Grade 9 Unit 5 Topic 1 Section D

The home of tea, which has more than 4 000 years of history, is China. People throughout China drink tea daily. Of the three major ^[1]major: US: [ˈmeɪdʒər]  UK: [ˈmeɪdʒə(r)] n. 少校；专业课；主修课程；主修学生  adj. 严重；主要的；重要的；大的 drinks — tea, coffee and cocoa ^[2]cocoa: US: [ˈkoʊkoʊ]  UK: [ˈkəʊkəʊ]  n. 可可粉；热可可（饮料）；一杯热可可饮料, tea is drunk by the largest number of people in the world. Tea from China, along with silk and porcelain ^[3]porcelain: US: [ˈpɔrs(ə)lɪn] UK: [ˈpɔː(r)s(ə)lɪn] n. 瓷；瓷器 adj. 瓷(器)的；脆的；易碎的；精美的, began to be known by the world over a thousand years ago and has been an important Chinese export ^[4]export: US: [ˈekˌspɔrt] UK: [ˈekspɔː(r)t] n. 出口；【无线电】呼叫；出口货；输出额  v. 出口；排出 since then.

The words for “tea” in different languages came from the Chinese character, “cha”. The English word, “tea”, sounds similar to the pronunciation of it in Xiamen, Fujian Province. The Russians call it “cha’i”, which sounds like “chaye” (tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China. The Japanese character for “tea” is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese, though it is pronounced a little differently.

Tea leaves are produced mainly in the south of China because of the mild ^[5]mild: US: [maɪld] UK: [maɪld]  adj. 温和的；和善的；不严厉的；和煦的 climate and rich soil there. Longjing, Pu’er, Wulong and Tieguanyin are all famous teas. They’re produced in the provinces of Zhejiang, Yunnan and Fujian.

Over the past centuries, Chinese people have developed their unique ^[6]unique: US: [juˈnik] UK: [juːˈniːk] adj. 唯一的；独一无二的；独特的；罕见的 tea culture, including ^[7]including: US: [ɪnˈkludɪŋ]  UK: [ɪnˈkluːdɪŋ]   prep. 包括   * include: US: [ɪnˈklud]   UK: [ɪnˈkluːd]  v. 包括；包含；使成为…的一部分 tea planting, tea-leaf picking, tea making and tea drinking. Tea is also a popular topic ^[8]topic: US: [ˈtɑpɪk]  UK: [ˈtɒpɪk]  n. 话题；题目；标题 in dances, songs, poems and novels.