Of the three major drinks of the world—tea, coffee and cocoa—tea is consumed by the {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(large) number of people.

    China is the homeland of tea. Human cultivation of tea plants dates back to two thousand years ago. Tea from China, along {#blank#}2{#/blank#} her silk and porcelain, began to be known to the world more than a thousand years ago and since then it {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (be) an important Chinese export.

    At present more than forty countries in the world grow tea with Asian countries，{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (produce) 90% of the world's total output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly in China. The word for tea leaves or tea as {#blank#}5{#/blank#}  drink in many countries are derivatives(衍生物)from the Chinese character “cha”. The Russians call it “cha'i”, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} sounds like “chaye”(tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China, and the English word “tea” sounds similar to the pronunciation of {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(it) counterpart（对应物） in Xiamen. The Japanese character for tea is written {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(exact) the same as it is in Chinese, though {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (pronounce) with a slight difference. The habit of tea drinking spread to Japan in the 6th century, but it was not introduced to Europe and America till the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the number of tea {#blank#}10{#/blank#}  （drink） in the world is still on the increase.

    A few years ago, after a long morning of sightseeing in New York, my children and I took a rest on one of the park {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (bench) in Central Park.

    "Look!" my son said, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(point) to a nearby rubbish bin. That's when we saw our first raccoon (浣熊). Quite at home in the big city, he paid us no attention, concentrating only on finding a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (taste) lunch. He sorted through a few options before coming out with a wrapped sandwich {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (hold) between his paws.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (surprise), rather than run away, he jumped down and walked casually to a spot on the path, not a metre from where we sat. The children were spellbound, the raccoon providing better{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(entertain) than any museum. He glanced at us, perhaps checking to see {#blank#}7{#/blank#}we were about to steal his lunch.

    {#blank#}8{#/blank#}delicate fingers, he peeled back the layers of plastic wrap until the half-eaten sandwich {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (uncover).

    Then he surprised us all. Instead of starting his food, he turned to a nearby pool of water and {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (dip) his paws in. With a casual air, he rubbed his paws together underwater for a moment, brushed his fur, then started gracefully picking at his meal.

    Hi, I've got something {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (excite) to tell you. I was in an elevator yesterday and saw Robin Drexel, the famous movie star! I just stood there, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (freeze). I couldn't say a word. But {#blank#}3{#/blank#} of a sudden, she turned to me, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (say), "Hello" too. Then she asked me {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the restaurant was on the fifth floor, I told her I was going to the restaurant {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (my), and I offered to show her where it was. She said, "Oh, fine." Then she said, "Why don't we have lunch together?" Imagine! I never thought I would have lunch with a movie star! But I {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (do)! We had lunch together and talked for about half {#blank#}8{#/blank#} hour. She even paid for my lunch! Can you imagine? But that isn't all. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} lunch, she asked me if she could give me a ride to somewhere. I told her I was going home. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} she took me home in her big, black limousine (豪华轿车). It was an exciting day. That's all for now. I've got to run!

    People came to the area that's now New Mexico more than 12,000 years ago. Experts think they migrated from {#blank#}1{#/blank#}is now Russia across a land bridge{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(call) the Bering Strait during the last Ice Age. Thousands of years{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (late), native American tribes including the Apache, Zuni, Navajo and Pueblos lived on the land.

    In 1540, a Spanish{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(explore), Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, came to the area in search of cities made of gold {#blank#}5{#/blank#}were rumored (谣传) to exist in the America. He didn't discover treasure, but over the next century the Spanish colonized the land. Then in 1821, Mexico declared its independence{#blank#}6{#/blank#}Spain, and the area became part of Mexico. But after the United States won the Mexican- American War in 1848, New Mexico became an American territory. In 1912, it{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(declare) the 47th state.

    When the Spanish set out to explore the region, they hoped to find land as{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(value)as what they had found earlier in Mexico. So they{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(name) the area Nueva Mexico. ("Nueva" means "new" in Spanish.) As for the word" Mexico", some experts think it's a version of a name that the Aztecs (a cultural group from Mexico) had for one of their gods.

    The state has beautiful scenery from{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (mountain) to forests and deserts. This earns it the nickname the Land of Enchantment.