Tea is an important part of Chinese tradition. Tea has a very close relationship to Chinese culture.

It is said that Chinese tea was discovered by King Shen Nong. People say that he lived 5,000 years ago. One summer day, while he was visiting a faraway part of his country, he felt very thirsty.

The servant(仆人) began to make water hot enough to turn into gas (气体) for him to drink. Dried leaves from a near plant fell into the water. The king drank some, and found it could make him feel less tired. Also as a scientist, Shen Nong was interested in the new drink. And so, tea was created in 2737 BC.

Drinking tea has many advantages. It makes people feel less tired, clears heat inside the human body and helps people lose weight. As you add a cup of tea to your daily life, please check the following helpful advice.

◆Drink it hot. Tea oxidizes (氧化) quickly, so it is suggested that you drink it hot.

◆Do not drink too much strong tea. It will probably be harmful to your stomach and make you feel sick if you make the tea too strong.

◆ The best time to drink tea is between meals. It may not make you have a strong wish to eat when your stomach is full.

◆Do not drink tea with medicine. It may change the medical result. You can drink tea two hours after you take medicine.

◆ Green tea is the best choice for office workers. Why? Because green tea helps stop the bad result of the computer.

It is hard to be farmers. Cold weather can kill your plants. Bugs (虫子) can eat your plants. Weeds (杂草) can hurt your plants. Your plants may need more rain than they get. Fruit and vegetables can go bad before you sell them. Some people say farmers can solve (解决) all these problems with GM food (转基因食物).

What is GM food? All living things have DNA. DNA tells how living things grow. These days, people can change DNA that tells how food grows. When people change DNA of the food, it is called GM food.

Some GM food can grow in cold weather. GM food can stop bugs from eating it. GM fruit and vegetables can stay longer. One day, GM food may be able to grow in dry land in Africa. It will feed people who do not have much food.

But there is a lot we do not know about GM food. Will GM companies (公司) help poor people grow food? Or do GM companies just want to get rich? Does GM food kill bugs we need? Does GM food make birds sick? Does GM food make people sick? We do not know.

Whether yellow, red or white, the onion (洋葱) is a vegetable that you may not know well. The list of its uses in cooking is endless. People have used onions to add flavor (味道) to their foods for thousands of years. Besides onions’ great taste, they are very good for you. They have special chemicals (化学物质) that make your ability better to fight against sickness and you have fewer chances of being ill.

No matter how good onions are for you, it is difficult to cut an onion without your eyes filling with tears! When you cut into an onion, irritating (刺激性的) chemicals inside the onion will get into the air. They touch your whole eyes and cause pain (疼痛). Your eyes make tears to wash away the chemicals and protect your eyes.

Luckily, cooks and scientists find some ways to keep you from crying when you cut up onions.

*Cut the onion under running water. The water will wash away the chemicals before they can reach your eyes.

*Use a fan (风扇) to blow air over the onion as you cut it. The air will blow the chemicals away from your eyes.

*Put the onion in a fridge for an hour before cutting. This helps make the chemicals in the onion move slowly, so they may not ever reach your eyes.

If you try out these good ideas and still cry while cutting onions, don’t worry. Scientists think if you cut more onions, your body will become more resilient to the onion’s chemicals. So the tears will not last long. If you think about how healthy onions are, you might even call those tears “happy tears”.