IELTS Reading 練習 茶的歷史（含題目+詳解）

The History of Tea

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.

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.

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.

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.

Do the following statements agree with the information in the passage? Write:

• TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
• FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
• NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1. Wild tea plants still grow naturally in southwest China.
2. The story of Shen Nung discovering tea has been confirmed by archaeologists.
3. Lu Yu's Cha Jing was the first written work about tea anywhere in the world.
4. Catherine of Braganza was responsible for opening the first tea shop in London.

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. According to the passage, the practice of brewing dried tea leaves became common during:

- A. the third century BC - B. the Tang dynasty - C. the early 1200s - D. the nineteenth century

1. The writer suggests that tea became affordable for ordinary European households mainly because of:

- A. the East India Company's marketing - B. plantations in Assam and Ceylon - C. the popularity of tea at the English court - D. competition between Dutch traders

Complete the summary below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.

Tea drinking spread from China to Japan partly through the travels of (7) ______, who carried seeds across the sea. In Europe, the first imports were made by (8) ______ around 1610. Tea remained expensive in Britain until nineteenth-century plantations broke China's near-(9) ______ on supply.

1. TRUE Supporting sentence: "the wild Camellia sinensis shrub still grows in mountain forests". The phrase "still grows" matches "still grow naturally". Direct paraphrase.

2. FALSE Supporting sentence: "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". Archaeology confirms cultivation, not the legend itself. The statement misreads the scope of the evidence.

3. NOT GIVEN The passage says the Cha Jing is "often called the world's first tea manual" — it doesn't claim it is the first written work about tea anywhere in the world. The reader cannot confirm this from the passage. Choose NOT GIVEN.

4. NOT GIVEN The passage says Catherine "popularised the habit at the English court" but says nothing about tea shops. Don't confuse popularising with opening shops. NOT GIVEN.

5. B — the Tang dynasty Supporting sentence: "It was not until the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) that the practice of brewing dried leaves became widespread". The third century BC refers to cultivation, not brewing — a classic distractor.

6. B — plantations in Assam and Ceylon Supporting sentence: "The drink's affordability was transformed by the development of large-scale plantations in Assam and Ceylon during the nineteenth century". "Affordability transformed" paraphrases "became affordable for ordinary households".

7. Buddhist monks Supporting sentence: "Buddhist monks travelling between China and Japan carried seeds and customs across the sea". Two-word phrase from the text.

8. Dutch traders Supporting sentence: "it was Dutch traders who first imported small quantities to Amsterdam around 1610". Two words, exact match.

9. monopoly Supporting sentence: "breaking China's near-monopoly". The summary already provides "near-", so the missing word is "monopoly". Single-word answer.