1 . Although tea is considered typically English, it did not really become part of English daily life until the 18th century.
The first man to sell tea was Thomas Garway in 1657 in his coffee house in London. It soon became fashionable all over London in 1662. Catherine of Braganza sailed to England from Portugal to become Charles II’s wife, taking boxes of tea with her. They said she was the first to introduce tea drinking in the home. The custom of afternoon tea probably originated with one person: Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford. In the early 1800s she came up with the idea of having tea in the late afternoon to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner, which in fashionable circles was not served until 8 o'clock at night. Tea drinking became popular among the lower classes too, but they are their evening meals much earlier! Nowadays British homes serve tea at all times of the day. If you visit British homes in the daytime they are likely to offer you a cup of tea. If it is after six this will probably be something stronger like beer or wine. Some families drink tea with breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
Tea shops originated in the 1800s and you can still find them today all over England especially in villages and small towns. You can choose from a wide variety of teas as well as herbal teas (花草茶) and coffees. Tea rooms usually serve a selection of fresh sandwiches and cakes as well as ice cream. They are usually open from 9:00 am 10:00 am to around 5:00 pm. Some are open seven days a week, others close mid-week as weekends are usually the busiest time.
Tea was originally sold in coffee shops and was advertised as a drink with medicinal properties which made you strong and gave you energy, as well as preserving perfect health until extreme old age. This may not be true, but it is true that drinking tea can be refreshing. Tea breaks, or a short break from work to drink a cup of tea, is still vert popular in the UK. However, too much tea, like too much coffee, can also lead to sleeplessness and palpitations (心悸). This is why today some people prefer to buy herbal teas which do not contain caffeine.
1. What is the purpose of the text?| A．To inform. | B．To persuade. |
| C．To describe. | D．To instruct. |
| A．To memorize the first person to introduce tea drinking. |
| B．To meet the growing needs of tea shops. |
| C．To relieve people of hunger. |
| D．To introduce tea to the lower class. |
| A．Tea rooms in England provide tea drink only. |
| B．English people only drink tea before 6:00 pm. |
| C．Tea was introduced to England in the 18th century. |
| D．Tea rooms are spread in many parts of England. |
| A．Why tea is popular in Britain. | B．What a tea break is. |
| C．Tea and health. | D．The beginning of tea advertisements. |
2 . The fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar (日历), also known as the Lantern Festival, is the last day for the Spring Festival celebration. It's time to enjoy the important festival food: rice glue balls. It is called tangyuan in the south, and yuanxiao in the north of China. It's one of the favorite dishes at Chinese festivals, as the round shape represents reunion.
Li Mingcheng, more than 60 years old, has been making rice glue balls for over 40 years. His snack bar brand was founded over 100 years ago. He is the sixth generation leader of the family. Every kid looked forward to the Spring Festival, because long ago, rice glue balls were luxury (奢侈的) food. People only made them during the Spring Festival. Besides the rare (罕见的) dishes like meat, the rice glue balls were an important part of Li's childhood memories.
"The wrapper (包装材料) is made of rice from northeast China. It is the best," says Li. After being put into water for 24 hours, the rice is wet-milled (湿磨) to make dough (面团) and it is decorated with sweet juice. For the filling, black sesame (芝麻) is a classic choice. It's a mixture of sesame, sugar and lard. Some people prefer it with walnuts, peanuts and brown sugar.
After eating rice glue balls, families make full use of the remaining holiday to see lantern shows. In the colorful lights, people wish for a whole year as happy as today. Those sweet times would be connected with rice glue balls and happiness at the festival.
1. What do rice glue balls stand for?| A．Leisure. | B．Strength. | C．Richness. | D．Reunion. |
| A．For the special dishes. | B．For interesting games. |
| C．For long holidays. | D．For sweet memories. |
| A．The custom of the Lantern Festival. |
| B．The tradition of snacks. |
| C．The make of rice glue balls. |
| D．The benefits of rice glue balls. |
| A．Before the Spring Festival. | B．Before seeing Lantern shows. |
| C．After making best wishes. | D．Before hanging up the lights. |
