雅思阅读材料之英国建筑师自制DIY免费邮票寄信

An architect has been sending letters for free using DIY stamps featuring his own face.

一个英国建筑师常年来一直用以自己的脸为原型DIY的邮票免费寄信。

Angus McDonagh, 64, claims he has duped Royal Mail with over a hundred of his bizarre designs on letters which have been posted all over the world.

现年64岁的安格斯·麦当诺声称，他常年来一直在英国皇家邮政面前蒙混过关，用自行设计的诡异邮票向世界各地寄出了百余封信。

Many have his own face where the Queen’s traditional side profile would sit - complete with a comic eye patch or curious hat.

许多他自行设计的邮票上都印有他的肖像——带着漫画式的眼罩或搞笑的帽子，取代了传统邮票上的女王侧面轮廓。

At Christmas he created some of himself with a white Santa beard while others have used family photos.

圣诞节期间，其他人都在相互赠送印有全家福的圣诞卡片的时候，这位建筑师也自己设计了一些戴着雪白胡须、装扮成圣诞老人的邮票。

Mr McDonagh began his personal freepost system three years ago in protest at bland stamp design.

三年前，麦当诺为了抵制传统邮票的无趣设计风格，他开始自行设计邮票并且用这些邮票来免费投寄信件。

Mr McDonagh said: 'When I started I wanted them to be deliberately silly, so I had a fake moustache or beard or eye patch, that was very obviously drawn on very crudely.

麦当诺说：“我刚开始自己设计邮票的时候，我刻意地希望它们看起来傻傻的，所以我在设计中加上了假胡须或者眼罩，而且可以看出来是画上去的，画风粗劣。”

Mr McDonagh has created 50 individual stamp designs, printed them on his home computer and stuck them to envelopes with glue.

麦当诺已经设计出了50种个性邮票，用自家的电脑打印出来，并且用胶水粘在了信封上。

All stamps have a fake value of 50c - his own invented currency - and are franked with a location mark by Mr McDonagh before he posts them.

所有他自行设计的邮票都有50c的虚拟面值——这是他自行设计的货币单位——还盖上了自制的当地邮戳，然后才投递出去。

He has successfully sent over 100 letters to France, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada and Italy - as well as all over the UK - and only one has ever been detected as a counterfeit.

他已经成功寄送了百余封信件——收信地址为法国、香港、澳大利亚、加拿大和意大利，以及英国的其他地区——只有一次被发现伪造邮票。

Mr McDonagh claims he never meant to evade payment and has even tried to send Royal Mail a number of cheques for the total costs, but they were all returned.

麦当诺说自己这样做绝非为了逃避邮费，他还曾经数次试图向英国皇家邮政局寄出支票，以付清全部邮费，但这些支票都被退回来了。

Mr McDonagh has now self-published a book about his creations - to highlight the flawed system.

麦当诺已经自费出版了一本关于邮票DIY的书——重点突出了英国邮政系统的错误。

The Royal Mail today confirmed they were investigating his claims.

针对麦当诺的自述，英国皇家邮政当局已经于10月29日展开调查。

A spokeswoman said: 'We would like to make it clear that it is a crime to create or use counterfeit stamps.We will take the necessary steps to protect the integrity of stamps on behalf of the 29 million households and businesses we are honoured to serve.'

英国皇家邮政的一位发言人说：“我们明确表示，制造或使用假冒邮票是一种违法行为。为了维护邮票的正当性，代表我局所服务的2900万家庭和商业机构，我们将对此事采取必要措施。”