Question

When tea was first brought to England between 1652 and 1654, it was so expensive that only the rich could buy it. It was said that an old couple had some sent to them as a great treat. But they did not know how it ought to be used. Eventually they boiled the leaves, put some of them on a piece of bacon for dinner, ate the leaves, and threw the tea soup away. However, tea quickly proved popular enough to replace ale（麥芽酒）as the national drink of England after King Charles II and his Portuguese wife began to follow this foreign tea tradition.

Before the introduction of tea into Britain, the English had two main meals — breakfast and dinner. Breakfast was ale, bread and beef. Dinner was a long, massive meal at the end of the day. It was no wonder that Anna, the Duchess of Bedford (1788 — 1861) experienced a “sinking feeling” in the late afternoon. So she invited friends to join her for an additional afternoon meal at five o’clock in her castle. The menu centered around small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, and, of course, tea. This summer practice proved so popular that the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for “tea and a walking the fields”.

The practice of inviting friends to come for tea in the afternoon was quickly picked up by other social hostesses. A common pattern of service soon came into practice. The first pot of tea was made in the kitchen and carried to the lady of the house who waited with her invited guests, surrounded by fine porcelain（瓷器）from China. The first pot was warmed by the hostess from a second pot (usually silver) that was kept heated over a small flame. Food and tea was then passed among the guests, the main purpose of the visiting being conversation.

1. The story of the old couple in Paragraph 1 is to show ____________.

A. how impolite the old couple were

B. how English people cooked tea

C. how difficult it was to introduce tea to England

D. how little English people knew about tea in those days

2.The underlined phrase “sinking feeling” in Paragraph 2 refers to a feeling of ____________.

A. hunger B. loneliness

C. thirst D. anger

3.According to the passage, the key factors of a typical afternoon tea include ____________.

a. cakes and bread

b. a massive meal

c. tea d. ale

e. fine porcelain

f. silver tea pot

g. a small flame

A. a, b, c, d, f B. a, c, e, f, g

C. a, b, e, f, g D. a, c, d, e, g

4.We can know from the passage that afternoon tea ____________.

A. leads to the wide planting and large production of tea in England

B. helps bring King Charles II and his wife together in their childhood

C. is not only an additional afternoon meal but helps bring people together

D. contributes to the increasingly high price of tea and porcelain in England

Answer 1

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

試題分析：本文主要講述了茶葉流傳至英國以及英國傳統(tǒng)下午茶的來歷。英式下午茶的傳統(tǒng)源自于貝爾福德公爵夫人，那時候的英國人一天只吃兩餐，而公爵夫人每逢下午便悶悶不樂，所以在下午五點(diǎn)左右，她便邀請知心好友來享受茶點(diǎn)，逐漸風(fēng)靡全英國。

1.D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第一段的But they did not know how it ought to be used.可知，這對老夫妻不知道如何喝茶，故選擇D，表示那時候的英國人對茶葉了解不多。

2.A 詞義辨析題。根據(jù)下文的So she invited friends to join her for an additional afternoon meal at five o’clock in her castle.可知她邀請朋友們來吃點(diǎn)心，故選擇A，表示饑餓感。

3.B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段以及最后一段的The menu centered around small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, and, of course, tea.、surrounded by fine porcelain（瓷器）from China. The first pot was warmed by the hostess from a second pot (usually silver) that was kept heated over a small flame.可知選擇B。

4.推理判斷題。根據(jù)最后一段的Food and tea was then passed among the guests, the main purpose of the visiting being conversation.可知，下午茶不僅僅是吃東西而且更多的是把人們聚集在一起。故選擇C。

考點(diǎn)：考查說明文閱讀