Part I post office

Vocabulary

1.post - 1) mail sent or received, postal matter, e,g. In large cities the post is delivered several times a day;

2) a building for postal business (short for "post-office), also a letter-box, e.g. I’ll be at the post in time for the midday delivery.

Note that "post” is usually used with the definite article; however, to send a letter by post (zero article).

An Englishman uses the word “post”, an American uses the word "mail". An Englishman reserves the word “mail” for letters going to or from foreign countries and he hardly ever uses the compounds so numerous in America, e.g. mail-car, mail-box, mail-man and mail-carrier. The compounds the Englishman uses are: mail-train, mail-van bearing signs reading “Royal Mail”. The man who carries letters is a postman, and the Englishman asks, “Are there any letters for me?” American mail is brought by a letter-carrier, or mail-man, and the American asks, "Is there any mail for me?". An Englishman’s outgoing letters are posted at a letter-box or a pillar-box. An American’s are mailed at a mail-box. A letter-box is attached to a wall; a pillar-box is on a stand. If a letter is urgent an Englishman sends it by express post, an American by special delivery.

2.postage - payment for postal services, e.g. inland postage, three pence postage stamp, n, - stamp to be stuck on letters etc. with a specified value, showing the amount of postage paid.

3.post-office clerk – post-office official – почтовый служащий;

post-master – the person who is in charge of a post office; Am.E. – postal clerk; Post-Master General – chief post-office official in the USA.

4.postal outlet – a branch of the GPO (General Post Office);

5.P.O.Box – a numbered box in a post office to which someone’s mail can be sent and from which they can collect it.

6.poste-restante [pəust res’ta:nt]: Br.E. - general delivery, Am.E. – letters to be called for – до востребования;

The poste-restante counter keeps post until it is called for by the addressee in person. The addressee will receive his mail only after they present their ID.

When letters are sent to the Poste Restante, the post office must be specified after the name of the addressee, e.g.

W.Brown, Esq.

Charing Cross P.O., London

Poste Restante

7.postal order (syn. money order) – written direction to pay money (esp. to a bank or post office);

8.book post – books or other printed matter sent by post;

When you send books by book post, you wrap them up in special paper.

9.mail – government system of collecting, carrying and delivering letters and parcels;

send a letter by air-mail – send a letter that is carried by air.

If the message is urgent, you can send it by air-mail.

air-mail label – a slip of paper sealed to a letter indicating that it is sent by air-mail.

10.stamped envelope – envelope with a printed postage stamp (syn. prepaid envelope) on it;

envelope - wrappers or covering, esp. made of paper for a letter;

I'm going to the post-office to buy stamped envelopes and note-paper.

11.stick a stamp – (cause to) be or become joined or fastened with, or as with, paste, glue or other substance: stick a stamp on a letter.

If the envelope is unstamped, buy a stamp and stick it on your letter.

12.cancel the stamp – make a mark on a stamp to prevent re-use;

In England the postmark (the mark put on the stamp cancelling it) is put near the stamp. In the USA the stamp is obliterated.

13.addressee – the person to whom the letter is addressed; the addresser or sender is the person who addresses the letter;

Write the addressee’s name distinctly, please. The sender’s address is usually written at the bottom (in Britain) or in the top left corner (in the USA and Australia)

14.give the addressee in full – write the surname, first name and patronymic;

15.registered letter – letter sent by special (parcel) post, paying an extra charge and getting a receipt for insurance;

To ensure safe delivery send your letter registered.

16.express delivery - delivery by special postal messenger;

recorded delivery - the kind of delivery when the receiver signs a receipt on delivery;

17.letter balance-scales (parcel balance) – instrument for weighing letters (parcels);

18.parcel – thing or things wrapped and tied up for carrying, sending by post, etc.;

You can send a parcel at the parcel counter.

19.special charge (syn. surcharge) – price demanded for extra services;

For a special charge the money can be delivered to the

addressee at his home.

20.warrant of attorney [‘wørənt əv ə’tə:ni] – доверенность;

The warrant of attorney allows a person to sign a delivery confirmation card (or any other important document) on somebody’s behalf.

21.telegram – message sent by telegraphy;

regular telegram – ordinary telegram – простая телеграмма;

urgent telegram – срочная телеграмма;

express telegram – молния;

22.money order counter – counter which handles operations for sending or cashing postal or telegraph money orders;

This is the counter where you get your money order.

23.cash money order – receive the money sent by post or telegraph;

24.form - printed paper with spaces to be filled in: telegraph forms, application forms;

When you send a telegram you are to fill in a telegraph form

25.fill in (Br.E.), out (Am.E.) an order form – add what is necessary to make complete;

You are to fill in this form if you want to send a telegram.

26. traveller’s cheque - written order to a bank to pay money, issued by a bank or travel agency for the convenience of travellers – аккредитив;

27. savings bank – the bank where citizens deposit their savings;

You’d better keep your money at the central savings bank.

28. deposit – money left with a bank for safe keeping and/or to bear interest – депозит, взнос, вклад;

Deposits – department in a bank which accepts customers’ deposits – прием вкладов;

depositor - a person who deposits money with a savings bank;

29. withdraw money - take out or away

If I deposit my money, can I be sure to withdraw it

whenever I want to?

withdrawal – money taken out of one’s account – снятие со счета;

Withdrawals - department in a bank dealing with customers who wish to withdraw money from their accounts – выдача вкладов;

30. bank account – an arragement between a bank and a customer that allows the customer to pay in and take out money – счет в банке;

I have an account with the Midland Bank.

31. account balance enquiry – a request for information about the sum of money one has on one’s account at the given moment – выписка по счету;

32. cash machine (syn. ATM – automated teller machine) – a machine from which the customer of a bank can obtain cash in banknotes up to a certain value at any time of day or night – автомат для выплаты наличных;

33. mail order – a method of buying and selling in which the buyer chooses from a catalogue and orders goods from a company which sends them by mail – “товары почтой”;

34. Inland Revenue – the government department which collects national taxes – налоговая инспекция;

Inland Revenue self-assessment bill – a written list one prepares oneself showing how much one should pay as national tax to the Inland Revenue department – налоговая декларация;

35. receipt - written statement that sth. (esp. money) has been received;

When you send a registered letter or pay utility bills the post-clerk will give you a receipt.

36. bill – a written list showing how much you have to pay for services you have received, work that has been done etc.;

37. to clear – if a cheque clears or if a bank clears it, the money is moved

from one bank to another;

clearance – проведение расчетных операций между банками;

38. fax – a letter or message that is sent in electronic form down a telephone line and then printed using a special machine;

39. e-mail (electronic mail) – a system that allows people to send messages to each other by computer.