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LESSON 3 The tea-farmer
第三課 茶農
Once upon a time there was no tea at all in our country. In England, in the olden time, people used to drink ale, and a sweet kind of wine called mead. Great tankards of ale stood on the breakfast table. Now we use tea and coffee.
曾經有一段時間在我們國家-英格蘭沒有茶,在古時候,人們用來喝啤酒,和一種甜的葡萄酒稱為米德。在早餐桌上放的是酒杯。我們現在用的是茶和咖啡。
When tea was first brought to England, an old man and woman had some sent to them as a great treat. But when they got it, they did not know how it ought to be used. At length they boiled the leaves, and strewed them on a piece of bacon which they were going to have for dinner. They ate the leaves, and threw the tea away!
茶第一次帶到英國的時候,一個老男人和女人有一些發送給他們作為禮物。但當他們得到它,他們不知道應該如何使用。終于他們煮葉子,晚上吃熏肉。他們吃樹葉,把茶扔掉!
In those days, a pound of tea cost so much money that only the rich could buy it. Now it is so cheap that even the poorest can enjoy it.
在那些日子里,一磅茶花費那么多錢,只有富人能買它。現在是如此便宜,即使是最窮的可以享受它。
Tea is the leaf of a plant which grows plentifully in China, Japan, and other Eastern lands. The Chinese drink their tea without either milk or sugar. Whenever a visitor comes into a house, a servant always brings him a cup of tea.
茶是一種植物的葉子生長豐富地在中國,日本和其他東部土地。中國人喝的茶沒有牛奶或糖。當貴客臨門，,仆人總是帶給他一杯茶。
Every cottager in China has his little tea-garden. He sells what he does not use, and can thus buy food and clothing for his family.
每一個佃農在中國有自己的茶園。他只賣不用,因此可以為他的家人買食物和衣服。
When a man has a large piece of ground, and grows a great many tea-plants, he is called a tea farmer. When the tea-leaves are ready to be gathered, the farmer and his family are very busy. They pull off the leaves and throw them into baskets. When the baskets are full, they are carried into the house.
當一個男人有一大塊地,種了許多茶樹,他被稱為地主。茶葉可以賣的時候，農夫和他的家人很忙。他們掀開葉子,把他們扔進籃子。當籃子滿了,他們抬進屋里。
The leaves are dried in iron pans over a fire. While they are drying, men and women keep turning them about. As soon as they begin to crack, they are taken out and spread upon a table. Then the work-people roll them up in their hands, and press all the juice they can out of them.
樹葉在鐵是干鍋在火上。當它們干燥中時，,男人和女人保持他們。一旦他們開始裂縫,取出并遞給下一桌。然后工作人員手工把它們卷起來,擠干所有的汁。
After being once more dried in the air, the leaves have to go into the pan again over the fire. There they begin to curl and twist; and at last they look as we see them in this country.
后一次在空氣中干燥,樹葉已再次進入在火上鍋中。他們開始旋轉和捻;最后他們就做成我們在這個國家看到的那個成品.
The farmer then picks out the best leaves, and gets them ready for market. He may be seen marching off to the town, with his chest of tea slung over his shoulder, on a pole made of bamboo.
然后農夫挑出最好的葉子,準備拿到市場上去賣。他可能去鎮上走賣,胸前的茶掛在他肩上,用竹子制成的筒。
He goes to a tea merchant and offers the chest of tea for sale. The merchant looks at it, and if he thinks it good he buys it. Then the farmer marches home again, with his money slung over his shoulder. His money consists of a number of strings of brass coins, of so little value that a great many of them make but a small sum.
他去找一個茶商,給他胸部的樣品看。茶商看了,如果他認為它好就買。然后農夫走回家,錢掛在他的肩膀上。他的錢由一系列字符串的黃銅硬幣,很少的價值,很多人都是由一個小數目做大的。
QUESTIONS
問題
What was used in England for breakfast before tea and coffee were known? What mistake did an old man and woman make, when tea first came in? What is tea? Where does it come from? What is a man called who grows a great many tea-plants? What is the first thing done with the leaves when they are pulled? What next? and next? How does the grower carry his tea to market? What does he bring back?
在茶和咖啡不知道前，英國人早上吃什么?老人和女人做了什么錯誤,什么時候茶第一次進來?是什么茶?來自哪里?種許多茶的人叫什么，當這些葉子第一次來的時候，第一件事是做什么，下一個是什么?再下一個呢?種植者如何開拓他的茶市場?他帶回來什么?
