“If you are cold, it will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you; if you are exhausted, it will calm you.” The poem best identifies the passion for tea in Britain. Outside of the United Kingdom, many people refer to afternoon tea as “high tea”. Afternoon tea, also known as low tea, is what most people think of when they hear “high tea”. It involves things like manners, lace(蕾丝) and light meals such as cookies and finger sandwiches. It is typically served in the mid-afternoon and it was traditionally served on low tables, therefore its two names.

Legend has it that afternoon tea was started in the mid-1800s by the Duchess(公爵夫人) of Bedford. Around that time, kerosene(煤油) lamps were introduced into wealthier homes and eating a late dinner( around 8 or 9 p.m.) became fashionable. This increasingly late dinner was one of the only two meals each day, and the other was a mid-morning one. The story goes that the Duchess found herself with a “sinking feeling”. This came from hunger during the long wait between meals. She decided to invite friends over for various snacks and tea. The idea of an afternoon tea gathering spread across high society and became a favorite pastime of females for leisure. Later, it spread to other social groups.

However, the British working population did not have afternoon tea. They had a meal about midday, and a meal after work, between five and seven o’clock. This meal was called “high tea” or just “tea”. Traditionally eaten early evening, high tea was a substantial meal that combined delicious sweet food, such as cookies, cakes or tea bread, with heavy food, such as cheese on toast, cold meals and poached eggs on toast. This meal is now often replaced with a supper due to people eating their main meal in the evening rather than at midday.

【小题1】What is the author’s purpose of using a poem at the beginning of the passage?

A．To introduce a topic.	B．To present a puzzle.
C．To describe the phenomenon.	D．To clarify his writing purpose.

【小题2】What led to the appearance of afternoon tea?

A．Kerosene lamps were used at home.

B．Upper class had more free time.

C．Drinking tea makes people feel good.

D．Duchess of Bedford was influential in social circle.

【小题3】What was the most important feature of afternoon tea in the mid-1800s?

A．Simple food and tea.	B．Being served on low tables.
C．A ladies’ social occasion.	D．Serving time.

【小题4】What is the best title for the text?

A．Origins of Tea.	B．Ways of Low Tea.
C．Traditional Afternoon Tea.	D．High Tea and Low Tea.