背诵为王 第 二 册 第 26 课

Lesson26 The First Stamp
Have you ever mailed letters to your friends? If so， you must have putstamps on the letters before you sent them． So how did people receiveletters before stamps were invented， and who came up with the idea of usingstamps?
In the past， stamps and envelopes were not used． When people wanted tosend a letter， they would close the paper with a seal． The person who gotthe letter had to pay for it and the cost was very high． Because of this，some senders would often place secret marks on the outside of the letter．The person who was sent the letter would read the secret message． Then， hewould refuse to accept the letter so as to avoid the payment¹．In Britain， Sir Rowland Hill introduced the “Post Office Reforms” in 1837． He decided² that letters could go to any place in the country for a penny³． The cost was to be paid by the sender by placing a small piece of blackpaper on the letter． Thus was born the first stamp in the world and wasknown for its nickname⁴ “Penny Black”．

seal   图章

第一张邮票
你曾给朋友寄过信吗？如果寄过，那你一定在寄信之前在信封上贴上了邮票。那在邮票发明过去人们不使用邮票和信封。当人们想寄信时，他们会在信纸上盖封口章。收到信的人得付钱而且费用非常昂贵。正因如此，有些寄信的人通常在信外面标上特殊的记号，收信人会读懂这个特殊的记号，然后他就拒绝收信，免付邮费。
1837年，罗兰希尔先生在英国倡导了“邮政改革”。他提出只要付一便士，信就可以寄到英国任何地方。费用由寄信人通过在信上粘贴一张黑色小纸支付。这样世界上第一张邮票就诞生了，人们昵称它为“黑便士”。

1 payment   

n.付款，支付，偿还，偿还，报应

参考例句：

• I gave ten pounds in payment for the goods I bought.我买那些东西付了10英镑。
• This last payment will wipe out your debt to me.这最后一笔付款将了结你欠我的债务。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 penny   

n.（英）便士，美分

参考例句：

• I will not lent you a penny.我一便士都不愿借给你。
• Sugar has risen a penny a pound.糖价每磅涨了1便士。

4 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？