Question

the lengths for a letter
creating connections social studies: world history iii
during world war i (1914 - 1918), the british identified three things every soldier needed. the first two were food and ammunition. the third was mail.
the central powers were threatening europe. why did the british think mail was so important? it was a matter of keeping the soldiers spirits up during wartime. before landlines (phones connected by a cable plugged into the wall), the internet, or cell phones, people stayed connected via handwritten letters. maintaining this connection was key to raising morale.
to keep everyone in touch, the british postal service had to quickly deliver mail to the front lines. the goal was for a letter sent from britain to reach a soldier in france in just two days. at the time, that was considered exceptionally fast.
to get things rolling, a giant building called the home depot was constructed in london. at 5 acres (2 hectares) in size, it was supposedly the largest wooden structure in the world. inside, about 2,500 people worked as sorters. most were women. today, when a letter is mailed, it gets scanned by a machine that organizes mail by zip code. but during world war i, the sorters had to go through every piece of mail. they looked at each address and put the item into a pile with other letters and packages going to the same unit. over the course of the war, 2 billion letters and 114 million packages, filled with family photos and delicacies like cookies and fudge, were
question 8
the article does not talk about _.
a. how letters and packages were sorted by the women working in the home depot
b. how ships carrying mail across the english channel tried to avoid german submarines
c. why the british government encouraged soldiers to use preprinted postcards
d. why mail was placed aboard trains that chugged across france in the dead of night

Explanation:

• Option A: The article mentions that in the Home Depot, about 2,500 people (mostly women) worked as sorters and had to go through every piece of mail, which implies how letters and packages were sorted.
• Option B: The article does not mention anything about ships carrying mail across the English Channel trying to avoid German submarines.
• Option C: The article states that maintaining connection (through mail) was key to raising morale, and pre - printed postcards could be a part of that mail system (even if not explicitly detailed, the reason for mail importance is related to morale which could extend to pre - printed postcards).
• Option D: The article says the goal was for a letter from Britain to reach a soldier in France quickly (in two days), and trains could be a part of the transportation network (even if not explicitly stating why mail was on trains at night, the need for quick delivery could imply logistical reasons).

Answer:

B. how ships carrying mail across the English Channel tried to avoid German submarines