Unit 6 When was it invented?
P43 3a
An Accidental Invention
Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), was invented by accident? Many people believe that tea was first drunk nearly 5,000 years ago. It is said that a Chinese ruler called Shen Nong first discovered tea as a drink. One day Shen Nong was boiling drinking water over an open fire. Some leaves from a tea plant fell into the water and remained there for some time. It produced a nice smell so he tasted the brown water anyway. It was quite delicious. In this way, one of the world’s favorite drinks was invented.
More than 4,000 years later, Lu Yu, “the saint of tea”, mentioned Shen Nong in his book Cha Jing. The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to make tea. It also discusses where the finest tea leaves were produced and what kinds of water were used.
It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries. In England, tea didn’t appear until around 1660, but less than 100 years later, it had become the national drink. The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century. This helped to spread the popularity of tea and the tea plant to more places around the world. Even though many people now know about tea culture, the Chinese are without doubt the ones who best understand the nature of tea.
Section A 3a
一项偶然的发明
你知道茶，作为世界上最受欢迎的饮料（仅次于水），是一项偶然的发明吗？许多人都认为在5000年以前就开始了饮茶。据说一位叫神农的中国统治者最早发现茶可以饮用。一天，神农在户外的炉火上烧水，茶树上有几片叶子掉入水里，过了一会，散发出怡人的香味，于是神农品尝了这褐色的水，它非常香醇，就这样，世界上最受欢迎的饮料之一被发明了。
数千年后，“茶圣”陆羽在他的《茶经》一书中提到了神农。该书描述了如何种植茶树和泡茶，它还讨论了什么地方出产最好的茶叶，而且还应该使用什么样的水来泡茶。
人们认为茶是在公元6-7世纪传播到日本和朝鲜。在英国，大约直到1660年才发现，但不到100年的时间里，茶已经成为国饮。从中国到西方的茶叶贸易始于19世纪。这使得茶树和茶叶传播到世界更多地方，使之深受欢迎。虽然现在又许多人都了解一些茶文化，但毫无疑问的是，中国人才是最了解茶之本质（精髓）的人。
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