Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), was invented by accident? Many people believe that tea was first drunk about5, 000 years ago. It is said that a Chinese ruler ____ Shen Nong first discovered tea as a drink. One day Shen Nong was boiling____ water over an open fire. Some ____from a tea plant fell into the water and remained there for some time. It produced a nice smell so he tasted the brown water. It was quite delicious. And so, one of the world's favorite drinks____ invented.

    A few thousand years later, Lu Yu, “the saint of tea”, mentioned Shen Nong in his book Cha Jing. The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to make tea. It also discusses where the____ tea leaves were produced and what kinds of water were used.

    It is____that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7^th____. In England, tea didn't appear until around 1660, but ____ than 100 years later, it had become the____ drink. The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century. This helped to speed the popularity of tea and the tea plant to more places around the world. Even though many people now know about tea culture, the Chinese are____ doubt the ones who best understand the nature of tea.