英国下午茶的前世今生

Afternoon tea, that most quintessential of English customs is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition. Whilst the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China and was popularised in England during the 1660s by King Charles II, it was not until the mid 19th century that the concept of ‘afternoon tea’ first appeared.

Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.

This pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880's upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and five o'clock.

Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty sandwiches, scones served with clotted cream. Cakes and pastries are also served. Tea grown in India or Ceylon is poured from silver tea pots into delicate bone china cups.

Comprehension

1.       When was the concept of ‘afternoon tea’ first appeared according to the passage?

A. 1850s

B. 1950s

C. 1660s

D. 1840s

2. What kind of clothes did those upper-class and society women wear when they had afternoon tea back then?

A. casual clothes

B. pajamas

C. formal dress

D. sportswear

3. What’s the meaning of ‘pause’ in the passage(paragraph 3)?

A. a short time during dinner

B. the dress-up time for the upper-class and society women

C. the long period between lunch and dinner

D. the short break after lunch

4. What's the main idea of the passage?

A. the food and drink for afternoon tea

B. the origin of afternoon tea

C. the story of the seventh Duchess of Bedford

D. the etiquette of upper-class women

Background Information

英国的下午茶，源起于19世纪的维多利亚时代，因此也称维多利亚下午茶。

    英国的维多利亚时代是英国最为强盛的时代，在全球各地占据着很多殖民地和附属国，自诩为“日不落帝国”。国家的强大和富足，促使人们注重追求有品位的生活，特别是一些豪门贵族更是在百无聊赖的日子里，希望追求新的刺激，来填补生活的空虚和无聊。在1840年的下午，贝德芙公爵夫人安娜女士睡醒了午觉，觉得心无寄托，百无聊赖，却对什么都没有兴趣。大约在4点钟，忽然觉得有点饿的感觉，就让女仆到厨房给她找点吃食。女仆到厨房一看没有合适的食物，就索性给夫人烤了几片点心，沏了壶红茶端了过来。贝德芙公爵夫人吃着新烤的面包，喝着红茶，觉得很受用。几天后，贝德芙公爵夫人的几位好友造访，公爵夫人就命女仆，用点心和红茶招待好友。不料这些好友异口同声地赞美，回去后纷纷造访，并逐渐扩大延展，就形成了流行于英伦三岛的下午茶。

    饮下午茶的时间是下午的4点钟，饮用的下午茶多为红茶，如大吉岭红茶、伯爵茶（以中国红茶为基本茶，加入佛手柑调制而成）、火药绿茶、锡兰茶等。饮下午茶时配备的茶点有熏鲑鱼、火腿、蛋糕、三明治、英式圆形松饼、果酱、奶油和水果等。

Vocabulary

quintessential  adj.1. 典范的；范例的2. 精髓的；精华的

millennium  n.一千年，千年期（尤指公元纪年）

dainty  adj. 1.（人和物）娇小的；娇美的；精致的；小巧的

2.（举止）文雅的；优雅的；高雅的

clotted cream  n. 凝结的奶油

Ceylon n. 锡兰

gown  n. 女长服，礼服

scone  n. 烤饼

pastry n.[U] 面粉糕饼，馅饼皮

Keys to the comprehension

1.       A 由首段可得知下午茶这一概念第一次出现在19世纪中期，故答案A最为接近。

2.      C 由第三段…would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea...可得知，喝下午茶的女士们都穿着正式。

3.      C 由第三段可得，pause是指午餐和晚餐间的时间段，当时的晚餐要到晚上8点食用。

4.      B 中心思想题，本文主要介绍了英国下午茶的来源