Some of the best things in life don’t happen until you grow old enough to recognize them. I can say that about tea.
I didn’t start to drink tea until I was 35. What happened before that? The first time I felt a genuine urge to drink tea was in 2003, when I stayed briefly in the United Kingdom. After a time of consuming local food, I started to really like strong black tea. Although it was too strong to my tongue, I felt it was a necessity because it was comforting to my body.
I took packs of green teas with me as gifts but was disappointed to find my British friends preferred much stronger black teas from Sri Lanka. Later I learned that although people know China for its teas, it ranks only third among the world’s black tea exporters, after Sri Lanka and Kenya.
After I came back to China and started to cover food stories, I met friends in the tea-drinking circle and learned more. Although the majority of the rest of the world drinks black tea, which the Chinese call“red tea”, China produces and drinks mostly green teas.
I feel lucky to be Chinese because of the great variety of teas available in the country. It is estimated that there are more than 2,000 teas in China if you divide them geographically, including more than 600 locally famous brews. A more simple way to categorize (分类) is by color and extent of fermentation (发酵). That comes down to six main categories—green, white, yellow, dark-greenish (oolong), red and black teas.
Tasting teas can be compared to our lives. They can be plain and predictable but sometimes they are full of pleasant surprises. Occasionally they can even seem too good to be true. The best thing is, you know there’s always more to explore.
1.Which country ranks first among the world’s black tea exporters?
A. Sri Lanka B. China
C. Kenya D. United States
2.The writer of this passage works as a ________.
A. manager B. journalist
C. scientist D. tea grower
3.All of the following statements about tea in China are true EXCEPT ________.
A. varieties of tea is planted and produced each year in China
B. all tea in China can be divided into six categories with no exceptions
C. tea in China can be categorized by color and extend of fermentation
D. tea in China can be divided into more than 2000 categories geographically
4.What column does this passage belong to in a newspaper?
A. World B. Business
C. Travel D. Lifestyle
One of my neighbors used to have a beautiful tree in her front yard. Her dad had planted it for her when it was nothing more than a twig and several years later it started to shoot towards the sky with amazing speed. Soon it blessed her with cooling shade in the summer and glorious, golden leaves in the fall.
When the two-day snowstorm struck our town, heavy snow fell on the tree’s branches that were still full of leaves. The weight split that lovely tree down the middle. It was so sad seeing half of it laying on the ground after the storm. When I talked to my neighbor later, she said that the damage had been too much and that the entire tree would have to be cut down. Thankfully she had saved a few saplings(树苗) from it that she hoped to replant in the future.
Still, it was a shock to drive by her house the other day and see nothing but a stump in her front yard. I missed that tree. I missed its beauty, its leaves shinning in the afternoon sun. I missed seeing its limbs reach towards the heavens. I thought that the stump would be a sad reminder of its loss for a long time to come. My wonderful neighbor, though, had another plan. When I drove by her home today I saw a tiny bird feeder sitting on that stump and a colorful songbird having its dinner. It was such an affirmation of life. It was such a joy to see. I could feel my heart smile.
Life by its very nature is a mixed bag. It hands us both beauty and tragedy, love and loss, pleasure and pain. What we do with it, however, is up to us. We can let it split us in two, or we can use even its hardest times to make our souls stronger and our hearts more loving. We can spend it complaining or we can use it to help others.
1.We know from the first paragraph that _____．
A. the tree grew very slowly.
B. the tree showed its beauty and benefits.
C. the author’s neighbor was good at planting trees.
D. the tree was so strong that it could bear any weight.
2.The author’s neighbor left a stump in her front yard to use it as_____.
A. a good reminder.
B. a seat after dinner.
C. a place to feed birds.
D. a beautiful sculpture.
3.What does the author mainly want to show in the passage?
A. Life has beauty and tragedy.
B. Life consists of pain and suffering.
C. Life should be pleasant rather than painful.
D. Life is determined by our attitude towards it.
Your body, which has close relations with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own, so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment(营养). The old saying “An_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away．” is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C. Many people take extra vitamins in pill form(丸剂), believing that these will make them healthy. But a good diet is made up of nourishing(有营养的) food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn't need or use extra vitamins, so why waste money on them?
In the modern western world, many people are too busy to bother about eating properly. They throw away the good habits and throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening.
Chinese diet is generally considered to be the healthiest in the world. It contains balanced nutrients as well as fibers. It's not right to eat too full or take in too much fat, salt or sugar. Remember: Healthy diet combined with regular exercise is the recipe for a happy life.
1.From the first sentence we know that ________．
A. all kinds of food you eat can be made into nourishment
B. your body is made up of the food you eat.
C. what you eat has great effect on your health
D. the more you eat, the better you will feel
2.How do you understand the old saying underlined in the passage?
A. Eating apples regularly does good to our health.
B. Doctors are no longer necessary if we eat an apple every day.
C. The apple is the best among all kinds of fruits.
D. An apple is a good way to cure illnesses.
3.In modern western countries, ________．
A. people don't want to pay more attention to their eating
B. lots of people's illnesses are caused or made worse by bad eating habits
C. people throw everything into their stomachs without digestion(消化)
D. people are only too busy to cook meals for themselves
4.If we want to keep healthy, we should ________．
A. only eat an apple a day
B. have balanced food and work out regularly
C. take as many vitamin pills as possible
D. throw everything into our stomachs slowly and carefully
Considering his poor health, the doctor insisted on his ________ a good rest before going back to work.
A. being taken B. having taken
C. taken D. taking
As far as I know, our manager has already had the matter ________， which we can know from his relaxed expression.
A. to settle B. settle
C. settling D. settled
The middleaged woman refused to tolerate ________ a thief and said she didn't steal anything in the supermarket.
A. calling B. being called
C. to call D. called
