An Accidental Invention

Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), ________ by accident?

Many people believes that tea was first drunk nearly 5,000 years ago. ________ a Chinese ruler called Shen Nong was the first to discover tea as a drink. One day Shen Nong was boiling drinking water ________ an open fire. Some leaves from a tea plant fell into the water and remained there for some time. It produced a nice smell so he tasted the brown water. It was quite delicious, and so, one of the world’s favorite drinks was invented. ________ thousand years later, Lu Yu, “the saint of tea”, mentioned Shen Nong in his book Cha Jing. The book describes how tea plants were ________ and used to make tea.

It also discusses where the finest tea leaves were produced and what kinds of water were used.

The umbrella is a very common object. It keeps the ________and the sun off the people. Most umbrellas can be folded up(折叠) so it is ________ to carry them.

However, the umbrella has not always been as common as it is now. In the past, it was a symbol of importance. Some African countries still use umbrellas in this ________. Someone carries an umbrella and walks behind the king or important person.

Umbrellas are very old. People in different parts of the world began to ________umbrellas at different times. The Chinese had them more than 3,000 years ago.

From then on, umbrellas traveled to India and Egypt. In Greece and Rome, ________ wouldn’t use them. Because they believed umbrellas were only for women.