All around the world, people drink tea. But tea does not mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries people have very different ideas about drinking tea. In China, for example, tea is always served when people get together. The Chinese drink it at any time of the day at home or in teahouse. They prefer their tea plain with nothing else in it. Tea is very important in Japan. The Japanese have a special way of serving tea call a tea ceremony. It is very old and full of meaning. Everything must be done in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in Japanese homes. Another tea-drinking country is England, the late afternoon is called “ teatime ”. Almost everyone has a cup of tea then. The English usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with cream and sugar. They also eat cakes, cookies and little sandwiches at teatime. In the United States people drink tea mostly for breakfast or after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make their tea. Tea bags are faster and easier than making tea in teapots. In summer, many Americans drink “ iced tea ”. Sometimes they drink “ iced tea ” from cans, like soda.
全世界所有的人都喝茶。但是，茶對每個人的意義卻不盡相同。在不同的國家，人們對喝茶的.看法有很大區別。例如，在中國，每當人們聚在一起的時候，都要上茶。在一天的任何時候，在家抑或在茶館，中國人都會喝茶。他們喜歡喝不加任何東西的素茶。茶在日本也很重要。日本人用一種特殊的方式來上茶，被稱為“茶道”。它歷史悠久，意義深遠。在“茶道”中，每一件事都被做以與眾不同的方式。甚至，在日本人的家裡，還有專門為此準備的房間。另外一個喝茶的國家是英國。傍晚時分被稱為“茶時”。在這個時間，幾乎每一個人都會喝一杯茶。英國人通常在茶壺裡泡茶，並配以奶糖和乳酪來飲用。他們在“茶時”還吃一些糕點，餅乾和小三明治。在美國，人們主要是在早餐時或飯後喝茶。美國人通常用茶袋來泡茶。這比在茶壺泡茶更快，更容易。在夏季，好多美國人喝“冰茶”。有時候，他們和罐裝的“冰茶”，就像蘇打一樣。
