Question

Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea.People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like,mainly because tea was very expensive.It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity.Some of them were not sure how to use it.They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves.Then they served them mixed with butter and salt.They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.

Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century.During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.

At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea.Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it,but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added.She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk.Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did,so they also drank their tea with milk in it.Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few British people drink tea without milk.

At first,tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening.No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess (公爵夫人) found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it.She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so,tea-time was born.

1.Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?

A. British people were the first people in Europe who drank tea.

B. It was not until the 17th century that British people had tea.

C. British people got expensive tea from India.

D. Tea reached Britain from Holland.

2.What does this passage most probably talk about?

A. It talks about how British people got the habit of drinking tea

B. It talks about how tea became a popular drink in Britain

C. It talks about the history of tea drinking in Britain

D. It talks about how tea-time was born

3.People in Europe began to drink tea with milk because    .

A. tea with milk stopped people getting a sinking feeling

B. people followed the way a French lady drank tea

C. tea with milk was then a fashionable curiosity

D. tea with milk tasted much more pleasant

4.We may infer from the passage that the habit of drinking tea in Britain was mostly due to the influence of      .

A. the upper social class    B. the ancient Chinese

C. a famous French lady    D. people in Holland

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】本文主要讲述了茶在英国的历史发展情况。从茶很稀有很昂贵很少人负担的起，炒它们加盐吃或做成三明治，到17世纪茶的运货多了价格下降很多人都能买到。再到后来一个法国女人用牛奶和茶一起吃发展到英国很多人都这样吃，后来一位公爵夫人开始把茶和蛋糕一块下午3、4点吃，宴请她的朋友，然后就被发展到现在并称为了“下午茶”。

1.细节理解题 第一段.People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like,mainly because tea was very expensive.It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity.英国很少有人知道茶长什么样因为它很贵。来自荷兰的茶在商店买不到甚至有些人也买不起茶，只是因为它是一个时尚好奇事物。由此可知茶从荷兰运到英国。故选D.

2.主旨大意题 从第一段.It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. 来自荷兰的茶在商店买不到甚至有些人也买不起茶，只是因为它是一个时尚好奇事物。到最后一段At first,tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening.刚开始，人们只在晚饭后喝茶，She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so,tea-time was born.她邀请她的朋友吃这种饭，因此，下午茶就诞生了。由此可知，主要讲的是茶是如何在英国成为一种流行的饮品的。故选B.

3.细节理解题 第三段Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few British people drink tea without milk.慢慢的这种习惯传到了英国到现在几乎没有人不把茶和牛奶一块喝的。因此可知英国人把茶和牛奶一起喝是因为这是一种时尚好奇的习惯，而不是单纯的模仿法国女人。故选C.

4.细节理解题 第一段.People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like,mainly because tea was very expensive.It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. 英国很少有人知道茶长什么样因为它很贵。来自荷兰的茶在商店买不到甚至有些人也买不起茶，只是因为它是一个时尚好奇事物。最后一段No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess (公爵夫人) found that……没有人会想到茶叶能在下午喝直到一位公爵夫人……由此可知喝茶的习惯是被上流社会阶层所影响的。故选A.