
Chinese Tea
Chinese tea plays ___1___ important role in people’s daily life, both at home and abroad. Millions of people want ___2___ (have) a cup of tea at the start of their morning.
China is the homeland of tea. It’s one of the ___3___ (big) tea producers in the world. It mainly ___4___ (produce) six kinds of tea—green tea, black tea, Oolong tea, dark tea, white tea, and reprocessed tea.
Drinking tea first ___5___ (become) popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties. According to the records, it probably started in the southwest of China. In Yunnan, there are still some wild tea trees that are over 1, 000 years old. They are ___6___ (real) uncommon and valuable.
According to a Chinese legend (传说), tea was discovered 5, 000 years ago by Shen Nong. Shen Nong was the first Chinese herbal (草药) doctor. He was famous ___7___ his work to help many ___8___ (patient). He himself tasted lots of herbs. People could have safe medicine just because of ___9___ he did. He discovered tea when he traveled to high mountains and collected ___10___ (difference) plants. Thanks to him, one of the world’s favorite drinks was invented.