Many years ago people didn’t know about tea in European countries. Many people didn’t even know the word “tea”, though drinking tea was very popular in the East.
Once a young sailor came back from India. He returned from a far-away country and brought his mother a gift. He brought her a box of tea. The old woman didn’t know anything about tea, but she liked the smell, and invited all her friends to come and try it.
When the guests arrived, she invited them to the dining table. The old woman treated them to cakes and fruit and tea-leaves.
When the sailor entered the room and saw a big plate filled with the tea-leaves, he understood everything. He smiled when he saw his mother’s friends eating tea-leaves with butter and salt. They pretended they liked it, but it was clear they didn’t enjoy eating the leaves.
“Where is the tea, Mother?” the sailor asked. His mother pointed to the plate in the middle of the table. “No, this is only the leaves of the tea,” the sailor said. “Where is the water?”
“The water?” his mother said. “I throw the water away, of course.”
I.Complete the sentences.
Many years ago people in Europe ___________ .
a) liked tea; b) didn’t like tea;c) didn’t know about tea.
People drank tea ___________ at that time.
a) in Europe; b) in the East; c) in Africa.
A young sailor came back from ___________ .
a) Asia; b) India;c) Canada.
He brought his mother ____________ .
a) a box of sweets; b) a box of tea; c) a box of coffee.
The old woman invited her friends _________ .
a) to look at tea; b) to try tea; c) to smell tea.
The old woman treated them ___________ .
a) sweets; b) tea-leaves; c) apple-pies.
The guests ___________ .
a) liked tea-leaves; b) didn’t like tea-leaves; c)took tea-leaves home.
The sailor’s mother ___________ .
a) drank the water; b) threw the water away; c) gave the water to her guests.
III. Make questions. Start with the words in the brackets.
I was doing my homework at 6 p.m. yesterday. (What)
