听力原文： Let's perceive to the main exhibit hall and look at some of the actual vehicles that played a prominent role in speeding up mail delivery in the past. Consider how long it used to take to send a letter across a relatively short distance. Back in the 1600s it took two weeks on horseback to get a letter from Boston to New Yolk, a distance of about 260 miles. Crossing a fiver was also a challenge. Ferry service was so irregular that a carrier would sometimes wait hours just to catch a ferry. For journeys inland there was always a stagecoach but the fide was by no means comfortable because it had to be shared with other passengers. The post office was pretty ingenious about some words. In the 19th century, in the southwestern desert, for instance, camels ware brought in to help to get the mail through. In Alaska, reindeer were used. This practice was discontinued because of the disagreeable temper of these animals. We'll stop here a minute so that you can enter this replica of a railway mail car. It was during the Age of the Iron Horse that delivery really started to pick up. In fact the United States transported most bulk of mail by train for nearly 100 years. The first airmail service didn't start until 1918. Please take a few moments to look around. I hope you'll enjoy your tour. And as you continue on your own, may I suggest you visit our impressive philatelic collection? Not only can you look at some of the more unusual stamps issued but there's an interesting exhibit on how stamps are made. (33)