0014 Going to the Post Office

0014 Going to the Post Office.mp3
0014 Going to the Post Office.pdf

[start of story]

For me, things never go very smoothly at the local post office. I've learned that if you want to mail a letter, you'll have no problems. But if things get more complicated than that, well, watch out!

Yesterday I went there to mail a small package and pick up a book of stamps. I wait my turn in line, and when I get up to the window, the clerk says, "What can I do for you?" "Well," I say, "I need a book – no make that a roll – of stamps. And I need to send this package priority to San Francisco." "You want insurance with that?" he asks me. "Uh, I don't know, what do you recommend?" "Well," he says, "you can send it priority with tracking if you want to see when it gets there, you can send it insured if the contents are valuable, or you can do both."

"Okay, I'll take the insurance." "Then step aside to fill out the insurance form," he says, "and bring it back up to me when you're finished." With that, I was waved aside to fill out my form. "Next in line!" the clerk calls. When I finish filling out the form, I wait patiently until the gentleman being waited on in front of me is finished, and then step back up to the window. "Sorry," the clerk says, "I'm on break now. She can help you at the next window."

Maybe it would be quicker just to drive my package to San Francisco.

[end of story]

In talking about my trip to the post office I said that, “Things never go very smoothly.” “To go smoothly” (smoothly) means to take place without problems. For example, if someone asks you, “How did your visit to the doctor go?” You could say, “Oh, it went smoothly,” meaning I didn't have any problems. Everything was just fine.

I said that, “If you want to mail a letter at my post office, you'll have no problems.” “To mail a letter” means to send a letter. A letter is typically a piece of paper inside of an envelope. “But if things get more complicated,” I say, “well, watch out.” “Watch out” is an expression we use to mean “be careful.” What I'm saying here is that if you want to do something other than mail a letter, which is a very simple thing, then you might have problems.

I continue the story by saying, “Yesterday, I went there to mail a small package and to pick up a book of stamps.” There are two terms we use in talking about stamps. One is a “book of stamps” and the other is a “roll (roll) of stamps.” A “book of stamps” is a small, little book, although it's not really a book. Basically, it's a small package of about 20 stamps. A “roll of stamps” has a hundred stamps, but all of the stamps are connected to each other and they’re wrapped around until they're in a small circle, what we call a “roll.” I said that I wanted to pick up or buy a book of stamps. I also said I want to mail a small package. A “package” (package) is something you are sending that is bigger than a simple letter with an envelope. A package is usually in a box, a small box, a large box – any kind of box. You send a package when you are sending something, usually larger than can fit into a small envelope. Then I began to tell the story of what happened exactly at the post office.

When we tell a story in English, we many times, use something called the historical present, which is the present tense of the verb, even though you are talking about something in the past. “Historical” comes from “history” – something that has happened already. Even though I'm describing something that happened in the past, in this case, it was yesterday, I still use the present tense in telling the story. The idea is that, it gives it a little more immediacy. It feels like it's happening right now.

So, in telling the story, I begin by saying, “I wait my turn in line.” “To wait your turn in line” means to wait for the person in front of you or the people in front of you, to go first. If there is a line, you have to wait for the people in front of you who arrived before you did. I say, “I wait my turn in line and when I get up to the window, the clerk says to me, “What can I do for you?’’ The “window” here is not a window on the side of a building or a house that you look outside through. A “window” here just means the place where the person working for the post office, the clerk, stands in order to help you. You go up to this person who’s standing usually behind what we would call a “counter.” It’s basically a large, narrow desk. You have one person on one side, the clerk, the employee of the post office and you're on the other side doing what you are there to do – buying stamps or sending packages and so forth.

So, I walk up to the window and the clerk asks me “What can I do for you?” This is just a nice way of saying, “How can I help you?” I say “I need a book – no, make that a roll – of stamps.” The expression, “make that” means change what I just said. So, when I say “I need a book – no, make that a roll – of stamps” I mean that I just made a mistake. I didn't mean to say a “book of stamps.” I meant to say, a “roll of stamps.” So, it's a way of correcting yourself as you are speaking.

I say that, “I need a roll of stamps and I need to send this package priority to San Francisco.” “Priority” is one way of sending a package in the United States. It depends on how fast you want your letter or package to arrive somewhere. There are many different ways of sending letters and packages. The faster it gets there, the more expensive it is. The most common way of sending mail is what we call “first class mail.” There's nothing special about it. It'll get there, oh, depending on how far away the place you are sending it to, in a couple of days. If you sent something Priority, usually, that means it will arrive in two to three days, even if it's on the other side of the country. For example, if I send a package from Los Angeles to New York first class mail – regular mail, it may take up to a week to arrive. But, if I send it Priority Mail, it will arrive in two to three days. The fastest way of sending mail is “Express.” “Express” usually arrives the next day. I'm sending this package Priority to San Francisco.

The clerk then asked me, “You want insurance with that?” Notice the informal way he asks this question. The correct, grammatical way would be, “Do you want insurance with that?” At least that would be the more formal way of phrasing the question. He instead says, “You want insurance with that?” And by raising his voice at the end, you know he's asking a question. I say “Uh, I don't know. What do you recommend?” – meaning, “What do you suggest?” He says, “Well, you can send it Priority with tracking if you want to see when it gets there.” “Tracking” (tracking) means that you are given a special number and you can go online, you can go on to the Internet, and check to see when that package arrived, when the post office employee, who delivers the package – we would call that person the “postal carrier” – he will enter the day and time that he delivered the package and you will get that information on the Internet, if you want it. I say we call the person who delivers the mail the “postal carrier.” We used to call it the “postman,” but people didn't like the word “man” because there were both men and women and so they've changed the term to “postal carrier” (carrier).

So, the clerk asked me if I want to send it Priority with tracking or if I want to send it insured. “To send a package insured” (insured) means that you buy a special kind of insurance policy. So, if something goes wrong – if the post office loses the package – you will get money back for your package. You only want to do that if the contents of your package are valuable. “Contents” refers to what is inside of the package, what you are actually sending. It could be a bottle. It could be a shoe. It could be a computer. “Valuable” means that it is worth a lot of money. “I decide that I'll take the insurance,” meaning I will buy the insurance.

The clerk then says, “Step aside to fill out the insurance form.” “To step aside” (aside) is a two-word phrasal verb, meaning to move to one side of where you are standing right now, so that someone else can walk up and be helped. We would use this expression in a situation like this where you have a line of people waiting to be helped by a clerk or an employee of some organization. So, I stepped to one side. I move away from the window, in order to fill out or complete the insurance form. The clerk says, after I finish filling out the insurance form, I should bring it back up to him. “To bring it back” means to return it to him. The clerk then waves me aside. “To wave (wave) someone aside” is another two-word phrasal verb. It means to move your arm, move your hand back and forth, to indicate to the person that you want them to step aside. It's not a very polite thing to do typically, but it is not uncommon.

I say that “I'm waved aside and then the clerk says, ‘Next in line!’” The clerk is asking for the next person to walk up to the window in order to be served, in order to be helped. Then, I finish filling out the form and I wait patiently until the gentleman – the adult man being waited on in front of me – is finished. “To be waited” on means that someone is helping you. So, there is a person in front of me at the window who is being helped by the clerk. I'm waiting for this man to finish what he needs to do so that I can then be helped when he finishes. I step back up to the window. That means I walk back up to talk to the clerk. The clerk says, however, “Sorry,” meaning I'm sorry, “I'm on break now.” “To be on break” (break) means that you are not working anymore, that you are taking 15 or 20 minutes to relax. In most jobs, if you work more than four hours, you get a break. You get to stop work in the middle and relax a little. That's what the clerk is going to do.

He says that the person next to him, at the next window, can help. I end the story by saying “Maybe it would be quicker” – maybe it would be faster – “just to drive my package to San Francisco.” I'm saying that it's taking so long to mail my package, it would be quicker just to drive it from Los Angeles to San Francisco, which takes about six or seven hours. I’m making a joke, of course.

Glossary
to go smoothly – to happen without any problems or trouble; to be completed without any problems

• Even though Sherri was nervous about her exam, it went very smoothly and she passed.

to mail a letter – to send a written note to someone using the mail system (a system that delivers letters and packages from one person to another)

• Ian lived in Florida and mailed a letter to his friend living in California.

to watch out – to be prepared for something; to be aware

• When Colleen gets angry, her friends know that they need to watch out for her angry behavior.

book of stamps – a small booklet with one or more sheets of paper, on which postage stamps (small stickers showing that the fees to send mail have been paid) are attached

• Mr. Dooley needed to send a lot of mail, so instead of buying individual stamps, he bought a book of stamps.

roll – a long, narrow piece of paper on which many postage stamps are attached

• Lorraine had 85 cards that she needed to send, so she bought a roll of stamps.

package – a group of objects placed into a box or other container, often sent to someone else using the mail system

• When Anton moved to a different city to attend college, he received a package from his family every month.

Priority – a type of mail service that delivers documents and boxes from one location to another in two or three days

• The document was sent by Priority Mail on Monday and arrive at its destination on Wednesday.

insurance – a small fee paid to ensure that if something does not happen as expected, one will be paid the value or expenses one has lost

• The vase Hae was sending to her friend was fragile and expensive, so she bought insurance in case it got damaged in the mail.

tracking – a service that updates the sender of a piece of mail about where that mail is while is being delivered and when it reaches its destination

• The tracking indicated that the package reached its destination on Thursday.

contents – the items inside a container; the objects inside of something

• The contents of the box had shifted during transportation, so when the box was opened, everything was a mess.

to step aside – to move away; to move to the side, usually so that someone else can stand where one was standing

• After placing his order, Jake stepped aside so the person behind him could order, too.

to be waved aside – to be directed to move away from something by someone with a wave (polite hand gesture)

• After the restaurant employee took Ilse’s order, she was waved aside and told to wait at the other end of the counter until her food was ready.

to be waited on – to be attended to in a place of business; to be helped by an employee

• Fifteen minutes passed before Nigel was waited on by an employee.

to step – to approach; to move toward something

• When Rocio’s number was called, she stepped up to the counter to be helped.

on break – while taking a short rest at work; while pausing in one’s work to relax for a short period of time

• Tomas needed to call his wife, but he was at work and had to wait until he was on break before he could call.

Culture Note
Limiting Mail Delivery

If you’ve been to an American post office recently, you may have “noted” (noticed) that fewer people are mailing packages and letters. With the poor economy and the convenience of sending “electronic” (using the computer) documents, mail services are becoming less and less popular.

The post office handled 202 billion pieces of mail in 2009, which was 9 billion fewer than the year before. This was the single largest drop in mail “volume” (amount) in U.S. history.

The “postmaster general,” the highest official in charge of the U.S. postal system, has said that the post office needs “cost-cutting measures” (actions to reduce spending), because of the large “deficits” (spending more money than one earns). At some point, this may even mean that the post office may be forced “to cut” (eliminate) one day of mail delivery.

As of 2010, the post office is required by law to deliver mail six days each week, from Monday through Saturday. If the post office delivers mail only five days, it would stop delivery on the “lightest” (having the least or lowest) mail days of the week, such as Tuesday. No decision has been made yet to cut a mail delivery day. It is just one of several money-saving possibilities that the post office is considering.

Most Americans take mail delivery services “for granted” (having not thought about it and assumed it will continue). In general, mail service in the U.S. is reliable and fairly inexpensive. It takes a suggestion like this to remind people that the service they’ve grown up with could and may change in a significant way.

[故事的开始]

对我来说，在当地邮局的事情从来都是很顺利的。我了解到，如果你想邮寄一封信，就不会有问题。但如果事情变得比这更复杂，那就得小心了!

昨天我去那里邮寄一个小包裹，并拿了一本邮票。我在排队等候，当我走到窗口时，办事员说："我能为你做什么？" "嗯，"我说，"我需要一本书--不，应该说是一卷--邮票。而且我需要把这个包裹优先寄到旧金山。" "你想要保险吗？"他问我。"呃，我不知道，你有什么建议？" "嗯，"他说，"如果你想知道它什么时候到，你可以把它优先寄到，并进行追踪，如果内容物很贵重，你可以把它寄到保险，或者你可以两者都做。"

"好吧，我选择保险。" "那就走到一边去填保险单，"他说，"完成后再拿上来给我看。" 就这样，我被挥手让到一边去填表。"下一个排队！"店员叫道。当我填完表格后，我耐心地等待，直到我前面被等待的那位先生填完，然后再走到窗口前。"对不起，"办事员说，"我现在正在休息。她可以在下一个窗口帮助你。"

也许直接把我的包裹开到旧金山会更快。

[故事结束]

在谈到我的邮局之行时，我说："事情从来都是很顺利的。" "顺利进行"（smoothly）是指没有问题地进行。例如，如果有人问你，"你看医生的过程怎么样？" 你可以说，"哦，很顺利，"意思是我没有任何问题。一切都很好。

我说，"如果你想在我的邮局邮寄一封信，你不会有任何问题。" "寄信 "的意思是发送一封信。一封信通常是信封里的一张纸。"但如果事情变得更复杂，"我说，"那么，小心点。" "小心 "是一种表达方式，我们用来表示 "要小心"。我在这里说的是，如果你想做除了邮寄信件以外的事情，这是一件非常简单的事情，那么你可能会有问题。

我继续说："昨天，我去那里寄了一个小包裹，还去拿了一本邮票"。我们在谈论邮票时有两个术语。一个是 "邮票册"，另一个是 "一卷（卷）邮票"。一本 "邮票书 "是一本小书，虽然它不是真正的书。基本上，它是一个大约有20张邮票的小包装。一卷邮票 "有一百张邮票，但所有的邮票都是相互连接的，它们被缠绕在一起，直到形成一个小圆圈，我们称之为 "卷"。我说，我想挑选或购买一册邮票。我还说我想邮寄一个小包裹。一个 "包裹"（package）是你要寄的东西，它比一个简单的带信封的信要大。包裹通常装在一个盒子里，一个小盒子，一个大盒子--任何种类的盒子。当你要寄的东西，通常比一个小信封能装下的东西大时，你就会寄一个包裹。然后，我开始讲述在邮局究竟发生了什么故事。

当我们用英语讲故事时，很多时候，我们会使用一种叫做历史现在时的东西，也就是动词的现在时，尽管你说的是过去的事情。"历史 "来自于 "历史"--已经发生的事情。尽管我描述的是过去发生的事情，在本例中，是昨天发生的，但我在讲述这个故事时仍然使用现在时。这个想法是，它给了它更多的即时性。感觉就像它正在发生。

因此，在讲述这个故事时，我一开始就说："我在排队等待轮到我。" "在队伍中等待轮到你 "意味着等待你前面的人或你前面的人，先走。如果有一支队伍，你必须等待你前面的人，他们在你之前到达。我说："我在队伍中等待轮到我，当我走到窗口时，办事员对我说："我能为你做什么？这里的 "窗口 "不是指建筑物或房屋侧面的窗户，你通过它看外面。这里的 "窗口 "只是指为邮局工作的人，即办事员，为了帮助你而站的地方。你走到这个人面前，他通常站在我们称之为 "柜台 "的后面。它基本上是一个大而窄的桌子。你有一个人站在一边，就是办事员，邮局的雇员，你在另一边做你要做的事情--购买邮票或发送包裹等等。
因此，我走到窗口，店员问我 "我能为你做什么？" 这只是一种很好的说法，即 "我能为你做什么？" 我说："我需要一本书--不，应该是一卷--邮票。" 表达方式，"使之成为 "意味着改变我刚才说的东西。因此，当我说 "我需要一本书--不，是一卷--邮票 "时，我的意思是我刚刚犯了一个错误。我不是说 "一册邮票"。我的意思是说，"一卷邮票"。所以，这是在你说话时纠正自己的一种方式。

我说，"我需要一卷邮票，我需要把这个包裹优先寄到旧金山。" "优先 "是在美国发送包裹的一种方式。这取决于你希望你的信件或包裹多快到达某地。有许多不同的寄信和包裹的方式。到达的速度越快，价格就越高。最常见的寄信方式是我们所说的 "一等邮件"。它没有什么特别之处。它会到达那里，哦，取决于你要寄到的地方有多远，在几天内就能到达。如果你寄了东西，通常，这意味着它将在两到三天内到达，即使它在国家的另一边。例如，如果我把一个包裹从洛杉矶寄到纽约的一等邮件--普通邮件，它可能需要一个星期才能到达。但是，如果我把它寄到优先邮件，它将在两到三天内到达。最快的寄信方式是 "快递"。"特快 "通常在第二天到达。我把这个包裹优先寄到旧金山。

店员接着问我："你要用这个保险吗？" 注意他问这个问题的非正式方式。正确的语法方式应该是："你想用它做保险吗？" 至少这将是更正式的问题表述方式。他却说："你想用这个买保险吗？" 最后他提高了声音，你知道他在问问题。我说："呃，我不知道。你有什么建议？" - 意思是，"你有什么建议？" 他说："嗯，如果你想看它什么时候到，你可以把它寄到有追踪功能的优先权。" "跟踪"（追踪）的意思是，你会得到一个特殊的号码，你可以上网，你可以上互联网，查看该包裹何时到达，当邮局的员工，交付包裹的人--我们会称那个人为 "邮政人员"--他会输入他交付包裹的日期和时间，如果你想要，你会在互联网上得到这些信息。我说，我们把送邮件的人称为 "邮递员"。我们以前叫它 "邮递员"，但人们不喜欢 "男人 "这个词，因为有男人也有女人，所以他们把这个词改为 "邮递员"（carrier）。

所以，店员问我是要寄带跟踪的优先级还是要寄保险的。"要寄有保险的包裹"（insurance）的意思是，你买一种特殊的保险。因此，如果出了问题--如果邮局丢失了包裹--你将得到包裹的退款。你只有在包裹内的物品很有价值时才想这样做。"内容 "是指包裹内的东西，你实际发送的东西。它可能是一个瓶子。它可能是一只鞋。它可能是一台电脑。"有价值 "是指它值很多钱。"我决定要买保险，"意思是我要买保险。

书记员接着说："站到一边去，填写保险表格。" "靠边站"（ aside）是一个两个字的短语动词，意思是把你现在所站的地方移到一边，以便别人可以走过来，得到帮助。我们会在这样的情况下使用这种表达方式，即你有一队人在等着被一个办事员或某个组织的雇员帮助。所以，我走到了一边。我远离窗口，以便填写或完成保险表格。书记员说，在我填完保险表格后，我应该把它拿回来给他。"拿回来 "是指把它还给他。然后，店员向我挥手致意。"向某人挥手（挥手）"是另一个两个字的短语动词。它的意思是移动你的手臂，来回移动你的手，向对方表示你希望他们靠边站。这通常不是一件很有礼貌的事情，但也不是不常见。
我说，"我被挥手叫到一边，然后店员说，'下一个排队！'" 书记员是在要求下一个人走到窗口前，以便得到服务，以便得到帮助。然后，我填完了表格，我耐心地等待，直到那位先生--在我前面被等待的成年男子--完成。"被伺候 "的意思是，有人在帮助你。因此，在我前面的窗口有一个人正在接受办事员的帮助。我在等待这个人完成他需要做的事情，这样我就可以在他做完之后得到帮助。我又走到窗口前。这意味着我又走上去和店员说话。书记员却说："对不起，"意思是我很抱歉，"我现在正在休息。" "在休息"（break）意味着你不再工作了，你要花15或20分钟来放松。在大多数工作中，如果你工作超过四个小时，你就可以休息。你可以在中间停止工作，稍微放松一下。这就是书记员要做的事。

他说，他旁边的人，在隔壁的窗口，可以帮忙。我在故事的最后说："也许会更快"--也许会更快--"就把我的包裹开到旧金山"。我的意思是说，邮寄我的包裹要花这么长时间，如果只是把它从洛杉矶开到旧金山会更快，这需要大约六七个小时。当然，我是在开一个玩笑。

文化说明
限制邮件投递

如果你最近去过美国的邮局，你可能已经 "注意到"（注意到），邮寄包裹和信件的人越来越少。随着经济的不景气和发送 "电子"（使用电脑）文件的便利，邮件服务正变得越来越不受欢迎。

2009年，邮局处理了2020亿件邮件，比前一年减少90亿件。这是美国历史上邮件 "数量"（金额）的最大一次下降。

负责美国邮政系统的最高官员 "邮政局长 "说，邮局需要 "削减成本的措施"（减少开支的行动），因为存在巨大的 "赤字"（花的钱比赚的钱多）。在某些时候，这甚至可能意味着邮局可能被迫 "削减"（取消）一天的邮件交付。

截至2010年，法律规定邮局每周有六天的邮件投递，从周一到周六。如果邮局只投递五天的邮件，它将在一周中 "最轻"（拥有最少或最低）的邮件日停止投递，如星期二。目前还没有做出削减邮件投递日的决定。这只是邮局正在考虑的几种省钱的可能性之一。

大多数美国人认为邮件投递服务是 "理所当然 "的（没有考虑过这个问题，认为它将继续下去）。一般来说，美国的邮件服务是可靠的，而且价格相当便宜。需要这样一个建议来提醒人们，他们成长起来的服务可能而且可能发生重大变化。