R5.T.

Score in number: ……………. Scorer 1: ………………..….....

Detached No.
Score in letter: ……………….
Scorer 2: ………………….

I. Reading the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to
each of the questions from 1 to 10:

In the early days of the United States, postal charges were paid by the recipient and charges varied
with the distance carried. In 1825, the United States Congress permitted local postmasters to give
letters to mail carriers for home delivery, but these carriers received no government salary and
their entire compensation on what they were paid by the recipients of individual letters.

In 1847 the United States Post Office Department adopted the idea of a postage stamp, which of
course simplified the payment for postal service but caused grumbling by those who did not like to
prepay. Besides, the stamp covered only delivery to the post office and did not include carrying it
to a private address. In Philadelphia, for example, with a population of 150,000, people still had to
go to the post office to get their mail. The confusion and congestion of individual citizens looking
for their letters was itself enough to discourage use of the mail. It is no wonder that, during the
years of these cumbersome arrangements, private letter-carrying and express businesses
developed. Although their activities were only semilegal, they thrived, and actually advertised that
between Boston and Philadelphia they were a half-day speedier than the government mail. The
government postal service lost volume to private competition and was not able to handle
efficiently even the business it had.

Finally, in 1863, Congress provided that the mail carriers who delivered the mail from the post
offices to private addresses should receive a government salary, and that there should be no extra
charge for that delivery. But this delivery service was at first confined to cities, and free home
delivery became a mark of urbanism. As late as 1887, a town had to have 10,000 people to be
eligible for free home delivery. In 1890, of the 75 million people in the United States. Fewer than
20 million had mail delivered free to their doors. The rest, nearly three-quarters of the population,
still received no mail unless they went to their post office.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The increased use of private mail services.
B. The development of a government postal system.
C. A comparison of urban and rural postal services.
D. The history of postage stamps.

2. The word "varied" could best be replaced by _________

A. increased. B. differed.
C. returned. D. started.

3. Which of the following was seen as a disadvantage of the postage stamp?

A. It had to be purchased by the sender in advance.
B. It increased the cost of mail delivery.
C. It was difficult to affix to letters.
D. It was easy to counterfeit.

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4. The word "cumbersome" is closest in meaning to ________

A. burdensome. B. handsome.
C. loathsome. D. quarrelsome.

5. The word "they" refers to _________

A. Boston and Philadelphia B. businesses
C. arrangements D. letters

6. The private postal services of the nineteenth century claimed that they could do which of
the following better than the government?
A. Deliver a higher volume of mail.
B. Deliver mail more cheaply.
C. Deliver mail faster.
D. Deliver mail to rural areas.

7. In 1863 the United States government began providing which of the following to mail
carriers?
A. A salary B. Housing
C. Transportation D. Free postage stamps

8. The word "confined" is closest in meaning to

A. granted B. scheduled
C. limited D. recommended

9. The word "eligible" could best be replaced by __________.

A. intangible B. edible
C. preferable D. acceptabl

10. Which of the following statement is true?

A. In the past, all people liked to use postage stamps.
B. Almost all people in Philadelphia were happy with the mail service.
C. At first, free home delivery was only accessible to people in the city.
D. In 1890, 75 per cent of the US population had mail delivered free to their home.

II. Reading the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to
each of the questions
William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), who wrote under the pseudonym of O. Henry, was born in
North Carolina. His only formal education was to attend his Aunt Lina’s school until the age of
fifteen, where he developed his lifelong love of books. By 1881 he was a licensed pharmacist.
However, within a year, on the recommendation of a medical colleague of his Father’s, Porter
moved to La Salle County in Texas for two years herding sheep. During this time, Webster’s
Unabridged Dictionary was his constant companion, and Porter gained a knowledge of ranch life
that he later incorporated into many of his short stories. He then moved to Austin for three years,
and during this time the first recorded use of his pseudonym appeared, allegedly derived from
his habit of calling “Oh, Henry” to a family cat. In 1887, Porter married Athol Estes. He worked

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as a draftsman, then as a bank teller for the First National Bank.

In 1894 Porter founded his own humor weekly, the “Rolling Stone”, a venture that failed within
a year, and later wrote a column for the Houston Daily Post. In the meantime, the First National
Bank was examined, and the subsequent indictment of 1886 stated that Porter had embezzled
funds. Porter then fled to New Orleans, and later to Honduras, leaving his wife and child in
Austin. He returned in 1897 because of his wife’s continued ill-health, however she died six
months later. Then, in 1898 Porter was found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment in
Ohio. At the age of thirty five, he entered prison as a defeated man; he had lost his job, his home,
his wife, and finally his freedom. He emerged from prison three years later, reborn as O. Henry,
the pseudonym he now used to hide his true identity. He wrote at least twelve stories in jail, and
after re-gaining his freedom, went to New York City, where he published more than 300 stories
and gained fame as America’s favorite short Story writer. Porter married again in 1907, but after
months of poor health, he died in New York City at the age of forty-eight in 1910. O. Henry’s
stories have been translated all over the world.

21. According to the passage, Porter’s Father was ___________.

A. the person who gave him a life-long love of books

B. a medical doctor

C. a licensed pharmacist

D. responsible for his move to La Salle County in Texas

22. Why did the author write the passage?

A. to outline the career of a famous American

B. because of his fame as America’s favorite short story writer

C. because it is a tragic story of a gifted writer

D. to outline the influences on O. Henry’s writing

23. The word “imprisonment” in paragraph 2 is closet in meaning to _________.

A. captivity B. escape C. insult D. punishment

24. What is the passage primarily about?

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A. The life and career of William Sydney Porter.

B. The way to adopt a nickname.

C. O.Henry’s influence on American literature.

D. The adventures of O.Henry.

25. The author implies which of the following is true?

A. Porter’s wife might have lived longer if he had not left her in Austin when he fled.

B. Porter was in poor health throughout his life.

C. O. Henry is as popular in many other countries as he is in America.

D. Porter would probably have written less stories if he had not been in prison for three years.

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