雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Good morning, class. Today we're going to discuss the history of the postal service. As you know, the first modern postal system was established in Britain in the 19th century by Rowland Hill. He introduced the penny post in 1840, which allowed letters to be sent for just one penny, regardless of distance. However, what many people don't realize is that the idea of prepaid postage stamps was not initially popular. In fact, Hill had to convince the government that people would buy stamps in advance. The first stamp, the Penny Black, was issued in May 1840, but it was only valid for one day because the red cancellation ink was hard to see on the black stamp. So, the stamp was quickly replaced by the Penny Red.