【明報專訊】Posti, Finland's state-owned postal service, will offer a weekly grass mowing service as well as mail delivery from May 17 to August 31 this year. It is a way to tackle the falling demand for its mailing services.

The service will be available only on Tuesdays. This is because the volume of post tends to be lighter that weekday. Customers have to provide their own lawnmowers and the charge is 65 euros (about HK$570) for a month.

Posti manager Anu Punola said, ''We have genuinely tried to find services that would make people's life easier.'' She added that the idea of providing the grass cutting service came from postal workers themselves. Posti has in addition worked with local health and social organisations to provide services like security, housekeeping and property management.

(sources: Ming Pao, BBC, Posti)

■Photo story

Posti postal workers will offer grass-mowing services in summer this year.

■Words

mailing 郵寄

lawnmower 割草機

■Quiz

Choose the correct answers.

(answers on next text)

1. What does ''state-owned'' in paragraph one mean?

a. owned by a private company

b. owned by the government

c. owned by a state in the US

2. How much a month does the grass-mowing service cost?

a. 566 euros

b. 65 euros

c. 65 Hong Kong dollars

3. Which of the following words can replace ''genuinely'' in paragraph three?

a. sincerely

b. generally

c. patiently

4. Who suggested the idea of offering the grass-mowing services?

a. Posti's manager

b. Posti's customers

c. Posti's employees

■Glossary

mow (v) 修剪(草等)

tackle (v) 應對

volume (n) 量

housekeeping (n) 家務