CHAPTER XIV. EXAMINATION IN THE FAR EAST.

 Regulations Differ from Those in the United States

—Mounted Men in the Island Force.

 

The Civil Service regulations for the Postal¹ Service in the Philippine Islands vary considerably² from those for the United States. There is only one examination—that of letter carrier. Carriers are divided into two classes, mounted and unmounted. The entrance salary of an unmounted carrier is $360. The higher classes are filled by promotion³. All the carriers must furnish their own uniforms, as in the United States, while the mounted carriers must provide their own conveyances⁴. Both conveyances and uniforms are subject to inspection⁵ and must be approved by the Director of Posts.

The examination consists of tests in spelling, arithmetic, penmanship, copying from plain copy, location of buildings, streets, plazas⁶, etc., in the City of Manila, reading addresses and simple tests in English.

The following is an example of the questions asked by the Philippine examiners in an examination for letter carrier:

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Spelling.—Question, Column, Regular, Possible, Precious, Guardian⁷, Entrance, Separate, Official, Eager, Patience, Position, Exceed, Language, Explain, Business, Receive, Copyist, Certify⁸, Specimen⁹.

Arithmetic.—1. Add the following numbers: 7,820, 140, 616,487, 18,021,762, 5,329,456, 5,647,893, 432,890, 23,578,932, and 45,004. From the sum of these numbers extract 8,641,762.

2. Multiply 794.4 by 450-3/5, and divide the product by 49.65.

3. A clerk received a salary of $720 a year. He spent 3/5 of it for board, 1/4 of the remainder for clothing, and $144 for all other expenses. How much did he save?

4. An open court contains 160 sq. yds. How many stones 9 inches square will be required to pave it? (1,296 sq. in. equals 1 sq. yd.)

5. A Manila grocer imported 1,083 pounds of butter at 39 cents a pound and sold it at 5/13 more than it cost. If his expenses were $36.47, what was his net profit?

Letter Writing.—Two subjects for letter writing are given, and the competitor may select either upon which to write a letter of not less than 125 words. The exercise in letter writing is designed chiefly to test the competitor’s skill in composition.

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Penmanship.—The rating on penmanship is determined¹⁰ by legibility, neatness, rapidity and general appearance, and by correctness and uniformity in the formation of words, letters and punctuation¹¹ marks in the exercise in copying from plain copy. No particular style of penmanship is preferred.

Copying from Plain Copy.—Candidates were required to make an exact copy of the following:

“The hemp¹² tree in the Philippines reaches an average height of 10 feet. It is a native plant, the stem of which is inclosed in layers of half-round petioles. The hemp fiber¹³ is extracted from these petioles, which, when cut down, are separated into strips 5 to 6 inches wide, and drawn¹⁴ under a knife attached at one end by a hinge to a block of wood, while the other end is suspended from the extremity¹⁵ of a flexible stick. The bow tends to raise the knife and a cord attached to the same end of the knife, and a treadle is so arranged that, by a movement of the foot, the operator can bring the knife to work on the hemp petiole with the pressure he chooses.”

1 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

2 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

3 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

4 conveyances   

n.传送( conveyance的名词复数 )；运送；表达；运输工具

参考例句：

• Transport tools from work areas by using hand trucks and other conveyances. 负责用相关运输设备从工作区域运载模具。 来自互联网
• Railroad trains and buses are public conveyances. 火车和公共汽车是公共交通工具。 来自互联网

5 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

6 plazas   

n.（尤指西班牙语城镇的）露天广场( plaza的名词复数 )；购物中心

参考例句：

• At focal points, there are seating plazas as rest points for users. 在主要主景点上，有空间较大的广场提供休息的地方。 来自互联网
• Such products are suitable for lighting and decoration of plazas, courtyards, parks, residential district and roadside. 本产品适合于广场、庭院，公园、小区草坪和道路的装饰和照明。 来自互联网

7 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

8 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

9 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

12 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。

13 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

15 extremity   

n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度

参考例句：

• I hope you will help them in their extremity.我希望你能帮助在穷途末路的他们。
• What shall we do in this extremity?在这种极其困难的情况下我们该怎么办呢？