喝茶在中国由来已久，而且有着深厚的历史文化，这不，本杰明讲得津津有味，从茶馆生活讲到茶馆艺术，这下罗拉可有的学了。

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Laura: It's quite busy here. It's true that Chinese people love tea.

Benjamin: That's for sure. You know that tea is China's national drink and an indispensable part of the life a Chinese person.

Laura: Just like coffee for us, I suppose. So what do people do in these teahouses?

Benjamin: Many things. You can meet friends, play cards, or just relax here. It's a good place for entertainment.

Laura: Oh, yes. It's an ideal place for those things, largely because the atmosphere here is very comfortable.

Benjamin: You can get to know traditional Chinese lifestyles here. In old times, you can find teahouses everywhere.

Laura: What about this one? When did it come into being?

Benjamin: It must have a long history. You see that its decoration is very old and delicate.

Laura: Yeah. Almost everything here is wooden. I like all these carvings on them. I noticed there are many pictures of opera stars here. Do you know why?

Benjamin: There used to be an opera stage here.

Laura: An opera stage in a teahouse? What for?

Benjamin: This way, you could also watch the operas when you were having tea. That was a good way to make the customers stay longer.

Laura: Oh, I love operas. I watched the “Drunken Beauty” with Aunt Shirley days ago. And it's really amazing.

Benjamin: That's a real classic. Oh, I almost forgot one thing. Do you want to eat something?

Laura: Do they serve anything good to go with tea?

Benjamin: Sure. There should be a variety of choices.

Laura: Then, let's order now.

听看学
罗拉: 这里好多人啊。说中国人爱喝茶可真没错。

本杰明: 那是当然的。你知道茶是中国的国饮，是中国人生活中不可或缺的一部分。

罗拉: 我想，这就像是咖啡对于我们的意义一样。那么人们在茶馆里都做些什么呢？

本杰明: 很多啊。你可以来这里跟朋友聚会，打牌，或者是纯粹放松。这是一个休闲的好地方。

罗拉: 哦，没错，这的确是做那些活动的理想场所，主要是因为这里的气氛让人感觉舒服。

本杰明: 在这里你可以了解中国人传统的生活方式。以前，到处都有茶馆。

罗拉: 那这个呢？它是什么时候建成的？

本杰明: 一定有很长的历史了。你看它的装饰非常古朴、精致。

罗拉: 是啊。几乎每一件东西都是木制的。我喜欢它们上面的雕刻。我还看到这有很多戏曲明星的照片。你知道为什么吗？

本杰明: 这里以前有一个戏台。

罗拉: 茶馆里面有戏台？用来干什么啊？

本杰明: 这么一来，喝茶同时还可以看戏。这可是留住顾客的好方法啊。

罗拉: 哦，我喜欢戏剧。前几天我和雪莉阿姨一起看了“贵妃醉酒”。那场戏太精彩了。

本杰明: 那可真是一部经典啊。哦，我差点忘了一件事情。你想吃东西吗？

罗拉: 这里有什么好吃的可以用来配茶吃吗？

本杰明：当然了。这里有很多选择呢？

罗拉：那么，我们现在就点吧。

经典背诵 Recitation
Laura: I heard tea is China's national drink and Chinese people love tea. The teahouse is a good place for entertainment. You can do many things there, such as meeting friends, playing cards, and so on. The atmosphere there is usually very comfortable. In old times, there would be an opera stage in the teahouse. I thought it would be great to watch operas while you were having tea.

生词小结
indispensable adj. 不可缺少的

largely adv. 主要的

atmosphere n. 气氛

wooden adj. 木制的

stage n. 舞台

语素 Material
The Teahouse

The famous play called the Teahouse by famous Chinese writer Lao She vividly describes the rise and fall of a teahouse. The play is set entirely around a teahouse, but it provides us with an insightful picture of all the dimensions in old Beijing society. The play shows how the teahouse is not just a place for people to enjoy tea, but an information center for the community, or even a witness to a changing society and ups and downs of daily life.

茶馆

由中国著名作家老舍创作的著名话剧《茶馆》生动地描述了一个茶馆的兴衰过程。这部话剧完全围绕一个茶馆展开，但却为我们深入展现了老北京社会各方面的画面。这部话剧表明了茶馆不仅是供人们喝茶的地方，还是人们互相交流信息的中心，或者说是社会激变和人生起伏的见证人。

Tea Craze

Finally there's a drink that's fun to eat! The pearl milk tea has become the favorite of the young girls, not only for its unique ingredient—tapioca pearl, but also for its striking appearance. The tea is sweet but it has less sugar than a typical soft drink. It's usually served in large see-through plastic containers with an extra-wide straw to sip these jumbo pearls. Isn't it fun?

茶风暴

终于有一种可以用来吃的有趣饮品诞生了！珍珠奶茶已经成了年轻女孩的最爱，不仅因为它所含有的独特成分——薯粉珍珠，也是由于它那引入注目的外表。这种茶是甜味的，但它所含的糖分却比一般的软饮料要少。它通常被装在透明的塑料杯里出售，外带一根用来吸食“大珍珠”的大好吸管。这多有趣啊！