【易伯华出品】雅思阅读机经真题解析-The History of Tea

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A

The story of tea began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to

legend, Shen Nung, an early emperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and

patron of the arts. His far-sighted edicts required, among other things, that

all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while

visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In

accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to

drink. Dried leaves from the nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and a

brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was

interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. And so,

according to legend, tea was created.

B

Tea consumption spread throughout the Chinese culture reaching into every

aspect of the society. In 800 A.D. Lu Yu wrote the first definitive book on tea,

the Ch'a Ching. This amazing man was orphaned as a child and raised by scholarly

Buddhist monks in one of China's finest monasteries. Patronized by the Emperor

himself, his work clearly showed the Zen Buddhist philosophy to which he was

exposed as a child. It was this form of tea service that Zen Buddhist

missionaries would later introduce to imperial Japan. The first tea seeds were

brought to Japan by the returning Buddhist priest Yeisei, who had seen the value

of tea in China in enhancing religious mediation. As a result, he is known as

the "Father of Tea" in Japan. Because of this early association, tea in Japan

has always been associated with Zen Buddhism. Tea received almost instant

imperial sponsorship and spread rapidly from the royal court and monasteries to

the other sections of Japanese society.

C

Tea was elevated to an art form resulting in the creation of the Japanese Tea

Ceremony ("Cha-no-yu" or "the hot water for tea"). The best description of this

complex art form was probably written by the Irish-Greek journalist-historian

Lafcadio Hearn, one of the few foreigners ever to be granted Japanese

citizenship during this era. He wrote from personal observation, "The Tea

ceremony requires years of training and practice to graduate in art...yet the

whole of this art, as to its detail, signifies no more than the making and

serving of a cup of tea. The supremely important matter is that the act be

performed in the most perfect, most polite, most graceful, most charming manner

possible”.Such a purity of form, of expression prompted the creation of

supportive arts and services. A special form of architecture (chaseki) developed

for "tea houses", based on the duplication of the simplicity of a forest

cottage. The cultural/artistic hostesses of Japan, the Geishi, began to

specialize in the presentation of the tea ceremony. As more and more people

became involved in the excitement surrounding tea, the purity of the original

Zen concept was lost. The tea ceremony became corrupted, boisterous and highly

embellished. "Tea Tournaments" were held among the wealthy where nobles competed

among each other for rich prizes in naming various tea blends. Rewarding winners

with gifts of silk, armor, and jewelry was totally alien to the original Zen

attitude of the ceremony.Three great Zen priests restored tea to its original

place in Japanese society. One of them is Sen-no Rikkyu (1521-1591)-priest who

set the rigid standards for the ceremony, largely used intact today. Rikyo was

successful in influencing the Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who became Japan's

greatest patron of the "art of tea". A brilliant general, strategist, poet, and

artist this unique leader facilitated the final and complete integration of tea

into the pattern of Japanese life. So complete was this acceptance, that tea was

viewed as the ultimate gift, and warlords paused for tea before battles.

D

While tea was at this high level of development in both Japan and China,

information concerning this then unknown beverage began to filter back to

Europe. Earlier caravan leaders had mentioned it, but were unclear as to its

service format or appearance. (One reference suggests the leaves be boiled,

salted, buttered, and eaten!) The first European to personally encounter tea and

write about it was the Portuguese Jesuit Father Jasper de Cruz in 1560.

Portugal, with her technologically advanced navy, had been successful in gaining

the first right of trade with China. It was as a missionary on that first

commercial mission that Father de Cruz had tasted tea four years before.The

Portuguese developed a trade route by which they shipped their tea to Lisbon,

and then Dutch ships transported it to France, Holland, and the Baltic

countries. (At that time Holland was politically affiliated with Portugal. When

this alliance was altered in 1602, Holland, with her excellent navy, entered

into full Pacific trade in her own right.)

E

Because of the success of the Dutch navy in the Pacific, tea became very

fashionable in the Dutch capital, the Hague. This was due in part to the high

cost of the tea (over $100 per pound) which immediately made it the domain of

the wealthy.

F

Slowly, as the amount of tea imported increased, the price fell as the volume

of sale expanded. initially available to the public in apothecaries along with

such rare and new spices as ginger and sugar, by 1675 it was available in common

food shops throughout Holland. As the consumption of tea increased dramatically

in Dutch society, doctors and university authorities argued back and forth as to

the negative and/or positive benefits of tea. Known as "tea heretics", the

public largely ignored the scholarly debate and continued to enjoy their new

beverage though the controversy lasted from 1635 to roughly 1657. Throughout

this period France and Holland led Europe in the use of tea.

G

As the craze for things oriental swept Europe, tea became part of the way of

life. The social critic Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the Marquise de Seven makes

the first mention in 1680 of adding milk to tea. During the same period, Dutch

inns provided the first restaurant service of tea. Tavern owners would furnish

guests with a portable tea set complete with a heating unit. The independent

Dutchman would then prepare tea for himself and his friends outside in the

tavern's garden. Tea remained popular in France for only about fifty years,

being replaced by a stronger preference for wine, chocolate, and exotic

coffees.Great Britain was the last of the three great sea-faring nations to

break into the Chinese and East Indian trade routes. This was due in part to the

unsteady ascension to the throne of the Stuarts and the Cromwellian Civil War.

The first samples of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea quickly

proved popular enough to replace ale as the national drink of England.As in

Holland, it was the nobility that provided the necessary stamp of approval and

so insured its acceptance. King Charles II had married, while in exile, the

Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Braganza (1662). Charles himself had grown up in

the Dutch capital. As a result, both he and his Portuguese bride were confirmed

tea drinkers. When the monarchy was re-established, the two rulers brought this

foreign tea tradition to England with them.

H

Imperial Russia was attempting to engage China and Japan in trade at the same

time as the East Indian Company. The Russian interest in tea began as early as

1618 when the Chinese embassy in Moscow presented several chests of tea to Czar

Alexis. By 1689 the Trade Treaty of Newchinsk established a common border

between Russia and China, allowing caravans to then cross back and forth freely.

Still, the journey was not easy. The trip was 11,000 miles long and took over

sixteen months to complete. The average caravan consisted of 200 to 300 camels.

As a result of such factors, the cost of tea was initially prohibitive and

available only to the wealthy. By the time Catherine the Great died (1796), the

price had dropped some, and tea was spreading throughout Russian society.

Questions 1-8

Reading passage 1 has eight paragraphs, A-H

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-H from the list of headings

below.

Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i Good or bad of tea

ii Tea ritual

iii Difficulties of import

iv Religious objection of tea

v A chance discovery

vi In and out of fashion

vii A luxury thing

viii A connection between tea and religion

ix Shortage of supply

x News of tea going to new continent

1 Paragraph A

2 Paragraph B

3 Paragraph C

4 Paragraph D

5 Paragraph E

6 Paragraph F

7 Paragraph G

8 Paragraph H

Questions 9-13

Use the information in the passage to match the country (listed A-G) with

statements below. Write the appropriate letters A-G in boxes 9-13 on your answer

sheet.

A France

B Holland

C Japan

D China

E Britain

F Russia

G Portugal

9 house designed particularly for tea drinking

10 tea being substituted after a short period

11 using animals for tea transportation

12 popularity of tea despite of some dispute

13 favor of tea for ruler's specialised knowledge

文章题目：The History of Tea 茶叶的历史

篇章结构

体裁论说文

题目茶叶的历史

结构A段：传说中茶的偶然发现

B段：茶与宗教的联系

C段：茶道的兴起

D段：茶的信息被传播到其他国家

E段：茶叶成为奢侈品

F段：茶叶产生正面及负面影响

G段：茶的流行趋势

H段：茶叶运输艰难

（转第二页）