1.Tea is an article of which an enormous quantity is used in this country.Russia probably stands next to Britain in the quantity of tea used by its people；but the Russians like their tea much weaker than we do，and they do not let it stand so long to infuse.
2.All our tea formerly came from China，and many tales are told of the races between the tea-clippers，each trying to be the first to bring its cargo of the new season’s tea to the English markets.Now only one-fourth of our tea comes from China.In Russia，the whole of the seventy or eighty million pounds that are used every year is brought from China；and it is said that the best Chinese tea is never exported except to Russia.The following account of a tea-caravan on its way to Russia is given by a recent traveller in Siberia：-3.At last my preparations were complete，and Istarted on the next stage of my journey.The road，for some miles after leaving the town，lay along the ice in the very centre of the river Yenisei.As it was a very bright moonlight night，the effect was novel and beautiful；and the track being smooth and level，the horses went along at their top speed.I was graduallylulled into a deep sleep，and woke to find the first stageof twenty-nine verstsaccomplished，and the sledge inthe post-yard of Botoiskaya.
4.The little village was slumbering；not a light was to be seen in any of the windows.In the post-house was the only sign of life.Looking up the street，which in the moonlight had a quaint appearance with its tumble-down cottages，I saw a most curious sight.The centre of the road had exactly the appearance of being laid with railway sleepers.As far as one could see，the long ridges in the snow followed each other so regularly that I could not help asking what was the reason of so cutting up the road.
5.To my astonishment I was told that these ridges were caused by the thousands of horses in the caravans which had passed along the road during the winter.The horses know that they can get a better foothold by walking in each other‘s footsteps，and fall into thehabit of doing so almost mechanically.Shortly after-wards，I had the first of many opportunities of noting this for myself；for presently a large tea-caravan came along，and I observed that it hardly ever happened that a horse stepped out of the grooves-so much so that the drivers，strolling alongside，seemed to have verylittle to do，as the animals knew all that was expected of them.
6.This，my first sight of a caravan on the great post-road，was but the forerunner of what we met and passed，both day and night，almost without inter-mission，all the way to Irkutsk.While many were laden with European goods bound eastwards，most of them were coming from China with tea.So great，in fact，was this traffic that I could not help wondering where all this immense quantity of tea could go to，more especially when one considers that what comes to Europe by the great post-road is only a small portion of the annual amount imported from China.
7.The tea of China，packed in bales of hide，is broughtacross the Gobi desert by ox-wagons or by camels asfar as the frontier，where it is transferred to sledges orto Siberian carts，according to the season，and the long journey to Tomsk is commenced，a journey taking over two months.The same horses go the whole way，but they are allowed to take their own pace，and seldom make more than three miles an hour.At Tomsk the tea is stored till spring，when it is taken by river-steamer into Russia.Tea brought overland is said to retain more of its original flavour than that which，packed in lead，has made a sea voyage；but the difference is so slight that probably only an expert can detect it.
8.There are comparatively few men in charge ofthese immensely valuable consignments-whichoften consist of as many as two hundred and fifty sledges-only one man to about seven horses，as a rule.At night the men take it in turn to keep watch.On the great post-road a peculiar form of highway robbery exists.Bales of tea are frequently cut loose and stolen in the dark hours by thieves，who lurk around to take advantage of a driver dozing in his sledge.The poor fellow then has to pay dearly for his “forty winks，”as he has to make the loss good out of his wages-a very serious matter，considering the value of a bale of tea.
1.Give the meanings of the words consider，consideration，considerate，and considerable.
2.Explain the similarity in meaning between valuable，invaluable，and priceless；and contrast with valueless and worthless.
3.Give a list of words with the prefix trans-，as transferred，and their meanings.
