The handling and delivery of mail has always been a serious business, underpinned by the trust of the public in requiring timeliness, safety, and confidentiality. After early beginnings using horseback and stagecoach, and although cars and trucks later replaced stagecoaches and wagons, the Railway Mail Service still stands as one of America’s most resourceful and exciting postal innovations. This service began in 1832, but grew slowly until the Civil War. Then from 1862, by sorting the mail on board moving trains, the Post Office Department was able to decentralize its operations as railroads began to crisscross the nation on a regular basis, and speed up mail delivery. This service lasted until 1974. During peak decades of service, railway mail clerks handled 93% of all non-local mail and by 1905 the service had over 12,000 employees.

Railway Post Office trains used a system of mail cranes to exchange mail at stations without stopping. As a train approached the crane, a clerk prepared the catcher arm which would then snatch the incoming mailbag in the blink of an eye. The clerk then booted out the outgoing mailbag. Experienced clerks were considered the elite of the Postal Service’s employees, and spoke with pride of making the switch at night with nothing but the curves and feel of the track to warn them of an upcoming catch. They also worked under the greatest pressure and their jobs were considered to be exhausting and dangerous. In addition to regular demands of their jobs they could find themselves the victims of train wrecks and robberies.

As successful as it was, “mail-on-the-fly” still had its share of glitches. If they hoisted the train’s catcher arm too soon, they risked hitting switch targets, telegraph poles or semaphores, which would rip the catcher arm off the train. Too late, and they would miss an exchange.

The word “glitches” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ...........

Câu hỏi liên quan

• According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE of webmasters?

• According to the passage, creatures in the desert ...........

• The word "symptoms" is closest in meaning to______________.

ZUNIA12

• According to the passage, which of the following statements was true in 1990?

• The word “wink” in the second paragraph means most nearly the same as ............

• The word “basis” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to_________.

• What does the author imply about the effect of climate in the suburban biome?

• Nowadays the common method for drying vegetables and minced meat is ______.

• The word "scrutinized" in the fourth paragraph could be replaced by .............

• Why does the author mention "artistic, political, or pedagogic communication"?

• Which of the following is the author‟s main point?

• Which of the following is NOT true about the concerns over roboties?

• The word “descendants” is closest in meaning to _____.

• By discovering and better understanding your own learning styles, you can improve ..............

• If you are in a foreign country, the best way the writer suggests to you is to wear .........

• According to the passage, the first refrigerated railcar used what material as a cooling agent?

• After which year did the town really begin developing?

• According to the passage, which of the following sentence is NOT true?

• What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

• Most people are afraid of being operated on ............