雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Good morning, everyone. Today we're going to discuss the history of the postal service. Before the invention of the postage stamp in 1840, letters were paid for by the recipient, not the sender. This often led to problems, as people would refuse to accept letters they didn't want to pay for. The first stamp, the Penny Black, was introduced in Britain and featured a portrait of Queen Victoria. Interestingly, it was not initially popular because many people thought it was too expensive. However, it quickly became a standard method of prepayment, and other countries soon adopted similar systems.