Britons are well known for the amount (量) of tea that they drink. Each person in the UK drinks around 1.9 kg of tea every year. That’s around 876 cups of tea. Tea is drunk by all sections of society. But tea is not native to Britain. Most tea is grown in India and China. So, how did it become an important part of British culture?
Tea arrived in London in the 1600s. At this time, Britons were exploring the world and came across the drink in China. It was not long before green tea was available in Britain to buy.
At the beginning of the 1700s, the amount of tea arriving in Britain increased gradually. Black tea arrived at this time. At first, people drank this tea exactly as it was drunk in China. They soon discovered that it mixed really well with a little milk and sugar, giving the drink a special British characteristic (特色).
In the 1800s, tea was still a product enjoyed only by rich people. At this time, they began to have afternoon tea. People drink tea with a snack around 4 p. m. to avoid feeling hungry between lunch and dinner. In the late 1800s, the price of tea decreased heavily as more tea began to arrive on ships. It was no longer a drink just for rich people. Tearooms and shops where you could buy and drink tea started to appear across the country. People enjoyed drinking tea and socializing (社交) in these places. At the start of the 20th century, Britons began to make tea in their homes whenever they felt like it.
【小题1】From the numbers in Paragraph 1, we know tea is【小题2】The tea mixed with a little
【小题3】Tea
【小题4】The text mainly tells us the
【小题5】Do you like drinking the special British characteristic? Why or why not?