Today we take it for
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that the mail will be delivered (送) daily at our door. But many years ago it might have been
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under a rock. In the early days of the mail no one could be sure where—or when—the letters would
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.
At the southern tip (顶端) of Africa there
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once a post office under a rock. In the old days ships which went from England to India would pass the Cape of Good Hope (好望角). The journey was stormy and dangerous. It
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six long months. Sailors often wished to send
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home, but they seldom met ships which went back to England.
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at the cape the sailors would go ashore. They
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for a certain large stone. On the
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sailors could see the following words "Look here under the stone for letters." They would leave their letters there, knowing that the next homeward-bound (开往家乡的) ship would stop and
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them up.