Tea drinking in England can date back to centuries ago. As an English folk song goes, “When the clock strikes four, everything stops for tea.” Here are some interesting facts about afternoon tea and an introduction to classic afternoon tea.

History of Afternoon Tea

Anna Maria Russel, the seventh Duchess（公爵夫人）of Bedford, introduced the idea of afternoon tea one summer in the early 1840s. The duchess became hungry around four o’clock. She began bringing a tray（托盘）of tea, bread, butter and cakes to her room during the late afternoon. Then it became popular all over the country

High Tea or Low Tea?

Afternoon tea is also called “low tea” because it is usually served in the mid-afternoon and was traditionally served on low tables near sofas. “High tea” means dinner. During the Victorian time, working families returned home after work to have dinner served at a high dining table.

Three layers of Afternoon Tea

There are three layers of afternoon tea: small finger-sized sandwiches, traditional English biscuits, and at the top cakes and fruit. People usually taste from the bottom layer to the top layer, from sandwiches to cakes, and from salty（咸的）to sweet.

Taylor opened her sleepy eyes and looked out of the window at the field. “No!” she cried, now fully open-eyed. Buttermilk was in Mama’s daisy field.

“I must have forgotten to close the gate last night,” Taylor thought as she pulled a sweater over her head. Mama was planning to sell the daisies at the market next week. But Buttermilk was eating the flowers, Taylor hurried outside and thought hard what to do.

“When I grow up, I’ll be an artist and paint pictures all day.” Taylor thought, “I’ll never keep a cow. Too much trouble.”

Just as Taylor was about to guide the cow out, Red, the family dog suddenly barked（吠）. Buttermilk ran across the field, and most of the daisies were eaten or left in pieces.

Mama came out of the house. “What’s going on?” she asked. She looked sadly at her daisies.

“I forgot to close the gate,” Taylor said, “I’m so sorry.”

“I know you are.” Mama gave Taylor a hug. “You learned an important lesson today.”

Taylor’s heart was heavy as she went back into the house. She had to think of a way to make it up. Then a painting on the wall caught Taylor’s eye. “That’s it!” Taylor returned to her bedroom quickly and sat down at her desk, looking at the daisies left over. Soon, daisies came alive on the paper. Taylor made one painting after another.

The morning of the market day, when Mama was getting ready to sell the daisies. Taylor said to Mama, “I have a surprise for you.”

Mama was moved a lot when she saw Taylor’s paintings everywhere in the bedroom bright and cheerful in the morning light.

“Do you think anyone will buy them?” Taylor asked.

Mama smiled. “Oh, sweetie, yes. I’m sure they will.”

An ageing population is a world-wide problem. Many countries are looking for ways to give the old better care.

Some developed countries don’t have enough care workers for the old. To solve the problem, Caring Robots have been made in Japan and are playing parts in looking after the old. With development in science, it’s possible for both the young and the old to enjoy life. Culture also works in its way to care for the old. In China, people share the idea that the old are keepers of wisdom（智慧）and young people should look up to them and take care of them. It is helpful for the old to live together with the young with such idea.

Many old people hope to live independently（独立地）and freely. In Sweden, most of the old live in their own houses and enjoy living by themselves. Old people worked hard and did a lot for the country when they were young. Naturally, they can live the way as they like and get better homecare services to keep healthy.

To improve independent living, Singapore is building more friendly communities（社区）for the old. People doing different jobs like policemen, shopkeepers and students are trained to help the old. They help with the housework such as cooking and cleaning. In this way, old people can stay at home, not in a nursing center.

A society that allows the old to live well is what we are looking for. In our search for the best solution for a fast-increasing ageing population, let us keep in mind that we have to work together as there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

There are big moments in everyone’s lives that show how brave a person is.

As 18-year-old Justin Gavin was walking down a     31    （当地的）street in Waterbury Connecticut, in the US, a passing car caught his     32    （注意力）. The car was on fire. He shouted for the driver to stop, but she drove on.

“I was     33    （害怕的）because I didn’t know if the car was going to blow up（爆炸）,” Justin said. But that didn’t stop him from giving a hand. When the burning car     34    （最后）came to a stop, Justin ran over as fast as he     35    （能）. He broke one of the car’s windows and pulled the driver out. The fire     36    （变得）bigger, but he went on to pull the three children in the back seat to safety. Yes, it was Justin who     37    （救）four lives!

Later that day, the     38    （警察）knew the story and called Justin a hero. But to Justin, he was just doing what he thought he should do. “Life is too short, so I thought if it was me in that     39    （形势；情况）, I would want someone to help me,” he said.

Justin showed the world what he was made of. He pushed through his fear to     40    （保护）complete strangers.

Once you decide to study in the US, you should know which city is right     41     you. Let’s look into one of     42     (exciting) and famous cities — Seattle.

Seattle is a large coastal city with about 3.2 million people. Because of     43     (it) evergreen forests, Seattle is a good place to have outdoor activities such as camping,     44     (climb), hiking and so on.

There’s always something to do in Seattle. You’ll be     45     (interest) in film festivals, fan clubs and concerts. Hundreds of films around the world are shown during the Seattle International Film Festival.     46     wonderful!

While you     47     (study) in Seattle, it is important to have a university experience. Seattle is the home to lots of famous     48     (university) which will surely meet your needs.

If you want to learn     49     (much) information about Seattle, search on the Internet. But do remember to take     50     umbrella — it does rain from time to time.