IELTS Reading 練習茶的歷史（含題目+詳解）

The History of Tea

IELTS · 雅思備考 · 11 min read · 2026-04-25

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主題: The history of tea
文章重點: Tea began as a regional Chinese drink and slowly spread along trade and religious routes until, in the nineteenth century, large plantations made it cheap enough to become a global daily habit.
難度: 中等 · Intermediate
建議時間: 18 分鐘

重要單字

beverage — a drink other than water / 飲料
cultivated — grown deliberately on a farm or land / 栽培、種植
codified — set down clearly as a system of rules / 編纂、整理成規範
novelty — something new and unusual / 新奇事物
plantations — large farms growing one main crop / 大型農園
monopoly — exclusive control over the supply of something / 壟斷、獨占

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

Tea began as a wild plant in southwest China and was cultivated there from the third century BC. The Tang scholar Lu Yu wrote the first tea manual around 760 AD, and Buddhist monks carried tea to Japan. Europe encountered tea late: Dutch traders imported it around 1610, and nineteenth-century plantations in Assam and Ceylon finally made it affordable worldwide.

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — Origins in southwest China

Tea is today the most widely consumed manufactured beverage in the world, drunk by billions of people across every continent. Yet its origins lie in a single corner of southwest China, where the wild Camellia sinensis shrub still grows in mountain forests. According to Chinese tradition, the legendary emperor Shen Nung discovered the drink in 2737 BC when leaves from a nearby tree blew into his pot of boiling water. Whatever the truth of the legend, archaeological evidence confirms that tea was being deliberately cultivated in Sichuan province by at least the third century BC.

本段重要單字 (3)

beverage — a drink other than water / 飲料
shrub — a small woody plant / 灌木
cultivated — grown deliberately as a crop / 栽培

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

Which statement about the origin of tea is best supported by the paragraph?

A. Tea was first cultivated in Japan and later carried to China.
B. Archaeology confirms that tea was being grown in Sichuan by the third century BC.
C. The story of Shen Nung has been confirmed by recent archaeology.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. Archaeology confirms that tea was being grown in Sichuan by the third century BC.

The paragraph states that "archaeological evidence confirms that tea was being deliberately cultivated in Sichuan province by at least the third century BC". The Shen Nung legend itself is not confirmed.

2 段落 2 — Codified during the Tang dynasty

For more than a thousand years, tea remained a primarily Chinese habit. It was not until the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) that the practice of brewing dried leaves became widespread, and the scholar Lu Yu produced the Cha Jing, or Classic of Tea, around 760 AD. This text, often called the world's first tea manual, codified everything from cultivation methods to the proper temperature of the water and the ideal vessels for serving. Buddhist monks travelling between China and Japan carried seeds and customs across the sea, and by the early 1200s tea ceremonies had taken root in Kyoto.

本段重要單字 (3)

widespread — existing or happening in many places / 普遍的
codified — set down clearly as rules / 編纂
vessels — containers, especially for drinks / 容器

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

During which period did brewing dried tea leaves become a widespread practice?

A. The third century BC.
B. The Tang dynasty (618-907 AD).
C. The early 1200s.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. The Tang dynasty (618-907 AD).

The paragraph says "It was not until the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) that the practice of brewing dried leaves became widespread". The third century BC refers only to cultivation.

3 段落 3 — Europe encounters tea

Europe encountered tea remarkably late. Portuguese Jesuits in the sixteenth century mentioned the drink in letters home, but it was Dutch traders who first imported small quantities to Amsterdam around 1610. In Britain, where tea would eventually become a national symbol, it remained a costly novelty for decades. Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese wife of Charles II, popularised the habit at the English court after their marriage in 1662, and the East India Company began direct imports shortly afterwards.

本段重要單字 (3)

imported — brought goods in from another country / 進口
novelty — something new and unusual / 新奇事物
court — the household of a king or queen / 宮廷

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

Who is credited in the paragraph with first importing tea into Europe?

A. Portuguese Jesuits in the sixteenth century.
B. Dutch traders, around 1610.
C. The East India Company, after 1662.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. Dutch traders, around 1610.

The text says it was "Dutch traders who first imported small quantities to Amsterdam around 1610". The Jesuits only mentioned tea in letters; the East India Company came later.

4 段落 4 — Plantations and global reach

The drink's affordability was transformed by the development of large-scale plantations in Assam and Ceylon during the nineteenth century, breaking China's near-monopoly. By 1900, tea had become a daily ritual for ordinary households across much of Europe, the British Empire and North America — and the modest leaf from a single Chinese mountain forest had circled the globe.

本段重要單字 (3)

plantations — large estates that grow a single crop / 大型農園
monopoly — exclusive control of supply / 壟斷
ritual — a regular customary action / 例行儀式

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

What was the main effect of the Assam and Ceylon plantations?

A. They made tea so expensive that only the rich could drink it.
B. They broke China's near-monopoly and made tea affordable for ordinary households.
C. They replaced coffee in the British diet within a single year.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. They broke China's near-monopoly and made tea affordable for ordinary households.

The text says affordability "was transformed by the development of large-scale plantations in Assam and Ceylon ... breaking China's near-monopoly", with tea then becoming a daily ritual for ordinary households.

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閱讀前先看 Before you read

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — Origins in southwest China

2 段落 2 — Codified during the Tang dynasty

3 段落 3 — Europe encounters tea

4 段落 4 — Plantations and global reach

每天 5 分鐘的系統練習

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