hi and welcome to another lesson with Master everyday English. In today's lesson we are at the post office. today's lesson is broken into three parts - first I'll give you the useful vocabulary you need to understand a conversation at the post office. second you can listen to a standard conversation that you might have with a postal worker at the post office. in the final part I'll answer some really important questions that you're going to have if you go into a post office in the United States and you want to mail a package. let's get started with that vocabulary [Music] - shipping - shipping is the price you pay to send an item through the Post Office. - priority mail - priority mail is a fast way to send a letter or a package generally somewhere between three to five business days. - flat rate shipping - with flat rate shipping you can send a package normally they'll have a specific size of box but they're not charging you for the weight of the items in the box they're just charging you what they call a flat rate for that particular size of box. - standard rate shipping - standard rates differ from flat rates because with the standard rate they will weigh your package or they will weigh your envelope and they will charge you based on the size and the weight of the package or the envelope. - registered mail - by registered mail we mean that you can track your envelope or you can track your package. that means normally you will receive a tracking number and you can go then online to the post office's website and you can track and see exactly where your package is. - delivery or mailing address - the delivery or the mailing address is the address you are sending the package or the envelope to. - return address - the return address is normally your own home address or the address that you want the package or the envelope sent back to if there's some kind of problem. - customs - Customs is the border control. if you're sending a package internationally it's the border control that will check the package to make sure there's nothing illegal inside the package or inside the envelope and also to check if there are any additional taxes you may need to pay for the package or the envelope. - prohibited - if something is prohibited it means that it is not allowed for you to send through the mail. restricted - if something is restricted it means that there may be a limit to how many of that particular item you can send. - business days - by business days we mean Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday, Friday. Saturday and Sunday are generally not considered business days. - domestic - when we send a letter or a package in domestic mail what we mean is it's inside the United States or it's inside the country. - international mail - anything that's sent internationally is sent outside the United States quiz time ! so let's do a quick quiz just to try and review some of that vocabulary that we just looked at. when you're not allowed to send something in the mail? - prohibited - the price you're charged for sending an item? - that's the shipping - international border control that checks envelopes and packages to make sure there are no illegal items or to check if there are any extra taxes that need to be paid? - that's customs - Monday through Friday but not including Saturday and Sunday? - those are business days - when you send a package or a letter inside the country? - that's domestic mail - the shipping price that doesn't change with the weight of the package? - that's a flat rate - now we've practiced the vocabulary for this conversation. let's now listen to the conversation. it's between a customer and a postal Clerk, and the customer wants to send a package internationally. hi I was wondering if you could help me? I need to send a package internationally. sure where are you sending it to? the United Kingdom. and what are you sending? I'm sending some clothes and a few gifts. okay first thing you need to decide is the size of the package. we have small medium and large boxes. decide how you want it shipped, standard or flat rate. and we have Global Express, priority, or first class, so you have quite a few different options to choose from. okay. and then once you've made up your package bring it back to us. make sure the delivery and return address are clear. you'll also need to complete this Customs form right here. let me grab it for you. okay here it is. okay, and what do I need to to write on the Customs form? okay, so you can see here the name and the address and then this part at the bottom. you need to try to be as clear as possible. you are going to list what's inside the package. we need the weight, the size, the value, and a precise description. on our website you'll find a list of prohibited and restricted items. once you're ready, bring it back to us and we'll mail it for you. okay thank you. and how long will it take to get there if I send it for example with priority mail? to the UK it should take about seven to ten business days. okay, great. actually while I'm here, I'll buy a large box, I'll get some bubble wrap, and some packing tape. okay that's going to be eight dollars 20 cents. do you need any stamps? not today thank you. okay, well bring that box back to us when you're ready and we will mail it off for you. great. thanks for your help. no problem, have a good day. you too, bye bye. bye. now let's look at some common questions you'll probably have if you're going to a post office in the United States and you want to send a package. what options are there to send a letter or a package internationally? well there are quite a few different options if you want to send a package or or an envelope internationally. if you want to send it the quickest way you can then the options are really the global Express, or express mail. those are the fastest but they're also generally the most expensive. another option is to send the package priority mail or first class. both of these are a little bit cheaper, but they're going to take a little bit longer as well. you might be asked if you want to send the package flat rate or standard rate. as we said before, flat rate normally means that depending on the size of the package you're sending the weight doesn't really matter you can pack in lots of things in there if you want to. if you're going to send it standard rate that normally means they're going to weigh it and they're going to look at the size, and of course more weight more size it's going to cost you more money. when you go into the post office you'll notice that these options are very similar. they might be named slightly different but for domestic and international mail the options are very similar. you'll have Express, Priority, First Class, and of course you'll have flat rate or standard rate for sending the package. where do I put the address on a letter or a package? any package or letter that you're sending will need to have the mailing address, and this will normally be in the middle. then the return address, which is normally written kind of smaller, in smaller print, and then you're going to put that in the top left corner. if it's the package it'll be the top left corner of your package and if it's a letter it's the top left corner of your letter. for the return address that's your home address. what is the process for sending a package with the post office in the United States? normally you want to firstly prepare your box or your letter. you can buy all of the things you need from the post office. they have boxes, they have packing tape, they have Bubble Wrap; anything you might need to send a package. make sure you have your mailing address written on the box that you have your return address written on the box. and you're gonna need - if you're sending internationally - you need a customs form. now, you can print out this Customs form from the post office website, the USPS website, or you can just go in to the post office and they will prepare the Customs form with you. but just make sure you know exactly what you have inside the Box. from the post office website you can also see which items might be prohibited or which items might be restricted for the country you're sending to. the final step you take your package into the post office. you wait in line you get to the counter and you speak with the postal clerk about sending the item. they will probably check to make sure everything that you've mentioned is in the package and they'll help you if you need to complete the Customs form. there is some basic insurance provided through the post office but they will probably ask you if you want to buy extra insurance for the package. if you're sending something that's expensive this might be a good idea. depending on how you're sending the package of course they'll weigh the package and then they'll give you a final price to send it internationally. [Music] so a couple of things to remember. Post Offices here in the United States are busy! and I mean they can be really busy, so if you want to have a stress-free experience at the post office I suggest going at a quieter time. that might mean maybe going in the middle of the morning maybe or the early afternoon when things are a little bit quieter. another thing to remember is that weights and measures in the United States are in pounds and ounces, and then for the sizes they're all going to be in inches. how can I track my package? so you've created your package , you've created the Customs form, you've put your address, you've bought the insurance. it's ready, it's done, you've paid. congratulations! and so now you you want to know how long is it going to take and you might want to track to see where the package is. you can do this normally if you look on the receipt - the postal clerk should tell you this - but if you look on the receipt there is a number on the receipt when you pay, and that is your tracking number. you can go to the post office website put in that number and it'll tell you where your package is. that's it for today. thank you! if you enjoyed the video please don't forget to give me a thumbs up, and if you want to see more everyday English language conversation go to my Channel "Master everyday English" and don't forget to click to subscribe.