Britons are well known for the amount of tea that they drink. The average person in the UK consumes around 1.9 kg of tea yearly. That’s around 876 cups of tea. Tea is drunk by all sections of society. But tea is not native to Britain. Most tea is grown in India and China. So, how did it become an important part of British culture?

Tea arrived in London in the 1600s. At this time, British ships were exploring (探索) the world and came across the drink in China. It was not long before green tea was available to buy. However, this was only available to the richer sections of society.

At the beginning of the 1700s, the amount of tea arriving in Britain increased gradually. Black tea arrived at this time. At first people drank this tea exactly as it was in China. They soon discovered that it mixed really well with a little milk and sugar, giving the drink a special British characteristic (特色).

In the 1800s tea was still a product enjoyed only by people with money. At this time they began to have “afternoon tea”. This involves drinking tea with a snack around 4 pm to avoid feeling hungry between lunch and dinner. It is a tradition that is still going today but has become less popular in recent times.

In the late 1800s, the price of tea decreased sharply as more tea began to arrive on ships from India and China. It was no longer a drink just for rich people. Tearooms — shops where you could buy and drink tea — started to appear across the country. People enjoyed drinking tea and socialising (交际) in these places. At the start of the 20th century, Britons began to make tea in their homes whenever they felt like it. Kettles became necessary in every kitchen.

   How to inspire children to explore the world full of mysteries? An organization is using a special way to make children interested in the unexplained world.

12-year-old Christian Kasdorf says, “Being up in the sky is really great. I would like to be a pilot someday.” He told the Dakota County Star, a local newspaper in South Sioux City, Nebraska, “It’s fun. And you get to see things from above.”

Not only did Christian get a chance to ride in an airplane earlier this month, but also learned about flying it, thanks to a program called Young Eagles, which is created by the US Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). It’s designed to give children between the ages of 8 and 17 a chance to experience flight in an aviation (航空) airplane while educating children about aviation. This program offers donations and volunteers (志愿者) free of charge. The lessons are free. All you need is that your parents allow you to do so.

“It is just to get kids in the air to experience flying — and get them informed about aviation,” said Rick Alter, president of the EAA, which started the Young Eagles program hack in 1992. Since then, nearly two million kids across the United States and Canada have taken Young Eagles flight.

“All kids should experience the freedom of flight at least once. All the kids really seem to like it. And it’s a great way to get them interested in aviation,” Rick told Time reporter Sean Leary.

Young Eagles teams kids up with experienced pilots who show them what to do and how to do it. “Kids have a chance to help control the aircraft. They get an idea of how the aircraft flies and what the instruments and controls do,” said Dick Foat, a pilot from Big Bear, California.

“It wasn’t as nervous as I had expected. The hardest part was the landing,” Christian said. “I was scared at first. But I got used to it.”

In winter, gloves can prevent our hands from getting cold, 【小题1】 (especial) for people who ride bikes. Here is a new kind of gloves. The gloves are known 【小题2】 Talk to the Hand.

They come with a speaker into the thumb and a microphone into the little finger 【小题3】 can be connected to any mobile phone using Bluetooth. Mobile phone 【小题4】 (use) will be able to keep their hands warm while they chat without taking their phones out of their pockets 【小题5】 handbags.

Sean Miles combines (使结合) gloves with some parts of mobile phones, which are recycled through 02. He 【小题6】 (design) two pairs of the new gloves — one in pink and the other in brown and yellow. They will appear on a show and visitors will be able to win the gloves. If 【小题7】 (many) people want to own them, they will then be produced more in the near future.

It is said that the number of unused mobile phones in the UK is about 70 million. Bill Eyres, head of O2 Recycle, asks people 【小题8】 (recycle) their phones. Mr. Miles hopes his work will make people consider recycling, 【小题9】 (say), “If a few more people pay attention to recycling rather than send them to dustbins, I think this project will have reached 【小题10】 (it) purpose.”

   It seems that there is never enough time in the day. But, since we all get the same 24 hours, why is it that some people achieve much more than others? 【小题1】

Keep 0a to-do list.

You should have a reminder system to tell you when you need to do what. 【小题2】 Carry a pen and paper wherever you go and write down the things you need to do, including dates and deadlines (最后期限).

Set goals.

Set yourself exact goals, and make sure that they are realistic. To do this, you first need to examine your present situation and assess (判断) which goals are important to you. Have a secondary route to your goals in case you have to change your plans.

Break down tasks.

Break goals down into different parts so that you can complete them one step at a time. 【小题3】 Try to complete one task before you go on to the next.

Organize your time.

【小题4】 A good way to do this is to record everything you do for a week in detail and then examine your record to see how you use or waste your time.

【小题5】

Keep your work space tidy so that you can work efficiently — it’s hard to work if things you need to find are buried under a pile of paper! Work to plan things so that you can meet deadlines in good time — don’t leave everything until the last minute.

I’d like tell you something about my life in this boarding school. I stay in a dormitory (寝室) with three other girls, all of whom are kind and nice. We get on well to each other and have became good friends. Living in a boarding school make me independent. I have confident to take care of myself, wash the clothes, and clean the rooms, that I never did at home. The classes here are very interesting and challenging, and I’m still feeling a little dissatisfied with some other things. The living conditions are not as good as those at home and the chance to get in the touch with the outside world is limited. Anyway, I’ll get used to live here and hope everything will be more better soon.

I am looking forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua