雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Today we're going to discuss the history of the postal service. In the 19th century, the introduction of the penny post in Britain revolutionized communication. Before that, the recipient, not the sender, paid for the mail, which was often too expensive for ordinary people. The reform, led by Rowland Hill in 1840, made prepaid stamps affordable for everyone. Interestingly, the first adhesive stamp, the Penny Black, featured a portrait of Queen Victoria. This simple change increased mail volume dramatically, but it also created a new problem: how to handle the growing number of letters efficiently.