18．Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea．People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like，mainly because tea was very expensive．It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity．Some of them were not sure how to use it．They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves．Then they served them mixed with butter and salt．They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches．
Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century．During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it．
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea．Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it，but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added．She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk．Because she was such a great lady that her friends thought they must copy everything she did，they also drank their tea with milk in it．Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk．
At first，tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening．No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess（公爵夫人）found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her getting"a sinking feeling"as she called it．She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so，tea-time was born．
28．This passage mainly discussesA．
A．the history of tea drinking in Britain
B．how tea became a popular drink in Britain
C．how the Britons got the habit of drinking tea
D．how tea-time was born
29．Tea became a popular drink in BritainB．
A．in the sixteenth century
B．in the seventeenth century
C．in the eighteenth century
D．in the late seventeenth century
30．People in Europe began to drink tea with milk becauseD．
A．it tasted like milk
B．it tasted more pleasant
C．it became a popular drink
D．Madame de Sevinge was so great that people tried to copy the way she drank tea
31．We may infer from the passage that the habit of drinking tea in Britain was mostly due to the influence ofC．
A．a famous French lady
B．the ancient Chinese
C．the upper（上层的） social class
D．people in Holland．
分析 本文属于说明文阅读，作者通过这篇文章主要向我们描述了英国的饮茶史，英国饮茶的习惯主要是由于上层社会的影响．
解答 28．A．推理判断题．根据第一段Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea可知本文主要论述英国的饮茶史；故选A．
29．B．细节理解题．根据第二段Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century可知茶成为英国流行的饮料在十七世纪；故选B．
30．D细节理解．根据第三段中的Because she was such a great lady that her friends thought they must copy everything she did，they also drank their tea with milk in it，可知D选项说法与之一致，即：人们是为了模仿Madame de Sevinge 的饮茶习惯而开始流行喝茶的，故选D．
31．C．推理判断题．根据第一段It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity可知英国饮茶的习惯主要是由于上层社会的影响；故选C．
点评 本文是一个历史文化类阅读，题目涉及多道细节理解题，做题时结合原文和题目有针对性的找出相关语句进行仔细分析，结合选项选出正确答案．推理判断题也是要在抓住关键句子的基础上合理的分析才能得出正确答案，切忌胡乱猜测，一定要做到有理有据．
