In the 17th century, tea was introduced into Indo-nesia where local people in Java picked up the sound of“te”or“tay”from South China. Later, Dutch arrived there and soon learned how to drink tea. They brought tea back to Europe, where“te”began to be known both on the continent and in Britain.
The other saying is that the Portuguese opened up sea routes to China. Some says that the opening-up was as early as 1515. Jesuit priests, including Father Jasper de Cruz, were on the Portuguese ships; and they brought the tea drinking habit and tea word“te”or“tay”to Portugal. By 1610, tea was shipped, on a regular basis, to ports in France, Holland and the Baltic coast.
Notes：1）Dutch荷兰人；2）Portugal葡萄牙；3）Portuguese葡萄牙的；葡萄牙人；4）route路线
7.红茶与绿茶的主要区别是什么？
What are the main differences between black tea and green tea?
Black tea appeared in the Qing Dynasty. Incidentally“black tea”was translated into Chinese as“red tea (红茶)”, which is perhaps a more accurate description of the color in liquid and gradually people have accepted the translation. This tea, being made from leaves more heavily oxidized than the green variety, is generally more flavorful.
What is green tea? Green tea is tea that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. This type of tea is popular in China and Japan, and recently has become popular in the West, where people formally drink only black tea. The main difference between green tea and black tea is that green tea keeps the original color of the tea leaves without fermentation during processing, whereas black tea is fermented before baking.
Notes：1）accurate准确的；2）oxidize使氧化；3）oxidation氧化（作用）；4）minimal极微的；5）fermentation发酵；6）ferment使发酵
8.什么是乌龙茶？
What is Oolong tea?
Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea. It is semi-fermented, with its oxidation time somewhat between that of green and black tea. The term“Oolong (乌龙)”means“black dragon”; and various legends describe the origin of this curious name. According to one legend, the owner of a tea plantation was scared away by drying tea leaves that appeared like a black snake. But several days later when the owner cautiously returned, he realized that the leaves had been oxidized by the sun. Besides, it gave a delightful brew. Oolong tea leaves are bruised to oxidize under the sun after their picking though not as long as leaves intended for black tea. Tieguanyin (铁观音) from Fujian Province is considered the excellent grade of Oolong tea.
Notes：1）semi-ferment半发酵；2）curious好奇的
9.什么是团饼茶？
What is tuanbing tea?
Tuanbing tea is a kind of compressed tea in the shape of a round cake. Traditionally a tuanbing tea producer uses wooden pestle to pound fresh tealeaves into a cake shape. The production usually goes through several following steps:
a. Steam and wash tea leaves.
b. Repeatedly squeeze the tea leaves in order to eliminate any bitter juices.
c. Grind squeezed tea leaves with spring water.
d. Put ground tea into a molding presser to compress and shape.
e. Bake the shaped tea cakes over a low fire temperature until it became completely dry.
When drinking, a tuanbing tea drinker pounds a tea cake to pieces first, puts them into a kettle, and then fills the kettle with hot boiled water. In addition, the drinker may add spring onions, ginger, and oranges to improve the taste.
In ancient times between the Song and Yuan dynasties, the tribute tea was categorized as tuanbing tea. In addition, tribute tuanbing tea cakes appeared with dragon and phoenix patterns on the surface, and thus named as“Dragon and Phoenix Tuanbing Tea Cakes (龙团凤饼)”.
Notes：1）squeeze榨，挤；2）eliminate排除；3）ginger姜，姜黄色；4）categorize将……分类
10.什么是功夫茶？
What is Kungfu tea?
Kungfu literally means“learnt skilled”and isa philosophy applied to any time-honored pursuit of excellence. This style of tea-drinking is common in Fujian and other areas in southern coastal China. Local people prefer Oolong Tea when they brew“Kungfu tea”. The gongfu teapot appears as small as a fist in size, and a tiny cup only as large as a table-tennis ball in half size. Each cup is just large enough to hold about two small servings of tea.
Usually the server first puts Oolong Tea leaves in a teapot and then fills the teapot with hot boiled water. The server drains the water immediately, leaving the tea leaves behind. The draining is repeated one or two times for the practical purpose of washing the leaves. Then the server pours the tea into the tiny cups one after another continuously. Each cup of tea is expected to have the same flavor. After the procedure is completed, people start to savor the tea while exchanging local gossip.
Notes：1）philosophy哲学；2）time-honored确立已久的；3）pursuit追求；4）serving一份；5）continuously连续不断地；6）procedure工序；
7）gossip小道传闻
11.你知道如何选茶叶吗？
What is the way to select tea?
Selecting best tea always challenges tea drinkers. Customers usually buy jasmine tea (茉莉花茶) according to its quality grades, which may come in as many as ten or more grades, with grade one being regarded as the best. Jasmine buds are intentionally put into the tea to produce an agreeable scent; but tea connoisseurs classify the tea by the shape of the leaf, the color of the liquid, and the aroma, taste and appearance of the infused leaf.
The following are some simple ways that may help tea drinkers select tea:
a. Tea leaves should always be kept dry. Customers can use their fingers to press tea leaves to see if they are dry. Slight finger press easily breaks dry tea leaves into small pieces.
b. Aroma is the most important factor. Good tea always smells good.
c. The color of the tea liquid and the shape of tea leaves vary with different types of tea. Generally, the tea liquid should remain clear and free of impurity, and the shape of good tea leaves in the liquid should be whole and even.
Notes：1）customer顾客；2）jasmine茉莉花；3）agreeable令人愉快的；4）connoisseur鉴赏家；5）aroma香味；6）impurity不纯
12.有需要准备茶的特别场合吗？
Are there special circumstances in which tea is prepared?