雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Good morning, everyone. Today we're going to discuss the history of the postal service. Many people assume that the first stamps were issued in the UK in 1840, which is true. However, the idea of prepaying postage actually came from a school teacher named Rowland Hill. He suggested that the sender, not the receiver, should pay for the mail. This was a revolutionary change because previously, the cost was often high and unpredictable. Hill's proposal led to the introduction of the Penny Black, the world's first adhesive stamp. Interestingly, the stamp featured a portrait of Queen Victoria and was printed in sheets of 240, each with a different corner letter to prevent forgery. Despite its fame, the Penny Black was only in use for one year because the red cancellation mark was difficult to see on it, so it was replaced by the Penny Red.