昔日文章

  Do you remember what the letter you first received was about? What was your feeling? When you excitedly wait for the post (“mail” in American English), do you ever realize how much manpower it involves? Of course, the most important person is the postman (“mailman” in American English) who carries heavy loads in the wind and rain. In the West, postmen have to deliver post even in snow and sometimes get barked at by dogs.  To ensure that your letters and parcels (“packages” in American English) can reach your friends without delay, what is the most important thing to do? Before putting it in a post box (“mailbox” in American English), the first thing to check is the addressee and the address. In Chinese, addresses are usually written with the largest locations first, followed by smaller ones. In English, this is opposite. For example: Chinese 香港堅道十六號 天主教教區中心十一樓 《喜樂少年》編輯部收   English The Editor, Joyful Youth 11th Floor, Catholic Diocese Centre 16 Caine Road Hong Kong   If a letter is sent to a foreign country, normally it is necessary to put down a postcode (“zip code” in American English) below the address. This can help the post office to speed up the processing.  Nowadays, some people call the postal system as snail mail because it is very slow in comparison with e-mail (short form of “electronic mail”) through the internet. Glossary:  Parcels:  包裹 Post box: 郵筒 Addressee: 收信人 Postcode: 郵政編碼 E-mail: 電郵（電子郵件）