An Accidental Invention
Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), 1. (invent) by accident? Many people believes that tea was first drunk nearly 5,000
years ago. It is said that a Chinese ruler called Shen Nong was the first 2. (discover) tea as a drink. One day Shen Nong was 3. (boil) drinking water over an open fire. Some 4. (leave) from a tea plant fell into the water and remained there for some time. It produced a nice smell 5. he tasted the brown water. It was quite delicious, and so, one of the world’s favorite drinks was invented.
A few thousand years 6. (late), Lu Yu, “the saint of tea”, mentioned Shen Nong in his book Cha Jing. The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to make tea. It also 7. (discusse) where the finest tea leaves were produced and what kinds of water were used.
It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and7th centuries. In England, tea didn’t appear 8. around 1660, but in less than 100 years, it had become the national drink. The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in 9. (nineteen) century. This helped to spread the popularity of the tea plant to more places around the world. Even though many people now know about tea culture, the Chinese are 10. doubt the ones who best understand the nature of tea.
