25. Choose the appropriate variants (a, b, e) to complete the text. The Pony Express Around 1850 the USA began to grow rapidly. New 1. a was added to the country. The 2. California brought thousands of 3. coast. The USA 4. The trip between the east and California took about a month. When the mail finally arrived, it was very old. Then, in 1869 the Pony Ex- press began. It had 400 horses, 80 riders, and 18 stations. The stations were about ten mi- les 6. to the west service had a big 5. Riders went as as twenty-five miles hour from one sta- tion to the next. At each 7.station a new horse was ready. Within a minute the rider was off again. The mail was 9. Around the same time the telegraph was invented. In 1861 a telegraph line was built across the country. Is took the news from the east only an hour to 10. California. So the Pony Express ended just 18 months after it had begun. within eight days. 1. a. land 2. a. invention 3. a. settlers 4. a. postage b. find b. eitizens b. postal b. problem b. away b. rapid b. per b. fetched c. ground c. discovery c. passengers c. letter c. task c. between c. fast c. in c. delivered c. arrive 6. a. apart 7. quick 8. a. a 9. a. taken 10. a. reach b. come