2009版二笔实物教材第三单元原文及参考译文

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Unit Three

Tea in Britain

Tea, that most quintessential of English drinks, is a relative latecomer to British shores. Although the custom of

drinking

tea

dates

back

to

the

third

millennium

BC

in

China,

it

was

not

until

the

mid-17th

century

that

the

beverage first appeared in England.

The

use

of

tea

spread

slowly

from

its

Asian

homeland,

reaching

Europe

by

way

of

Venice

around

1560

，

although Portuguese trading ships may have made contact with the Chinese as early as 1515.

It

was

the

Portuguese

and

Dutch

traders

who

first

imported

tea

to

Europe,

with

regular

shipments

by

1610.

England was a latecomer to the tea trade, as the East India Company2 did not capitalize on tea's popularity until

the mid-18th century.

Coffee Houses3 Curiously, it was the London coffee houses that were responsible for introducing tea to England.

One

of

the

first

coffee

house

merchants

to

offer

tea

was

Thomas

Garway,

who

owned

an

establishment

in

Exchange Alley. He sold both liquid and dry tea to the public as early as 1657. Three years later he issued a

broadsheet advertising tea at ?

6 and ?

10 per pound (ouch!)

，

touting its virtues at

“

making the body active and

lusty

，

and

“

preserving perfect health until extreme old age

，

，

.

Tea gained popularity quickly in the coffee houses, and by 1700 over 500 coffee houses sold it. This distressed

the tavern owners

，

as tea cut their sales of ale and gin

，

and it was bad news for the government, who depended

upon

a

steady

stream

of

revenue

from

taxes

on

liquor

sales.

By

1750

tea

had

become

the

favoured

drink

of

Britain's lower classes.

Taxation

on

Tea

Charles

n4

did

his

bit

to

counter

the

growth

of

tea,

with

several

acts

forbidding

its

sale

in

private houses. This measure was designed to counter sedition5

，

but it was so unpopular that it was impossible

to enforce it. A 1676 act taxed tea and required coffee house operators to apply for a license.

This

was

just

the

start

of

government

attempts

to

control,

or

at

least,

to

profit

from

the

popularity

of

tea

in

Britain. By

the

mid-18th century the duty on tea had reached an absurd 119% . This heavy taxation had the

effect of creating a whole new industry

—

tea smuggling.

Smuggling Tea Ships from Holland and Scandinavia brought tea to the British coast, then stood offshore while

smugglers met them and unloaded the precious cargo in small vessels. The smugglers

，

often local fishermen

，

snuck6 the tea inland through underground passages and hidden paths to special hiding places. One of the best

hiding places was in the local parish church

！

Even smuggled tea was expensive, however, and therefore extremely profitable, so many smugglers began to

adulterate the tea with other substances

，

such as willow

，

licorice

，

and sloe leaves. Used tea leaves were also

redried and added to fresh leaves.

Finally, in 1784 William Pitt the Younger7 introduced the Commutation Act, which dropped the tax on tea from

119% to 12. 5%

，

effectively ending smuggling. Adulteration remained a problem

< br>，

though

，

until the Food and

Drug Act of 1875 brought in stiff penalties for the practice.

Tea Clippers8 In the early 1800

，

s ships carrying tea from the Far East to Britain could take over a year to bring

home their precious cargo. When the East India Company was given a monopoly on the tea trade in 1832

，

they

realized the need to cut the time of this journey. The Americans actually designed the first

“

clippers

，

or

streamlined, tall-masted vessels, but the British were close behind. These clippers sped along at nearly 18 knots

by contemporary accounts

——

nearly as fast as a modern ocean liner.

So

great

was

the

race

for

speed

that

an

annual

competition

was

begun

for

clippers

to

race

from

the

Canton

River9 to the London Docks. The first ship to unload its cargo won the captain and crew a hefty bonus.

The most famous of the clipper ships was the Cutty Sark, built in 1868. It only made the tea run eight times, but

for its era it was a remarkable ship. The Cutty Sark is now on exhibition at Greenwich.

Tea Customs Afternoon tea is said to have originated with one person

；

Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford10. In the

early 1800

’

s she launched11 the idea of having tea in the late afternoon to bridge the gap between luncheon and

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dinner, which in fashionable circles might not be served until 8 o'clock at night. This fashionable custom soon

evolved into high tea among the working classes, where this late afternoon repast became the main meal of the

day.

Tea Gardens12 The popular pleasure gardens of Ranelagh and V

auxhall in London began serving tea around

1730.

An

evening

of dancing

and

watching

fireworks

would

be

capped

by

tea.

The

concept

caught on,

and

soon Tea Gardens opened all over Britain. Usually the gardens were opened on Saturday and Sunday

，

and an

afternoon of entertainment and dancing would be highlighted by serving tea.

Tea Shops This British establishment can be traced to one person. In 1864 the woman manager of the Aerated

Bread

Company

began

the

custom

of

serving

food

and

drink

to

her

customers.

Her

best

customers

were

favoured

with

tea.

Soon

everyone

was

asking

for

the

same

treatment.

The

concept

of

tea

shops

spread

throughout Britain like wildfire, not in the least because tea shops provided a place where an unchaperoned14

woman could meet her friends and socialize without damage to her reputation.

Tea and Pottery What connection

，

you might be excused for asking

，

does tea have with the growth of the British

pottery industry? Simply this: tea in China was traditionally drunk from cups without handles. When tea became

popular in Britain

，

there was a crying need for good cups with handles, to suit British habits. This made for

tremendous growth in the pottery and porcelain

industry, and the prosperity of such companies as Wedgwood, Spode, and Royal Doulton.

注释

茶是英国人最喜欢的饮品，

喜欢的程度远胜于咖啡；

3.5

杯茶，

< br>工作

时间一般都有

tea < /p>

break

。他们饮茶的方法与中国和印度不同，常常在茶中加人 牛奶和糖。

他们的茶种类也比较多，如早

餐茶点

（

breakfast tea)

< br>，

大吉岭茶

（

Darjeeli ng tea

，

产自印

度大吉岭，

故此而得名）

，

奶油茶点

（

cream tea)

，

格雷伯爵茶（

Earl Gray tea,

该茶是混

合中国 茶和印度茶而成，有柑橘和香柠檬的香味，这一配方是由中

国清朝的一位官员送