Question

from neither snow nor rain
in the summer of 1963, when people went to their local post office to purchase stamps, many encountered a wide - eyed, orange - faced figurine clad in a letter carrier’s blue uniform. his name was mr. zip. when they pressed a button on his side, they heard the brassy - voiced broadway star ethel merman half sang and half shouted in her inimitable style, “welcome the zip code,” “send your mail out the five - digit way!”
mr. zip symbolized the five - digit zip code, the most radical address change since a century before, when abraham lincoln’s postmaster general montgomery blair required people to put street addresses on their envelopes.... but between 1940 and 1960, the amount of mail delivered by the post office more than doubled, from 28 billion to 64 billion pieces a year. clerks could no longer sort it all fast enough under the old system.
the zip code was supposed to be the solution. the first number represented one of the 10 delivery zones around the country, starting with zero in the northeast and ending with the number nine on the west coast. the second number often indicated a state, and the third usually represented a big - city post office where mail was sorted. the fourth and fifth typically indicated the closest post office to a letter recipient’s home. in other words, a clerk could look at a zip code and pinpoint almost exactly where a given piece of mail was going without squinting to read a sender’s scrawled handwriting.
the post office wanted mr. zip to become as familiar as smokey the bear. small - town postmasters arranged for him to ride on floats in parades and appear at county fairs. the post office held beauty contests around the country, crowning the winners miss zip code. dick tracy, the popular square - jawed comic strip detective, appeared in an advertisement telling postal customers, “protect your mail... use zip codes!” the post office also
this question has two parts. answer part a and then answer part b.
part a
which statement best describes the problem that zip codes were designed to solve?

1. the post office had to find a way to sort a huge volume of mail more quickly.
2. the post office had to convince people to use numbers instead of written addresses.
3. the post office wanted people to understand the importance of the job of postal clerks.
4. the post office needed to hire enough workers to process billions of pieces of mail.

part b
select two reasons that zip codes were a successful solution to the problem.

1. handwritten numbers were easier to read than handwritten addresses.
2. scanning machines could be used to read the codes and automatically sort mail.

Explanation:

Part A

To determine the correct option, we analyze each choice:

• Option 1: The text says mail volume "more than doubled" (from 28 to 64 billion), so a "huge volume" needing quick sorting matches the need for zip codes.
• Option 2: The passage doesn’t mention convincing people to use numbers instead of written addresses; it’s about sorting efficiency.
• Option 3: The Post Office wanted to solve a sorting problem, not emphasize postal clerks’ jobs.
• Option 4: The issue was the old system being too slow, not a lack of workers (mail volume doubled, not a worker shortage).

So Option 1 best describes the problem zip codes solved.

We evaluate the two reasons:

• Reason 1: The text states a clerk could "pinpoint almost exactly where a given piece of mail was going without squinting to read a sender’s scrawled handwriting"—so zip codes (numbers) were easier to read than handwritten addresses. This is a valid reason.
• Reason 2: The text implies scanning machines (for zip codes) helped sort mail automatically, improving efficiency. This aligns with the need for faster sorting due to high mail volume. This is also a valid reason.

So both reasons 1 and 2 are correct.

Answer:

1. The Post Office had to find a way to sort a huge volume of mail more quickly.

Part B