Friedrich Engels I could read the letters he and Marx sent between Manchester and London,’ he says. ‘They wrote to each other three times a day, pinging ideas back and forth so that you can almost follow a real-time correspondence.’

The penny post also changed the nature of the letter. Weight-saving tricks such as cross-writing began to die out, while the arrival of envelopes built confidence among correspondents that mail would not be stolen or read. And so people wrote more private things - politically or commercially sensitive information or love letters. ‘In the early days of the penny post, there was still concern about theft,’ Hunt says. ‘Engels would still send Marx money by ripping up five-pound notes and sending the pieces in different letters.’ But the probity of the postal system became a great thing and it came to be expected that your mail would not be tampered with.

For all its brilliance, the Penny Black was technically a failure. At first, post offices used red ink to cancel stamps so that they could not be used again. But the ink could be removed. When in 1842, it was determined that black ink would be more robust, the colour of the Penny Black became a sort of browny red, but Hill’s brainchild had made its mark.

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. One of the characteristics of the postal service before the 1840s was that

A. postmen were employed by various organisations.
B. letters were restricted to a certain length.
C. distance affected the price of postage.
D. the price of delivery kept going up.

2. Letter writers in the 1830s

A. were not responsible for the cost of delivery.
B. tried to fit more than one letter into an envelope.
C. could only send letters to people living in cities.
D. knew all letters were automatically read by postal staff.

3. What does the text say about Hill in the 1830s?

A. He was the first person to express concern about the postal system.
B. He considered it would be more efficient for mail to be delivered by rail.
C. He felt that postal service reform was necessary for commercial development.
D. His plan received support from all the important figures of the day.

3
30 tháng 7 2019
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. One of the characteristics of the postal service before the 1840s was that

A. postmen were employed by various organisations.
B. letters were restricted to a certain length.
C. distance affected the price of postage.
D. the price of delivery kept going up.

2. Letter writers in the 1830s

A. were not responsible for the cost of delivery.
B. tried to fit more than one letter into an envelope.
C. could only send letters to people living in cities.
D. knew all letters were automatically read by postal staff.

3. What does the text say about Hill in the 1830s?

A. He was the first person to express concern about the postal system.
B. He considered it would be more efficient for mail to be delivered by rail.
C. He felt that postal service reform was necessary for commercial development.
D. His plan received support from all the important figures of the day.

30 tháng 7 2019
The Penny Black

It might not have looked very impressive, but the Penny Black, now 170 years old, was the first stamp to be created and it launched the modem postal system in Britain.

Before 1840 and the arrival of the Penny Black, you had to be rich and patient to use the Royal Mail. Delivery was charged according to the miles travelled and the number of sheets of paper used; a 2-page letter sent from Edinburgh to London, for example, would have cost 2 shillings, or more than £7 in today’s money. And when the top-hatted letter carrier came to deliver it, it was the recipient who had to pay for the postage. Letter writers employed various ruses to reduce the cost, doing everything possible to cram more words onto a page. Nobody bothered with heavy envelopes; instead, letters would be folded and sealed with wax. You then had to find a post office - there were no pillar boxes - and hope your addressee didn't live in one of the several rural areas which were not served by the system. If you were lucky, your letter would arrive (it could take days) without being read or censored.

The state of mail had been causing concern throughout the 1830s, but it was Rowland Hill, an inventor, teacher and social reformer from Kidderminster, who proposed a workable plan for change. Worried that a dysfunctional, costly service would stifle communication just as Britain was in the swing of its second industrial revolution, he believed reform would ease the distribution of ideas and stimulate trade and business, delivering the same promise as the new railways.

Hill’s proposal for the penny post, which meant any letter weighing less than half an ounce (14 grams) could be sent anywhere in Britain for about 30p in today’s money, was so radical that the Postmaster General, Lord Lichfield, said, 'Of all the wild and visionary schemes which I ever heard of, it is the most extravagant.’ Lord Lichfield spoke for an establishment not convinced of the need for poor people to post anything. But merchants and reformers backed Hill. Soon the government told him to make his scheme work. And that meant inventing a new type of currency.

Hill quickly settled on 'a bit of paper covered at the back with a glutinous wash which the user might, by applying a little moisture, attach to the back of a letter’. Stamps would be printed in sheets of 240 that could be cut using scissors or a knife. Perforations would not arrive until 1854. The idea stuck, and in August 1839 the Treasury launched a design competition open to ‘all artists, men of science and the public in general’. The new stamp would need to be resistant to forgery, and so it was a submission by one Mr Cheverton that Hill used as the basis for one of the most striking designs in history. Cheverton, who worked as a sculptor and an engineer, determined that a portrait of Queen Victoria, engraved for a commemorative coin when she was a 15-year-old princess, was detailed enough to make copying difficult, and recognisable enough to make fakes easy to spot. The words ‘Postage’ and ‘One Penny’ were added alongside flourishes and ornamental stars. Nobody thought to add the word ‘Britain’, as it was assumed that the stamps would solely be put to domestic use.

With the introduction of the new postal system, the Penny Black was an instant hit, and printers struggled to meet demand. By the end of 1840, more than 160 million letters had been sent - more than double the previous year. It created more work for the post office, whose reform continued with the introduction of red letter boxes, new branches and more frequent deliveries, even to the remotest address, but its lasting impact on society was more remarkable.

Hill and his supporters rightly predicted that cheaper post would improve the ‘diffusion of knowledge’. Suddenly, someone in Scotland could be reached by someone in London within a day or two. And as literacy improved, sections of society that had been disenfranchised found a voice.

Tristram Hunt, an historian, values the ‘flourishing of correspondence’ that followed the arrival of stamps. ‘While I was writing my biography of Friedrich Engels I could read the letters he and Marx sent between Manchester and London,’ he says. ‘They wrote to each other three times a day, pinging ideas back and forth so that you can almost follow a real-time correspondence.’

The penny post also changed the nature of the letter. Weight-saving tricks such as cross-writing began to die out, while the arrival of envelopes built confidence among correspondents that mail would not be stolen or read. And so people wrote more private things - politically or commercially sensitive information or love letters. ‘In the early days of the penny post, there was still concern about theft,’ Hunt says. ‘Engels would still send Marx money by ripping up five-pound notes and sending the pieces in different letters.’ But the probity of the postal system became a great thing and it came to be expected that your mail would not be tampered with.

For all its brilliance, the Penny Black was technically a failure. At first, post offices used red ink to cancel stamps so that they could not be used again. But the ink could be removed. When in 1842, it was determined that black ink would be more robust, the colour of the Penny Black became a sort of browny red, but Hill’s brainchild had made its mark.

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. One of the characteristics of the postal service before the 1840s was that

A. postmen were employed by various organisations.
B. letters were restricted to a certain length.
C. distance affected the price of postage.
D. the price of delivery kept going up.

2. Letter writers in the 1830s

A. were not responsible for the cost of delivery.
B. tried to fit more than one letter into an envelope.
C. could only send letters to people living in cities.
D. knew all letters were automatically read by postal staff.

3. What does the text say about Hill in the 1830s?

A. He was the first person to express concern about the postal system.
B. He considered it would be more efficient for mail to be delivered by rail.
C. He felt that postal service reform was necessary for commercial development.
D. His plan received support from all the important figures of the day.