Question

The Mandarin Chinese word for “cha” is pronounced “t'e” in certain Chinese dialects(方言). Also the Malay word for the leaf is“the”. This word “the” was used to describe both the drink and the leaf. The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as the Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference; so these may be the origins of our word tea in the western world.

Tea may have been discovered in 2737 BC by Shen Nong, a Chinese Emperor of the San Huang Period（3,000 - 2,700 BC）. He was a scholar, the father of agriculture and the inventor of Chinese herbal medicine. One summer day, while visiting a distant place, he and the court stopped to rest and his servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and made it a brown liquid. The Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. The tree was a wild tea tree, and so, tea was created.

The first samples(樣品) of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea was referred to as the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, and tea and was at first regarded more as a medicine than a fashionable drink. The original English pronunciation of the word tea was “tay” and can be traced back to around 1655 when the Dutch introduced both word and beverage（飲料）to England. The pronunciation “tee” also originated in the 1600's but only gained predominance（主導地位）after the late 18th century.

By 1650 the Dutch were actively involved in trade throughout the Western world. During that year Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to America to the colonists（殖民地定居者）in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam （later re-named New York）.

1.The following information is true EXCEPT ________.

A. The Japanese write the character for tea the same way as we Chinese.

B. It was a Chinese Emperor who first found tea very refreshing.

C. The word “the” was used to describe only the leaf.

D. Tea was discovered quite by chance in history.

2.Paragraph 2 mainly tells us ________.

A. that Shen Nong, was a famous inventor of Chinese herbal medicine

B. why the Emperor was brave and dared to run risks

C. whether Shen Nong liked drinking boiled water outside the court

D. the way in which tea was created outdoors 

3.Which of the following information is FALSE according to the text?

① Tea was at first regarded just as a fashionable drink in England.

② Tea had different names during the early days it reached England.

③ The pronunciation “tee”originated in 1600.

④ Peter Stuyvesant introduced both word “tay” and beverage（飲料）to England.

⑤ The pronunciation“tee”became popular after the late 18th century.

A. ①②     B. ②③     C. ④⑤     D. ①④   

4.From Paragraph 3 we know ________.

A. that the leaf tea should be put in hot water for drinking 

B. that tea was called the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, t'e and tea in England

C. what the early situation of tea was like in the Western world  

D. that tea was first brought to America in the late 16th century

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.D

3.D

4.C

【解析】

試題分析：本篇文章介紹了茶在中國的起源，以及最初傳到國外的情況。有關中國飲茶起源最普遍的說法是認為茶是神農在野外以釜鍋煮水時，剛好有幾片葉子飄進鍋中，煮好的水，其色微黃，喝入口中生津止渴、提神醒腦，從此才有了茶的發現。

1.C細節理解題。從文章首段This word “the” was used to describe both the drink and the leaf. 可知“the”既指葉也指茶飲料。所以C選項正確。

2.D主旨大意題。在文章第二段作者講述了神農發現茶葉的故事，由此可知D選項正確。

3.D細節理解題。由文章倒數第二段was at first regarded more as a medicine than a fashionable drink.和 The original English pronunciation of the word tea was “tay” and can be traced back to around 1655 when the Dutch introduced both word and beverage（飲料）to England.可以判斷D選項內容錯誤。

4.C主旨大意題。文章第三段講述了茶首次運到England的情況，包括人們對茶的看法以及發音等，由此可知C為正確選項。

考點：考查社會知識類短文閱讀。