Question 22-31
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.
22. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(a) How Post Office Trains handled the mail without stopping
(b) The skills of experienced clerks
(c) How the mail cranes exchanged the mail
(d) Improvements in mail handling and delivery
23. The word “underpinned” in line 1 is closest in meaning to
(a) lowered
(b) underlain
(c) obliged
(d) required
24. The public expects the following three services in handling and delivery of mail except
(a) confidentiality
(b) timeliness
(c) safety
(d) accuracy
25. According to the passage, the Railway Mail Service commenced in
(a) 1832
(b) 1842
(c) 1874
(d) 1905
26. Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph
(a) Mail was often lost or damaged as it was exchanged on the mail crane
(b) There was a high turnover of railway mail clerks
(c) The development of the mailroads during the second half of the 19th century enabled Post Office Department to focus on timeliness
(d) The Post Office Department was more concerned about speeding up mail delivery than the safety of its clerks
27. The word “elite” in line14 is closest in meaning to
(a) superior
(b) majority
(c) more capable
(d) leader
28. Which of the following is true, according to the passage
(a) The clerk booted out the outgoing mailbag before snatching the incoming bag
(b) Clerks couldn’t often see what they were doing
(c) The Railway Mail clerk’s job was considered elite because it was safe and exciting
(d) Despite their success railway mail clerks only handled a small proportion of all non-local mail
29. In line 18, the word “they” refers to
(a) trains
(b) Postal Service’s employees
(c) Mailbags
(d) Experience clerks
30. The word “glitches” in line 20 can be replaced by
(a) accidents
(b) blames
(c) advantages
(d) problems
31. Where in the passage does the author first mention the dangers of the Post Office clerk’s job?
(a) Lines 5-9
(b) Lines 10-14
(c) Lines 15-19
(d) Lines 20-23