Ex. 3. Read the text below filling in the gaps with the necessary words in the correct form.

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A _________ (known in the United States and Canada as collection box, mailbox, post box, or drop box) is a physical box into which members of the public can deposit _________ intended for collection by the agents of a country's _________. The term post box can also refer to a _________ for incoming mail.

Varieties of post boxes (for outgoing mail) include:

§ Lamp box

§ Pillar box

§ Wall box

§ _________

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In 1653, the first post boxes are believed to have been _________ in Paris. By 1829, post boxes were in use throughout France. The first public post boxes in Poland were installed in Warsaw in 1842.

In the British Isles the first _________ were erected in Jersey in 1852. In 1856 Richard Redgrave of the Department of Science and Art designed an _________ pillar box for use in London and other large cities. This PO became the first National Standard pillar box. Green was adopted as the standard colour for the early Victorian post boxes. Between 1866 and 1879 the _________ Penfold post box became the standard design for pillar boxes and it was during this period that red was first adopted as the standard colour. The first boxes to be painted red were in London, although it would be nearly 10 years before all the boxes had been repainted.

The post box arrived in the late 19th century Hong Kong and were made of wood. In the 1890s, metal pillar box appeared in Hong Kong and remained in use till the late 1990s. From the 1890s to 1997 the boxes were painted red and after 1997 were painted green.

The United States Post Office Department began installing public mail collection boxes in the 1850s outside post offices and on street corners in large Eastern cities. U.S. collection boxes were initially designed to be hung or supported, and were _________ on support pillars, lamp-posts, _________, or even the sides of buildings. As mail _________ grew, the Post Office Department gradually replaced pillar mailboxes with larger free-standing models. U.S. mail collection boxes were originally painted in red or green. Beginning in 1909, all mail collection boxes were painted a dark green to avoid confusion with emergency and fire equipment. Dark green gave way to olive _________ green after World War I. On July 4, 1955, Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield announced that the Post Office would begin painting all mail collection boxes in red, white, and blue to make them easily _________.

 

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Some postal operators have different types of post boxes for different types of mail, such as, regular post, air mail and express mail, for local addresses (defined by a range of _________) and _________ addresses, or for post bearing and post bearing a postage meter indicator.

Some countries have different coloured post boxes; in countries such as Australia, Portugal, and Russia, the colour indicates which type of mail a box is to be used for, such as 1st and _________. However, in Germany and parts of Sweden, because of postal deregulation, the different colours are for the different postal services. Other nations use a particular colour to indicate common political or historical ties.

Post boxes or mailboxes located outdoors are designed to keep mail secure and protected from weather. Some boxes have a rounded or _________ top or a down turned _________ to protect mail from rain or snow. Locks are fitted for security, so mail can be retrieved only by official postal employees, and the box will ordinarily be constructed so as to resist damage from vandalism, _________ entry, or other causes. Bright colours are often used to increase visibility and prevent accidents and injuries. Entry openings are designed to allow the free deposit of mail, yet prevent _________ via the access slot by unauthorised persons.

 

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Post boxes are emptied ("cleared") at times usually listed on the box in a _________, Times of Collection, plate affixed to the box. In metropolitan areas, this might be once or twice a day. Busy boxes might be cleared at other times to avoid _________, and also to spread the work for the _________. Extra clearances are made in the period leading up to Christmas, to prevent boxes becoming _________ with mail.