The Mandarin Chinese word for “cha” is pronounced “t'e” in certain Chinese dialects(方言). Also the Malay word for the leaf is“the”. This word “the” was used to describe both the drink and the leaf. The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as the Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference; so these may be the origins of our word tea in the western world.
Tea may have been discovered in 2737 BC by Shen Nong, a Chinese Emperor of the San Huang Period（3,000 - 2,700 BC）. He was a scholar, the father of agriculture and the inventor of Chinese herbal medicine. One summer day, while visiting a distant place, he and the court stopped to rest and his servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and made it a brown liquid. The Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. The tree was a wild tea tree, and so, tea was created.
The first samples(样品) of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea was referred to as the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, and tea and was at first regarded more as a medicine than a fashionable drink. The original English pronunciation of the word tea was “tay” and can be traced back to around 1655 when the Dutch introduced both word and beverage（饮料）to England. The pronunciation “tee” also originated in the 1600's but only gained predominance（主导地位）after the late 18th century.
By 1650 the Dutch were actively involved in trade throughout the Western world. During that year Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to America to the colonists（殖民地定居者）in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam （later re-named New York）.
【小题1】The following information is true EXCEPT .A．The Japanese write the character for tea the same way as we Chinese. B．It was a Chinese Emperor who first found tea very refreshing.C．The word “the” was used to describe only the leaf. D．Tea was discovered quite by chance in history.【小题2】Paragraph 2 mainly tells us .A．that Shen Nong, was a famous inventor of Chinese herbal medicineB．why the Emperor was brave and dared to run risksC．whether Shen Nong liked drinking boiled water outside the courtD．the way in which tea was created outdoors【小题3】Which of the following information is FALSE according to the text?
① Tea was at first regarded just as a fashionable drink in England.
② Tea had different names during the early days it reached England.
③ The pronunciation “tee”originated in 1600.
④ Peter Stuyvesant introduced both word “tay” and beverage（饮料）to England.
⑤ The pronunciation“tee”became popular after the late 18th century.A．①②B．②③C．④⑤D．①④【小题4】From Paragraph 3 we know .A．that the leaf tea should be put in hot water for drinkingB．that tea was called the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, t'e and tea in EnglandC．what the early situation of tea was like in the Western worldD．that tea was first brought to America in the late 16th centuryC
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(答案→)C
解析：本篇文章介绍了茶在中国的起源，以及最初传到国外的情况。有关中国饮茶起源最普遍的说法是认为茶是神农在野外以釜锅煮水时，刚好有几片叶子飘进锅中，煮好的水，其色微黄，喝入口中生津止渴、提神醒脑，从此才有了茶的发现。
【小题1】C细节理解题。从文章首段This word “the” was used to describe both the drink and the leaf. 可知“the”既指叶也指茶饮料。所以C选项正确。
【小题2】D主旨大意题。在文章第二段作者讲述了神农发现茶叶的故事，由此可知D选项正确。
【小题3】D细节理解题。由文章倒数第二段was at first regarded more as a medicine than a fashionable drink.和 The original English pronunciation of the word tea was “tay” and can be traced back to around 1655 when the Dutch introduced both word and beverage（饮料）to England.可以判断D选项内容错误。
【小题4】C主旨大意题。文章第三段讲述了茶首次运到England的情况，包括人们对茶的看法以及发音等，由此可知C为正确选项。