The places where the courier changed horses were called posts;
邮递员更换马匹的地方叫站；
and there was a line of these posts between Boston and New York and between New York and Philadelphia.
在波士顿和纽约沿线，纽约和宾州沿线有许多这样的站。
In the far South and West, where there were not so many people, there were fewer posts and postmen.
最南端和最西端人口稀少，站也比较少，邮递员也比较少。
At last the king appointed a Postmaster General for the colonies, and after several men had held the office,
最终，国王任命了殖民地的邮政大臣，历经几任大臣以后，
it came to the great Benjamin Franklin. Franklin at once set about trying to improve the mail service.
来到了本杰明·富兰克林在任期间，富兰克林起初想要提升邮递服务。
He traveled over the colonies, visiting many of the posts, and he tried in every way to make the mails move quickly and safely.
他探访了殖民地，造访了许多站，他利用各种方法加快邮递速度，保证邮递安全。
Then came the Revolutionary War. The colonies broke away from the King of England and became the United States of America.
之后是独立战争，殖民地脱离英格兰国王统治，成为了美国。
Franklin, who had been the king's Postmaster General, now became the Postmaster General of the United States.
富兰克林曾是国王的邮政大臣，如今成为了美国的邮政大臣。
The first thing he had to do was to see that George Washington could send messages to his soldiers along the battle fronts.
他要做的第一件事就是保证乔治·华盛顿可以将讯息传递给前线打仗的士兵。
The next thing he had to do was to see that letters could be sent back and forth among all the colonies,
第二件事是保证各殖民地之间的信件往来，
so that they could all work together as the new United States.
这样才可以一起协力创造新的美国。
He did all this so well, and he improved the mail service in so many ways
他这些都做得很不错，他也从许多方面改善了邮政服务，
that he has been called the father of the United States Post Office.
他被称之为美国邮政之父。
After the couriers on horseback, came the stage coaches. Some of these mail coaches must have been wonderful sights,
马背上的邮递员之后是驿马车，许多邮递马车很好看，
for they were painted green, with red wheels. On the doors were the words, United States Mail Stage, painted in bright yellow,
它们被涂成了绿色，红色的轮胎，车门上写着美国邮车，字用明亮的黄色显示，
with a spread eagle of a size and color to suit over the words.
还有一只大小和颜色都匹配文字的展翅老鹰。
But often their bright colors were covered with mud, and in many places they could not be used at all because of bad roads.
但通常明亮的颜色被泥土覆盖，在许多地方因为道路糟糕而派不上用场。
Much of the mail was still carried on horseback, especially in the far South and West.
多数邮政依然通过马背运输，特别是最南端和最西端。
