Why read this: This is an easy reading about a famous Chinese tea. It is a good entry point for students who are not yet ready for the B2 or C1 versions. The story is simple. A farmer picks tea leaves. His father dries them in a hot pan with his hands. Today, more farmers use machines instead. Many young people left the villages, but some are now coming back. The reading helps students think about a real worry: old ways of making things can disappear when machines do the work. Mandarin L1 readers already know the topic from home, so they can focus on the English words and how to talk about this idea in English.
What to notice: The story is told in a clear order. First, students meet Xiaopeng on the hill. Then they learn the name and history of the tea. Next, they see the father doing wok-firing. After that, the writer tells them about the problem (machines, young people leaving). At the end, the writer gives some hope (young people coming back, the son returning). Ask students to notice the four key words in the margin glosses: tea bushes, Dragon Well, harvest window, wok-firing. Also ask them to find the one sentence that states the worry directly: "Many people worry that this old way of making tea will disappear." Point out that English uses "the old way" as a short way to talk about traditional hand work.
Skills practised: Students practise reading a short story in simple present and simple past tenses. They learn to follow a clear order: scene, history, work, problem, hope. They practise key A2 vocabulary about food and work (pick, dry, grow, leaves, pan, hands, machine, price, return). They practise answering simple questions that ask for facts (where, what, why) and short "describe" and "name two reasons" tasks. They also start to notice how a writer can show a worry by saying it in one direct sentence. This helps them get ready for the B2 and C1 versions in the same family, where the same worry is shown in longer, more difficult English.
China's Famous Green Tea
Longjing tea grows on green hills near Hangzhou. People worry that the old way of making it may disappear.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
Ge Xiaopeng stands on a green hillhill: An area of high ground that is not as high as a mountain. — 小山；丘陵 near Hangzhou. He looks at a tinytiny: Very small — 极小的 tea leafleaf: a flat green part of a plant or tree that grows from a stem or branch — 叶子；树叶 between his fingersfinger: One of the five long thin parts at the end of your hand. — 手指. He pickspick: To decide upon, from a set of options; to select — 挑选 the leaf carefullycarefully: In a way that gives a lot of attention to avoid mistakes or accidents. — 小心地；仔细地 and dropsdrop: To let something fall or to fall down. — 掉落；使落下 it into his basketbasket: A container made of woven strips used for carrying or storing things. — 篮子；筐. The basket is alreadyalready: Before now or before a particular time. — 已经 full of small green leaves. Xiaopeng is a tea farmer. He grows his tea bushes: the low woody plants that tea leaves grow on — 茶树 on this hill. He grows Longjing, one of the most famous green teas in China.
Longjing means Dragon Well: the English meaning of the Chinese name Longjing — 龙井. The tea grows on hills near West Lake in Hangzhou, in easterneastern: In or from the east part of an area. — 东方的；东部的 China. People have loved this tea for hundreds of years. Long ago, an emperoremperor: The male monarch or ruler of an empire — 皇帝 visited Hangzhou. He tastedtaste: The feeling you get in your mouth from eating or drinking something. — 品尝；尝起来 Longjing and loved it very much. He gave 18 tea plants a special royalroyal: Connected with a king or queen or their family. — 皇家的；王室的 name.
Spring is the busy time. The harvest window: the short time when a crop can be picked at its best — 采摘期 is short, only about two weeks. Farmers pick the small leaves by hand. The early spring leaves are the best. They have a softsoft: Not hard; easy to press or touch gently. — 软的；柔软的, sweetsweet: Having a pleasant taste like sugar or honey. — 甜的；甜蜜的 tastetaste: One of the sensations produced by the tongue in response to certain chemicals; the quality of giving this sensation — 味道. After picking, the leaves go into a very hot panpan: A flat metal container used for cooking food. — 平底锅. Xiaopeng's father, Ge Zhenghua, does this workwork: a job; the activity that someone does regularly to earn money — 工作；职业. He moves the leaves in the pan with his barebare: Not clothed or covered; basic and without addition or embellishment. — 裸露的；空的；仅有的；光秃的 hands. This stepstep: One movement of your foot when you are walking. — 步；步骤 is called wok-firing: drying and shaping tea leaves by moving them in a hot pan — 炒锅杀青. It dries the leaves and gives them a flat, pointedpointed: Having a sharp tip; expressing criticism in a direct and clear way. — 尖的；尖锐的 shapeshape: The form or outline of something. — 形状；外形.
But this old way is changing. Today, more farmers use machinesmachine: A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect — 机器 to dry the tea. Machines are faster and easier. Zhenghua says hand-made tea tastes better, but the work is very hard. Many people worryworry: To feel anxious or troubled about a problem or possible event. — 担心；烦恼 that this old way of making tea will disappeardisappear: To stop being visible or to go away completely. — 消失；不见.
For many years, Zhenghua thought no young people would learn his skills. Many young people left the villages and went to big cities. But now, some are coming back. The price of real Longjing is high, so the work pays well. Zhenghua's own son has returned to help. Young people who grew up here, Zhenghua says, know this smellsmell: A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air carrying airborne molecules of a substance — 气味；味道. It is the smell of their home.
Ge Xiaopeng stands on a green hillhill: An area of high ground that is not as high as a mountain. — 小山；丘陵 near Hangzhou. He looks at a tinytiny: Very small — 极小的 tea leafleaf: a flat green part of a plant or tree that grows from a stem or branch — 叶子；树叶 between his fingersfinger: One of the five long thin parts at the end of your hand. — 手指. He pickspick: To decide upon, from a set of options; to select — 挑选 the leaf carefullycarefully: In a way that gives a lot of attention to avoid mistakes or accidents. — 小心地；仔细地 and dropsdrop: To let something fall or to fall down. — 掉落；使落下 it into his basketbasket: A container made of woven strips used for carrying or storing things. — 篮子；筐. The basket is alreadyalready: Before now or before a particular time. — 已经 full of small green leaves. Xiaopeng is a tea farmer. He grows his tea bushes: the low woody plants that tea leaves grow on — 茶树 on this hill. He grows Longjing, one of the most famous green teas in China.
Longjing means Dragon Well: the English meaning of the Chinese name Longjing — 龙井. The tea grows on hills near West Lake in Hangzhou, in easterneastern: In or from the east part of an area. — 东方的；东部的 China. People have loved this tea for hundreds of years. Long ago, an emperoremperor: The male monarch or ruler of an empire — 皇帝 visited Hangzhou. He tastedtaste: The feeling you get in your mouth from eating or drinking something. — 品尝；尝起来 Longjing and loved it very much. He gave 18 tea plants a special royalroyal: Connected with a king or queen or their family. — 皇家的；王室的 name.
Spring is the busy time. The harvest window: the short time when a crop can be picked at its best — 采摘期 is short, only about two weeks. Farmers pick the small leaves by hand. The early spring leaves are the best. They have a softsoft: Not hard; easy to press or touch gently. — 软的；柔软的, sweetsweet: Having a pleasant taste like sugar or honey. — 甜的；甜蜜的 tastetaste: One of the sensations produced by the tongue in response to certain chemicals; the quality of giving this sensation — 味道. After picking, the leaves go into a very hot panpan: A flat metal container used for cooking food. — 平底锅. Xiaopeng's father, Ge Zhenghua, does this workwork: a job; the activity that someone does regularly to earn money — 工作；职业. He moves the leaves in the pan with his barebare: Not clothed or covered; basic and without addition or embellishment. — 裸露的；空的；仅有的；光秃的 hands. This stepstep: One movement of your foot when you are walking. — 步；步骤 is called wok-firing: drying and shaping tea leaves by moving them in a hot pan — 炒锅杀青. It dries the leaves and gives them a flat, pointedpointed: Having a sharp tip; expressing criticism in a direct and clear way. — 尖的；尖锐的 shapeshape: The form or outline of something. — 形状；外形.
But this old way is changing. Today, more farmers use machinesmachine: A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect — 机器 to dry the tea. Machines are faster and easier. Zhenghua says hand-made tea tastes better, but the work is very hard. Many people worryworry: To feel anxious or troubled about a problem or possible event. — 担心；烦恼 that this old way of making tea will disappeardisappear: To stop being visible or to go away completely. — 消失；不见.
For many years, Zhenghua thought no young people would learn his skills. Many young people left the villages and went to big cities. But now, some are coming back. The price of real Longjing is high, so the work pays well. Zhenghua's own son has returned to help. Young people who grew up here, Zhenghua says, know this smellsmell: A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air carrying airborne molecules of a substance — 气味；味道. It is the smell of their home.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
Where does Longjing tea grow?
- 02
What does Ge Zhenghua do with the tea leaves after they are picked?
- 03
Why are some young people coming back to the tea villages?
- 04
Describe the steps Ge Xiaopeng and his father take to make Longjing tea, from the hill to the finished tea.
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Name two reasons why the old way of making Longjing tea may disappear, and one reason why there is hope.
Suggested length: ~50 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
Where does Longjing tea grow?
- 02
What does Ge Zhenghua do with the tea leaves after they are picked?
- 03
Why are some young people coming back to the tea villages?
- 04
Describe the steps Ge Xiaopeng and his father take to make Longjing tea, from the hill to the finished tea.
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Name two reasons why the old way of making Longjing tea may disappear, and one reason why there is hope.
Suggested length: ~50 words