首页
登录
职称英语
When did Post office in Britain employ cats? [br] [originaltext]Martin: Hi ther
When did Post office in Britain employ cats? [br] [originaltext]Martin: Hi ther
游客
2023-12-07
50
管理
问题
When did Post office in Britain employ cats? [br]
Martin: Hi there, Pat. How are you?
Pat: Fine, thanks, Martin. I haven’t seen you for a long time. What have you been up to?
Martin: Oh, studying. It seems that university life is much more time consuming than I originally thought. I don’t even have time to read newspapers.
Pat: Really? You’re so busy. You know, I read an article in yesterday’s newspaper. It is very interesting.
Martin: What’s it about?
Pat: It’s about Post Office Cats. They are mouse hunters.
Martin: That really sounds interesting. Could you tell me something about the story now?
Pat: Yes, certainly. The Post Office has actually employed cats since 1868. That means that they have been on the official payroll of the Post Office for more than a hundred years. The loyal public servants appear on the official payroll as ’Rodent Operative’. But we would more easily recognize them under the title ’Post Office Cat’. They are not employed to sort of deliver mall, of course, but to protect the mail and keep the rodent population under control.
Martin: What do you mean?
Pat: They are mouse hunters. They make sure your morning post arrives nibble-flee. You know, they work unsocial hours while we sleep. They hardly ever get a Christmas bonus in their pay packets and can’t bargain for better conditions. The average rate of pay is no more than a few pounds a month, just enough to pay for their food. But they are allowed to cat all the mice they can catch.
Martin: How come the Post Office had the idea to employ cats?
Pat: Usually the public had to queue inside post offices for their mail. The whole idea of the Post Office employing cats to control the rodent population goes back to the days prior to 1867. As a part of the Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria, it was decided that there would be a house-to-house delivery of letters by postmen. As a result, there was a huge accumulation of letters and parcels at post offices. Vast numbers of rats and mice began to hide amongst the mail and nibbled at letters and parcels.
Martin: Yes, I see. They caused great damage to the mail.
Pat: That’s right. So in 1868, The Post Office Authorities decided to employ cats to keep the rodent population under control. Most of the cats they employed were females.
Martin: Why was that?
Pat: Because it was thought that females were better and more persistent hunters than the males. If the number of mice in a post office did not decline greatly after six months, then these cats were to be dismissed from their place of work. London post offices were the first to try out the experiment. Within a few months the rodent population had shrunk dramatically. Other post offices all over the country were soon using cats in the war against rats and mice. Within ten years the pay of the cats was improved from one and a half old pence a day to a six or nine pence a day. Now the average rate of pay is about a few pounds a month. Some of the hard working cats have become quite famous. Have heard of the cat named Lucky?
Martin: No. Tell me the story about her, please.
Pat: OK. Lucky became the most distinguished of all the cats. In 1980, she foiled an attempted robbery in a Worcestershire post office and she did so all on her own.
Martin: How did she do it?
Pat: As the two burglars made their way in through the window, Lucky flew at them. She sank her claws into the back of one of the men and into the neck of the other.
Martin: Oh, I see. This was a surprise attack.
Pat: Yes. This surprise attack was too much for the men and they fled empty-handed. For this heroic behavior, Lucky was awarded the fast-ever Post Office DFC certificate. That is the Distinguished Feline Conduct certificate. Another excellent cat was Jerry, of Earls Court post office in London. He served the building for 16 years and was on duty for 24 hours every day. He drove all the mice away from the premises.
Martin: How about today? Does the Post Office still employ cats as mouse hunters?
Pat: Well, there are fewer cats employed by the Post Office than at any time in the past. Their profession is yet another example of a profession laid low by the advances of new technology. With the faster movement of the mail and more hygienic surroundings, Post Office cats are not always needed to keep down the rodent population. But many post offices still employ them and they become great friends with the postmen, who often feed them. When one cat suffered an accident at work, it promptly footed the bill. According to the Post Office, there is no plan for their services to be discontinued in the foreseeable future.
Martin: This is really a fascinating story. Thank you very much.
选项
A、They could work for 24 hours a day.
B、They were worse hunters.
C、They were more persistent hunters.
D、They worked the whole night.
答案
C
解析
转载请注明原文地址:http://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3253057.html
相关试题推荐
WhichofthefollowingtribesfirstcametoBritain?A、Anglos.B、Saxons.C、Iberia
StandarddialectisA、thelanguageemployedbythegovernmentandthejudiciarys
[originaltext]Woman:Firstofall,whendopeoplestartworkinAmericanoffice
[originaltext]Woman:Firstofall,whendopeoplestartworkinAmericanoffice
[originaltext]Woman:Firstofall,whendopeoplestartworkinAmericanoffice
[originaltext]PresidentBushsaidThursdayitisunrealistictoexpectNATO
[originaltext]PresidentBushsaidThursdayitisunrealistictoexpectNATO
[originaltext]Mike:Let’sstartbytalkingaboutyoursomewhatunusualteaching
[originaltext]Mike:Let’sstartbytalkingaboutyoursomewhatunusualteaching
[originaltext]Mike:Let’sstartbytalkingaboutyoursomewhatunusualteaching
随机试题
Alargepartofeffectiveleadershipisdependentonsomethingcalled"style
[audioFiles]2018m3x/audio_ezfj_ezflisteningd_201803_188[/audioFiles]Front
NBAcentreJasonCollinsrecentlyannouncedhewasgayinacoverstoryfor
三级安全教育是指()。<p>A企业法定代表人、项目负责人、班组长<p>B公司、项
维生素B缺乏引起的疾病有A.脂溢性皮炎 B.口角炎 C.舌炎 D.脚气病
实现流动性风险防控全覆盖既要持续监测传统的表内流动性风险指标,也要关注表内担保业
证券经营机构将自营业务与经纪业务混合操作所受到的最严厉的处罚是()。A:警告B
与口服脊髓灰质炎减毒活疫苗注意事项不符的是A.注意疫苗是否失效 B.勿用热开水
资本公积不直接反映企业所有者在企业的基本产权关系,不作为企业持续经营期间进行利润
对同一安全生产事项的技术要求,安全生产行业标准()安全生产国家标准。 A.可
最新回复
(
0
)