Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions. The handling and delivery of mail has always been a serious business, underpinned by the trust of the public in requiring timeliness, safety, and confidentiality. After early beginnings using horseback and stagecoach, and although cars and trucks later replaced stagecoaches and wagons, the Railway Mail Service still stands as one of America’s...
Đọc tiếp
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
The handling and delivery of mail has always been a serious business, underpinned by the trust of the public in requiring timeliness, safety, and confidentiality. After early beginnings using horseback and stagecoach, and although cars and trucks later replaced stagecoaches and wagons, the Railway Mail Service still stands as one of America’s most resourceful and exciting postal innovations. This service began in 1832, but grew slowly until the Civil War. Then from 1862, by sorting the mail on board moving trains, the Post Office Department was able to decentralize its operations as railroads began to crisscross the nation on a regular basis, and speed up mail delivery. This service lasted until 1974. During peak decades of service, railway mail clerks handled 93% of all non-local mail and by 1905 the service had over 12,000 employees.
Railway Post Office trains used a system of mail cranes to exchange mail at stations without stopping. As a train approached the crane, a clerk prepared the catcher arm which would then snatch the incoming mailbag in the blink of an eye. The clerk then booted out the outgoing mailbag. Experienced clerks were considered the elite of the Postal Service’s employees, and spoke with pride of making the switch at night with nothing but the curves and feel of the track to warn them of an upcoming catch. They also worked under the greatest pressure and their jobs were considered to be exhausting and dangerous. In addition to regular demands of their jobs they could find themselves the victims of train wrecks and robberies.
As successful as it was, “mail-on-the-fly” still had its share of glitches. If they hoisted the train’s catcher arm too soon, they risked hitting switch targets, telegraph poles or semaphores, which would rip the catcher arm off the train. Too late, and they would miss an exchange.
What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. How the mail cranes exchanged the mail.
B. Improvements in mail handling and delivery
C. How Post Office Trains handled the mail without stopping.
D. The skills of experienced clerks.
Bài tham khảo
Dear Sir / Madam,
I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction with the service I received during my recent journey on your coach service. My experience was extremely disappointing and I feel that your company needs to make significant improvements to its services.
Firstly, the coach was delayed for over an hour without any prior communication from the company. The lack of information provided to passengers was unacceptable, as it left us in a state of confusion and uncertainty. Secondly, the coach was overcrowded and uncomfortable, with insufficient legroom and no ventilation. The air conditioning system was not functioning, making the journey very uncomfortable and unpleasant.
I would like to suggest that your company improves its communication with passengers, providing timely updates on any delays or changes in the schedule. Moreover, your company should invest in improving the comfort of the coaches, including adequate legroom and ventilation facilities.
I hope that you take my complaint seriously and take immediate steps to improve the services provided by your company. I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding the actions taken.
Yours sincerely,
Trang Nguyễn
Tạm dịch
Thưa ông / bà,
Tôi viết thư này để bày tỏ sự không hài lòng mạnh mẽ của mình với dịch vụ mà tôi đã nhận được trong chuyến hành trình gần đây của tôi trên dịch vụ xe khách của bạn. Trải nghiệm của tôi vô cùng đáng thất vọng và tôi cảm thấy rằng công ty của bạn cần phải cải thiện đáng kể các dịch vụ của mình.
Thứ nhất, xe khách đã bị trì hoãn hơn một giờ mà không có bất kỳ thông báo trước nào từ công ty. Việc thiếu thông tin cung cấp cho hành khách là không thể chấp nhận được, vì nó khiến chúng tôi rơi vào tình trạng bối rối và không chắc chắn. Thứ hai, xe khách quá đông đúc và không thoải mái, không đủ chỗ để chân và không có hệ thống thông gió. Hệ thống điều hòa không hoạt động khiến chuyến đi rất khó chịu và không thoải mái.
Tôi muốn đề nghị công ty của bạn cải thiện giao tiếp với hành khách, cung cấp thông tin cập nhật kịp thời về bất kỳ sự chậm trễ hoặc thay đổi nào trong lịch trình. Hơn nữa, công ty của bạn nên đầu tư vào việc cải thiện sự thoải mái của các xe khách, bao gồm cả chỗ để chân đầy đủ và các thiết bị thông gió.
Tôi hy vọng rằng bạn xem xét khiếu nại của tôi một cách nghiêm túc và thực hiện các bước ngay lập tức để cải thiện các dịch vụ do công ty của bạn cung cấp. Tôi mong muốn được nghe từ bạn sớm về các hành động được thực hiện.
Trân trọng,
Trang Nguyễn