Question

Some of the best things in life don’t happen until you grow old enough to recognize them. I can say that about tea.

I didn’t start to drink tea until I was 35. What happened before that? The first time I felt a genuine urge to drink tea was in 2003, when I stayed briefly in the United Kingdom. After a time of consuming local food, I started to really like strong black tea. Although it was too strong to my tongue, I felt it was a necessity because it was comforting to my body.

I took packs of green teas with me as gifts but was disappointed to find my British friends preferred much stronger black teas from Sri Lanka. Later I learned that although people know China for its teas, it ranks only third among the world’s black tea exporters, after Sri Lanka and Kenya.

After I came back to China and started to cover food stories, I met friends in the tea-drinking circle and learned more. Although the majority of the rest of the world drinks black tea, which the Chinese call“red tea”, China produces and drinks mostly green teas.

I feel lucky to be Chinese because of the great variety of teas available in the country. It is estimated that there are more than 2,000 teas in China if you divide them geographically, including more than 600 locally famous brews. A more simple way to categorize (分类) is by color and extent of fermentation (发酵). That comes down to six main categories—green, white, yellow, dark-greenish (oolong), red and black teas.

Tasting teas can be compared to our lives. They can be plain and predictable but sometimes they are full of pleasant surprises. Occasionally they can even seem too good to be true. The best thing is, you know there’s always more to explore.

1.Which country ranks first among the world’s black tea exporters?

A. Sri Lanka B. China

C. Kenya D. United States

2.The writer of this passage works as a ________.

A. manager B. journalist

C. scientist D. tea grower

3.All of the following statements about tea in China are true EXCEPT ________.

A. varieties of tea is planted and produced each year in China

B. all tea in China can be divided into six categories with no exceptions

C. tea in China can be categorized by color and extend of fermentation

D. tea in China can be divided into more than 2000 categories geographically

4.What column does this passage belong to in a newspaper?

A. World B. Business

C. Travel D. Lifestyle

Answer 1