摘要：The three men had to land because . A.they were very hungry B. they had not enough sand C. they pulled the box into the basket D. they felt too cold Passage 52 In a small village in England about 150 years ago, a mail coach was standing on the street. Around the coach many people were talking to one another about it. Mail coach did not come to that village so often in those days. People had to pay a lot of money to get a letter. The person who sent the letter did not have to pay. The person who got the letter had to pay the postage . “Here’s a letter for Miss Alice Brown, said the mailman. Everyone turned to a girl of about eighteen who was standing by the coach. “I’m Alice Brown, she said in a low voice. The mailman gave her the letter. Alice looked at the envelope for a minute, and then handed it back to the mailman. “I’m sorry I can’t take it, she said. “I don’t have enough money to pay the postage. The people standing around were very sorry for the girl. They were silent for a while. Then a gentleman came up to the mailman and paid the postage for Alice’s letter. When the gentleman gave her the letter, she said with a smile, “Oh, thank you very much, sir. This letter is from the young man I’m going to marry. His name is Tom. He went to London to look for work. He has to get enough money for our marriage . I’ve waited a long time for this letter, but now don’t need it. I don’t have to open the envelope because there is nothing inside. “Really? the gentleman said in surprise. “How do you know that? “He told me that he would put some signs on the envelope. Look, sir, this cross in the corner means that he is well, and this circle means he has found work. That’s very good news. The gentleman was Sir Rowland Hill. He did not forget Alice and her letter. “The postage to be paid by the receiver has to be changed, he said to himself. He thought and thought for many years. At last he had a good plan. “The postage has to be much lower, he said. “What about a penny for a letter? And the person who sends the letter pays the postage. He has to buy a stamp and put it on the envelope. “A good idea! people said when they heard of his plan. The Government decided to adopt the plan. The first postage stamp was put out in 1840. It was called the “Penny Black . It had a picture of the Queen on it.
On November 18th, 1908, three men went up in a balloon．They started early in London．The headman was Auguste Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland．They had a big balloon, and they were ready for a long way．
Soon they heard the sea below them．They were carrying the usual rope , and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon．At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box．This could hold water．Or it could be empty．So they were able to change its weight．They were also carrying some bags of sand．
After the sun rose, the balloon went higher．It went up to 3,000 meters, and the air was very cold．The water in the balloon became ice．Snow fell past the men’s basket, and they could see more snow on the ground．There was also some snow on the balloon, and that made it very heavy．It began to go down towards the ground．The men tried to throw out some more sand; but it was hard．They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy．The work was slow and they were still falling; so they had to drop some whole bags of sand．One of them fell on an icy lake below and made a black hole in the ice．
At last they pulled the box into the basket．It was still snowing; so they climbed to get away from the snow．They rose to 5,100 meters! Everything became icy．They were so cold that they decided to land．They came down in Poland heavily but safely．They had traveled 1,797 kilometers from London!