ONCE upon a time there was no tea at all in our country. In England, in the olden time, people used to drink ale, and a sweet kind of wine called mead. Great tankards of ale stood on the breakfast table. Now we use tea and coffee.

When tea was first brought to England, an old man and woman had some sent to them as a great treat. But when they got it, they did not know how it ought to be used. At length they boiled the leaves, and strewed them on a piece of bacon which they were going to have for dinner. They ate the leaves, and threw the tea away!

In those days, a pound of tea cost so much money that only the rich could buy it. Now it is so cheap that even the poorest can enjoy it.

Tea is the leaf of a plant which grows plentifully in China, Japan, and other Eastern lands. The Chinese drink their tea without either milk or sugar. Whenever a visitor comes into a house, a servant always brings him a cup of tea.

Every cottager in China has his little tea-garden. He sells what he does not use, and can thus buy food and clothing for his family.

When a man has a large piece of ground, and grows a great many tea-plants, he is called a tea farmer. When the tea-leaves are ready to be gathered, the farmer and his family are very busy. They pull off the leaves and throw them into baskets. When the baskets are full, they are carried into the house.

The leaves are dried in iron pans over a fire. While they are drying, men and women keep turning them about. As soon as they begin to crack, they are taken out and spread upon a table. Then the work-people roll them up in their hands, and press all the juice they can out of them.

After being once more dried in the air, the leaves have to go into the pan again over the fire. There they begin to curl and twist; and at last they look as we see them in this country.

The farmer then picks out the best leaves, and gets them ready for market. He may be seen marching off to the town, with his chest of tea slung over his shoulder, on a pole made of bamboo.

He goes to a tea merchant and offers the chest of tea for sale. The merchant looks at it, and if he thinks it good he buys it. Then the farmer marches home again, with his money slung over his shoulder. His money consists of a number of strings of brass coins, of so little value that a great many of them make but a small sum.

Questions

What was used in England for breakfast before tea and coffee were known? What mistake did an old man and woman make, when tea first came in? What is tea? Where does it come from? What is a man called who grows a great many tea-plants? What is the first thing done with the leaves when they are pulled? What next? and next? How does the grower carry his tea to market? What does he bring back?

Pronunciation

cot'-ta-ger vis'-it-or en-joy' val'-ue march'-es

shoul'-der bas'-kets dry'-ing East'-ern mar'-ket

break'-fast fam'-i-ly con-sists' when-ev'-er read'-y

Write

boiled enjoy bamboo

length strewed shoulder

tankards cottager merchant

很久以前，我們國家根本沒有茶葉這種東西。古代的英格蘭人喝的是啤酒以及一種味道甜甜的蜂蜜酒。那時候，大大的啤酒杯會放在早餐桌上。但是現在，我們早餐桌上的飲料換成了茶和咖啡。

茶剛剛被帶到英國的時候，有人把它送給一對老年夫婦作為珍貴的禮物。但是這對夫婦拿到這些茶的時候，卻不知道怎么享用。最后，他們把茶的葉子煮了，然后把葉子灑在一片他們晚餐吃的培根上。他們把茶的葉子吃了，然后把茶水給倒了！

那個時候，一磅茶非常的貴，只有富人買得起。但是現在茶卻非常便宜，即使是最貧窮的人也可以享用。

茶是一種植物的葉子，這種植物在中國、日本和其他東方國家有很多。中國人喝茶不加牛奶或糖。每當有客人來的時候，傭人都會為他端上一杯茶。

在中國，每個農民都會擁有自己的一個小茶園。他把自己不需要的茶葉賣掉，然后為家人購買食物和衣服。

當人們有一大塊地，可以種植許多茶樹的時候，他們就被稱為茶農了。茶葉到了可以采摘的時節，茶農和他的家人就會忙碌起來。他們把茶樹的葉子摘下來，扔進筐里。當筐滿的時候，他們就把葉子搬進屋里。

葉子在鐵鍋里被火烘干。在烘干的過程中，人們不停地翻轉茶葉。茶葉一發出噼啪聲，人們就立即把它取出，平攤在桌上。然后再用手揉捻茶葉，盡力把其中的汁液擠出。

在空氣中又經過一番干燥之后，葉子需要再次放入鍋中用火烘干。這時茶葉開始卷曲、變彎，最后變成在我們國家看到的茶葉的樣子。

之后，茶農把最好的茶葉分揀出來，準備到市場上賣掉。茶農會挑著一根扁擔，扁擔上掛著裝茶的箱子，向鎮子出發。

他到茶葉商人那里，把那箱茶葉賣掉。商人打量著這些茶，像在思考買這些茶應該比較合算。然后，茶農又踏上了回家的路。這時他肩頭挑著的是賣茶賺來的幾串銅錢。銅錢價值不高，所以雖然看起來不少，但實際并不值多少錢。