本文介绍了美国邮政业的发展现状，是属于文化背景知识方面的选材．在高考试卷阅读理解题中有介绍美国飞机、地铁业发展现状的背景材料，这是极力提倡的选材，平时应多看这方面的原文材料，以扩展自己的知识水平．

　　Every town in the United Sates has a post office. Some are very small, and you may also find them in the corner of a shop. Others are large buildings. They are open five days a week and Saturday mornings. From Monday through Friday they are usually open from 8:30 to 4:30.

　　If you know how much the postage(邮资) is for your letter, you can buy stamps at any window. In some post offices you can buy stamps from machines. Stamps are sold at many different prices, from one cent(美分) to many dollars. 1f you are not sure how much postage is for your letter, you may ask the man or the woman in the post office for help. He or she will give you the stamps you need. If you are sending your letters far away, you should use airmail envelopes(航空信封). Remember that postage will be more expensive for a letter to be sent outside the country.

　　At a post office you can also buy postcards. A postcard is cheaper than a letter. Usually the price of postage for a postcard is about half that of a letter. The postcards that you buy at a post office do not have pictures. However, also they are not to be sent outside the country.

　　Letters are an easy and cheap way to keep in touch with people in many different countries.

1．The passage tells us that we can find ________ easily in the United States of America.

[　　]

2．The post offices in the United States are open ________.

[　　]

3．If you are not sure how much postage is for your letter, you can ________.

[　　]

A．go and buy stamps from the machine in the post office

B．send a cheap postcard instead of your letter

C．get in touch with somebody you know in the post office

D．ask the man or the woman in the post office for help

4．The price of postage for ________ is more expensive.

[　　]

A．a beautiful postcard

B．a letter written on envelope

C．a letter by airmail

D．a postcard with pictures

5．The passage tells us something about ________ in the USA.

[　　]

Dear friend,
I am an American (美国的 ) girl. My name is Alice Green. I am a middle school student. I am fifteen. I have two brothers. They are middle school students, too. We go to school from Monday to Friday. We don't have any classes on Saturdays and Sundays. My father and mother are teachers. They always say China is great. I like reading. I am reading a Chinese book. I think it's very interesting. My brothers and I like playing football and basketball. What sports do you like?
Let's be good pen pals (笔友), OK? Please write to me soon.
Yours,
Alice Green
【小题1】How old is Alice Green?

Dear friend,

I am an American (美国的 ) girl. My name is Alice Green. I am a middle school student. I am fifteen. I have two brothers. They are middle school students, too. We go to school from Monday to Friday. We don't have any classes on Saturdays and Sundays. My father and mother are teachers. They always say China is great. I like reading. I am reading a Chinese book. I think it's very interesting. My brothers and I like playing football and basketball. What sports do you like?

Let's be good pen pals (笔友), OK? Please write to me soon.

Yours,

Alice Green

1.How old is Alice Green?

A. 13. B. 14. C. 15. D. 16.

2.When do they go to school?

A. They go to school from Saturday to Friday.

B. They go to school from Monday to Saturday.

C. They go to school on weekends.

D. They go to school from Monday to Friday.

3. What do Alice and her brother like?

A. Reading books. B. Playing soccer and basketball.

C. Writing to pen pals. D. Playing computer games.

4.Why does Alice Green write this letter?

A. Because she wants to come to China.

B. Because she wants to make a pen pal in China.

C. Because she likes reading Chinese books.

D. Because her mother asks her to do.