Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about it. People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake.

Tea remained scarce(稀少的) and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it directly from China early in the 17th century.During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.

Tea had been drunk without milk in it at first, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added.She found it so pleasant that she would never drink it without milk again.She was such a great lady that her friends thought they must copy everything she did.Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.

At first tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening.No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess(公爵夫人) found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her getting“a sinking feeling”as she called it.She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so，teatime was born.

April showers bring May flowers, as the saying goes. And with those flowers comes May Day, a holiday that most people have heard of but have no idea what it's for.

May Day, celebrated on May I every year, has its roots in ancient festivals marking the beginning of summer. Ancient Celts called it Beltane, which is still celebrated today. Over the centuries, it gradually developed in Europe, with maypole dances now connected with the holiday.

But May Day isn't all about skipping around with ribbons in the sunshine. It has also been on the same day as International Workers' Day since the 1880s. In fact, May Day is equal to America's Labor Day for certain countries.

On May 1,1886, hundreds of thousands of U.S. industrial workers took part in a nationwide strike to demand an 8-hour workday. (At the time. it was common to work 10 to 16 hours a day, according to Industrial Workers of the World.) The activities in Chicago lasted for several days, and on May 3. a strike at McCormick Reaper Works ended in a brawl with police officers. Several strikers were wounded or killed.

The next night, the violence became even worse. When police came to break up a crowd of people gathered in Haymarket Square, a bomb went off in the policemen. The bomb killed seven of them and wounded 60 more. Police then opened fire on the crowd, killing several men and wounding 200.

In honor of these events, now known as the Haymarket Affair, the International Socialist Conference declared May I as an international holiday for labor. That's why the world sees not only celebrations of warmer weather on the first day of May, but often marches for labor unions as well.

Throughout history, remarkable leaders have started to appear, leaving an indelible mark on their civilizations and shaping the course of human history. Here are some historical leaders whose impact reverberated far beyond their lifetimes, leaving a lasting legacy that transformed the civilizations they led.

As a brilliant military strategist and charming statesman, Caesar played a vital role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. His military conquests, including the famous crossing of the Rubicon, expanded the Roman territories and altered the political landscape, Caesar's vision for a centralized and stable Rome laid the groundwork for the imperial era, shaping the development of Western civilization.

Queen Elizabeth I became the English throne in the 16th century and entered a period of cultural flourishing known as the Elizabethan Era. Under her rule, England saw remarkable achievements in literature, exploration and the arts, with master minds like William Shakespeare contributing to the cultural renaissance. Elizabeth's reign not only strengthened England's status as a global power but also left an enduring legacy of artistic and intellectual brilliance.

South Africa in the 20th century bore witness to the transformative leadership of Nelson Mandela, A symbol of resistance against apartheid(种族隔离), Mandela spent 27 years in prison before emerging as a unifying figure in seeking for racial equality. Elected as South Africa's first Black president in 1994. Mandela made efforts to unify a divided nation. promoting forgiveness and inclusivity.

In ancient China, the remarkable leadership of Emperor Qin Shi Huang laid the groundwork for a unified and centralised state. As the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang standardised writing systems, currencies and measurements, fostering unity across diverse regions. Perhaps most famously, he initiated the construction of the Great Wall of China as a defence against invasions.