评论
打印
An Accidental Invention
一项偶然的发明
Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), was invented by accident?
你知道茶，这个世界上最流行的饮品（仅次于水）是偶然发明出来的么？
Many people believe that tea was first drunk about 5,000 years ago.
许多人认为人类第一次饮茶是在约五千年前。
It is said that a Chinese ruler called Shen Nong was the first to discovered tea as a drink.
据说一位名叫神农的中国统治者是第一个发现茶可以饮用的人。
One day Shen Nong was boiling drinking water over an open fire.
一天神农在明火上煮开水。
Some leaves from a tea plant fell into the water and remained there for some time.
一棵茶树上的叶子落入水中并在里边煮了一会儿。
It produced a nice smell so he tasted the brown water. It was quite delicious and so, one of the world's favorite drinks was invented.
水中散发出香气，所以他尝了一下这种褐色的水。味道相当好，就这样深受世界喜爱的饮品之一被发明了。
A few thousand years later, Lu Yu, "the saint of tea", mentioned Shen Nong in his book Cha Jing.
几千年后，“茶圣”陆羽在他的《茶经》一书中提到了神农。
The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to make tea.
书中描述了茶树是如何生长以及如何用来制茶的。
It also discusses where the finest tea leaves were produced and what kinds of water were used.
书中还探讨了最好的茶叶产于何地以及使用何种水来煮茶。
It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries.
人们认为在六到七世纪间，茶被带到了韩国和日本。
In England, tea didn't appear until around 1660, but in less than 100 years, it had become the national drink.
在英国，直到1660年左右才有茶，但在不到一百年时间里，茶就成为了国家饮品。
The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century.
中国和西方国家之间的茶叶贸易发生于十九世纪。
This helped to spread the popularity of tea and the tea plant to more places around the world.
茶叶贸易帮助传播茶的普及以及世界更多地方的茶叶种植。
Even though many people now know about tea culture, the Chinese are without doubt the ones who best understand the nature of tea.
虽然很多人都知道茶文化，但中国人，毫无疑问，对茶的本质有着最好的了解。
