雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Today we're going to discuss the history of the postal service. Before the 19th century, delivering letters was slow and unreliable. In Britain, the postal system was reformed by Rowland Hill in 1840. He introduced the penny post, which charged a uniform rate of one penny for any letter up to half an ounce, regardless of distance. This was a major change because previously the cost depended on how far the letter traveled. Hill's idea also included the use of postage stamps, making prepayment possible. The first stamp, the Penny Black, was issued in May 1840. Interestingly, it was printed in sheets of 240 stamps, and each stamp had to be cut from the sheet with scissors because there were no perforations yet.