Only very wealthy people had enough money to drink tea in Europe. It took many months to transport the tea from Asia. And only a limited amount was transported. But more countries started to trade with China. They also brought tea back to Europe. Prices became lower, and more people could drink tea.
当时，欧洲只有非常富有的人才喝得起茶。因为茶从亚洲运到欧洲需要花费数月，而且运输量也有限。但后来越来越多的国家开始与中国进行贸易往来，他们也会把茶叶带回欧洲。这使茶的价格变低，更多的人可以喝得起茶。
England is the European country most known for tea. So, when did tea get there? Well, British traders started shipping tea to England in the late sixteen hundreds. Tea trade had become a very profitable business. England imported about eighteen thousand kilograms of tea a year in 1699. Ten years later, the country imported six times that amount of tea!
英国是欧洲最著名的茶叶国。那么，茶是什么时候传到英国的呢？英国商人在16世纪晚期开始向英国运送茶叶。那时茶叶贸易已经成为一项利润可观的生意。在1699年，英格兰每年进口1.8万公斤的茶叶。十年后，这个国家的进口量达到了当时的六倍。
Two meals involved tea in British homes. These meals became popular in the sixteen hundreds. The first was afternoon tea - or “low tea”. This was popular among wealthy people. They would drink tea and eat small sandwiches of meat and bread. This meal happened around three o-clock in the afternoon. The other meal was called “high tea.” High tea was a larger meal eaten later in the night. It was popular among poorer people.
在英国家庭中每天有两顿饭是要配茶的，这在16世纪就开始流行了。第一顿饭是下午茶。这在富人中很流行，他们会喝茶，吃小块的肉和面包。这顿饭大约在下午三点左右开始。另一顿饭叫“傍晚茶”。傍晚茶是晚些时候吃的一顿大餐，它在穷人中很受欢迎。
