In this age of (31) _______ telephone networks and electronic mail, it seems that fewer and fewer people are taking time to sit down and write letters to friends and relatives. For hundreds of years, letters were the only way to keep (32) _______ people who were any distance away and letter-writing was seen as an important skill for all learned people to master.

Gradually, (33) _______, the importance of writing letters is decreasing to a point that majority of us have to make a special effort to turn out something worthwhile when we apply for a job or make a complaint. In business circles the tendency is for routine communications to become shorter. Even though clients may appreciate a detailed letter, an employee who sends out long letters is often regarded as (34) _______. Many people prefer the telephone in all circumstances and its speed is essential in many situations, but (35) _______ have you put the telephone down, dissatisfied with what you have managed to say? I don’t think I’ll throw my pen away ye

In this age of (31) _______ telephone networks and electronic mail, it seems that fewer and fewer people are taking time to sit down and write letters to friends and relatives.