One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for tea. Today, when we think of western tea culture, we often think of the English and beautiful china tea cups.
Afternoon tea:
People believe that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the English ate only two main meals each day, breakfast and a heavy supper that would last for several hours in the evening. As a result, people often got very hungry during the long wait between these two meals. To solve this problem, Anna came up with the clever idea of inviting some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o’clock. This meal included cakes, sandwiches, and tea was served to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups, plates, and silver teapots, knives, forks and spoons were used. Soon, afternoon tea parties became popular social occasions. Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in modern Britain.
Will you e for coffee:
Coffee also has an important role in British culture. People often use words “Will you e for coffee?” to mean “Would you like to e to my home for a chat?” Normally, several different drinks such as tea, hot chocolate or a soft drink like orange juice will be served as well as coffee, and you will be asked what you would like. However, you will not normally be offered wine at a “coffee” party.
Coffeehouses and the London Stock Exchange:
In the 17th century London coffeehouses were busy and noisy places. Businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses to do their business, as well as to drink coffee. In fact, the London Stock Exchange（股票交易所）is believed to be started from these coffeehouses.
【小题1】Anna introduced the idea of drinking afternoon tea because she .A．enjoyed chatting with her friends at homeB．loved tea and beautiful china tea cupsC．wanted to share nice food with her friendsD．found people felt hungry during the long wait between the two meals【小题2】What does “social occasions” mean in Chinese?A．集体婚礼B．社交活动C．社区表演D．公共场合【小题3】 If someone says to you “Will you e for coffee?”, you .A．will be offered coffee onlyB．will be asked what you would like to drinkC．will be asked to have a chat with him or her D．are invited to take part in an afternoon tea party【小题4】 From the last paragraph we can see .A．a new business was started in coffeehousesB．coffeehouses are still used by businessmen and bankersC．businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses just for coffeeD．most people wouldn’t like to go to coffeehouses because of the coffee【小题5】Which is the best title（标题）for this article?A．British and Chinese CultureB．The Beginning of Tea and CoffeeC．Coffeehouses and BusinessD．English Tea and Coffee CultureD
网友回答
(答案→)D
解析：
【小题1】本文第二段提到英国人喝下午茶是由于英国人在早期主要吃两顿饭，从早餐到晚餐有很长的时间，这样人们就感到饿，所以用下午茶来解决这个问题，故本题选D。
【小题2】“social occasion”后有一句是Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in modern Britain.意思为现今下午茶聚会继续在现代英国的社会扮演着重要的部分，所以social occasion应该是社交活动的意思，故本题选B。
【小题3】第三段第二行有一句为People often use words “Will you e for coffee?” to mean “Would you like to e to my home for a chat?”句意为人们经常使用“Will you e for coffee?”所表示的意思为你愿意到我家来同我聊天吗？故本题选C。
【小题4】本文最后一段提到许多商人，银行家聚在一个房屋里边喝咖啡，边谈论生意，形成为伦敦早期的股票交易所，所以说一种新的商业在咖啡屋产生，故本题选A。
【小题5】本文主要介绍了英国的下午茶和英国的咖啡屋的历史和由来，所以所本文的最佳标题应该是英国下午茶和咖啡文化，故本题选D。