While many countries love their tea, UK citizens are particularly proud of being “tea people”. The average UK citizen consumes nearly 2 kilograms of (dry) tea each year.

    Tea only made its way to England in large {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(quantity) in the first years of the 17th century. Tea from China and a few other Asian countries{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(sell) more widely in England at that time. Then tea was getting more and more popular among different social classes.

    There are many varieties of tea. They all come from the plant Camellia sinensis (茶树), and are{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(simple) processed in different ways. Black tea mixtures are still{#blank#}4{#/blank#}most common type drunk in the UK. The reason why black tea is dark in colour is {#blank#}5{#/blank#}the leaves have been allowed to oxidize (氧化) before drying. People usually serve {#blank#}6{#/blank#}with milk or lemon.

    You may still find tea made with loose tea leaves, served up in a pot, and {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(pour) into the best china cups with saucers for visitors, but behind closed doors it is likely to be served in a tall cup, and made with a tea bag.

    Tea is still a large part of daily life in the UK today, but it seems to be {#blank#}8{#/blank#}the decrease. Tea sales {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(fall) by 6% in 2014 alone.

    Still, what goes around comes around; it's sure{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(become) fashionable again.

    The history of Chinese currency covers more than 3,000 years. Currency of some type has been used in China since the Neolithic age (新石器时代), {#blank#}1{#/blank#} can be traced back to between 3,000 and 4,500 years ago. Cowry shells (贝壳) are believed to have been the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (early) form of currency used in Central China, and were used during the Neolithic period. The use of shell money is confirmed in the Chinese writing system. The traditional {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (character) for “goods”, “buy” and “sell”, in addition to other {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (vary) words relating to exchange, all contain the “shell”.

    Around 210 BC, the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang (260 — 210 BC) abolished all other forms of local currency and introduced{#blank#}5{#/blank#} uniform copper coin. Although paper money {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (invent) in China in the 9th century, the base unit of currency remained the copper coin. Copper coins were used{#blank#}7{#/blank#} the chief currency in China until the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (introduce) of yuan in the late 19th century.

    Currently, the RMB is the official currency of China. With over 1.3 billion people {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (use) RMB every day, it is one of the most commonly used currencies in the world. Nowadays, online payment is taking a large share in the market. Will paper money disappear one day like shells or copper coins {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (replace) by a new way of payment? Only time can tell.

    A father was worried about his son{#blank#}1{#/blank#}was sixteen years old but had no courage (勇气) at all. So the father decided to look for a Buddhist monk(僧侣){#blank#}2{#/blank#} (train) his boy.

    The Buddhist monk said to the boy's father, “I insist that your son should be left alone here. I'll make him into a real man within three {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (month). However, you can't come to see him during this period.”

    Three months later, the boy's father {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (return). The Buddhist monk organized a boxing match (拳击赛) between the boy and an {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (experience) boxer. Each time the fighter hit the boy, he fell down, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}at once the boy stood up; and each time a heavy blow knocked him down, the boy stood up again. Several times later, the Buddhist monk asked, “{#blank#}7{#/blank#} do you think of your child?”

    “What a shame!” the boy's father said, “I never thought he would be so {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (easy) knocked down. I needn't have him stay here any {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (long)!

    “I'm sorry that that's all you see. Don't you see that each time he falls down, he stands up again instead of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (cry)? That's the kind of courage you wanted him to have.

    When the Spanish explorer Cortez reached Mexico in the sixteenth century, he found people there using a drink {#blank#}1{#/blank#} was called chocolate. It tasted quite strong because it had pepper in it. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (make) it taste better, the Spanish added sugar. When chocolate first came to Europe in the seventeenth century, people {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (start) to drink it with milk, instead of water. Nowadays, tons of chocolate {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (deliver) to factories, where they are turned into many popular sweets and cakes.