Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.
What can you call a hobby which teaches so much—in addition to providing fun and
pleasure? Stamp collecting helps instruct the collector in geography, biography, history,
culture and art. Stamps are miniature gateways to the world.
Stamp collecting has very few rules. You don't have to buy expensive sneakers or rackets to
enjoy it. However, there are a few simple things to remember when collecting stamps.
First of all, one of the essential rules to remember is that the condition of a stamp is a highly
important consideration. Badly torn and mis-handled stamps are not only unpleasant to the
eye, but they are worth next to nothing when compared to their undamaged counterparts.
Stamps are rated in condition from poor to superb.
A stamp which can be called ‘superb’ is one of the finest qualities. That means it has perfect
centring, brilliant colour and perfect gum. A used stamp can also be called superb, if it is
perfectly centred, fresh looking, is lightly cancelled and undamaged. A designation of fine
means a stamp without flaws, average centring and gum with light hinge marks. Used stamps
designated ‘fine’ are not quite as fresh and cancels are heavier. ‘Good’ stamps are those
which are off-centre, but fairly attractive. There may be minor defects such as disturbed gum,
thin areas and heavy hinge marks. Stamps which fall below these standards should be
ignored and are not worth acquiring by the serious collector.
Because their condition is so important -- and stamps are only bits of paper after all -- when
handling them it is essential to remember to use caution. The best way to safely handle
stamps is with tongs. Stamp tongs come with differently shaped tips, but they all have smooth
ends which you can use to pick up a stamp without damaging it.
Because stamps are small, it is often difficult to see all of their minute details with the naked
eye. Magnifying glasses help to not only see the design better, but also, in some instances
discover small details which can help distinguish one stamp from another. You'll soon learn
that there are times when stamps appear to be the same, but are not. Look-alike stamps
frequently turn stamp collectors into Sherlock Holmes!
One of the first things you will learn through collecting stamps of other countries is geography,
so you may want to get an atlas, globe or world map to help you see where the country is
located, or to help locate countries which issued stamps you have in your collection. Several
stamp atlases have been published for philatelists; they show ‘dead’ countries that formerly
issued stamps, as well as current nations.
Sometimes, philatelists decide to collect stamps not by country of issue, but because of
something else. There are people who collect stamps that are oddly shaped, or items that
aren't technically stamps, such as labels and seals. These are commonly called Cinderellas
(because they appear to be something they're not). Some people collect revenue stamps,
which are used by the country of issue to tax items. Many more people collect stamps
according to topic, such as animals, birds, or fish, people on stamps, such as authors or
scientists, or sport scenes, flowers, art or crafts, the list of stamp collections by topics is
practically endless.
Stamps are miniature gateways to the world because they: