Teahouses In Chengdu

林锋

There is a saying， “China has the best teahouses in the world and Chengdu has the best teahouses in China.”Chengdu has not only many teahouses but also the special ways of serving and drinking tea.

As soon as the visitors enter the teahouses， the waiters or waitresses will greet them with teapots and cups in their hands. The cups often have special covers and saucers. The covers can keep the water warm.

People who go to the teahouses are not all thirsty. Retired（退休）people pay a little money to the teahouses and then sit there all day long to chat with others. Sometimes， people have parties in the teahouses. They eat fruit and sunflower seeds（瓜子）while they chat and return home when they are tired. Teahouses are also good places for people to talk about businesses. Some of the teahouses even have stages for performances， such as storytelling， cross talk and Sichuan Opera. Sometimes when people have a quarrel， a mediator（調解员）will bring them to the teahouse. After their problem is solved， the person who is wrong will pay for the tea. It is interesting that as soon as the quarrelers enter the teahouse and sit down to drink tea， they have almost calmed down. With the help of the mediator， their problems can be easily solved then. Maybe we can say the teahouses have some special social functions.

1. Chengdu has the best teahouses in China because___________.

A. the serving of the teahouses in Chengdu is very special

B. there are many people in Chengdu teahouses

C. there are many old men in Chengdu teahouses

D. the cups in Chengdu teahouses are old

2. People in Chengdu’s teahouses may___________ while they are drinking according to the passage.

A. enjoy interesting stories      B. watch movies

C.   listen to Beijing Opera      D. quarrel in loud voice

Keys： AA