中国饮茶的传统可以追溯到公元前3000多年，但“下午茶”的概念却是到17世纪中叶(the mid 17th century)才在英国出现的。当时那里时兴的晚餐时间是晚上8点，所以一位公爵夫人(Duchess)养成了在下午4点约朋友吃糕点的习惯。很快下午茶成为当时的社会潮流。随东西方文化交流的加深，这个英国传统逐渐进入中国。如今，下午茶在国内日渐流行起来，尤其是在广东和福建地区。

　　参考译文：

　　Although the tradition of drinking tea dates back to more than 3,000 B.C. in China,it was not until the mid 17th century in the UK that appeared the concept of "afternoon tea".The dinner time then was popularly late at 8 pm,so a Duchess developed a habit of inviting Mends to enjoy some cakes at 4 pm in the afternoon. Quickly,afternoon tea became a fashionable social event.With the cultural exchanges between the east and the west deepening,this British tradition was gradually in-traduced into China.Now,afternoon tea is increasingly popular in China, especially in the area ol Guangdong and Fijian provinces.

　　表达难点：

　　1.仔细分析发现，第1句的前后分句语义上表转折。翻译时，可以考虑用“虽然……但是……” (although…it… ) 的结构来译。“‘下午茶’的概念却是到……才……出现的”可用it is not until…that…句型来表达，译为it was not until…that the concept of “afternoon tea” appeared，但为避免显得头重脚轻可把谓语appeared 提前，进行倒装以平衡结构。

　　2.第二句中的“当时那里时兴的晚餐时间是晚上8点”翻译时进行“增词”处理，加一个late(晚的)更能准确表达出下午茶的必要性;同时，“时兴的”转换成副词popularly，使译文自然流畅。

　　3. 倒数第2句中的“这个英国传统逐渐进人中国”逐字对译则为this British tradition gradually entered into China，这样翻译略显生硬。实际上，这是一句没有被动标记词的被动句，宜译为this British tradition was gradually introduced into China.

　　4.最后一句中的“广东和福建地区”不可直译为Guangdong and Fujian area，应把“广东”和“福建”的性质交代清楚，译作in the area of Guangdong and Fijian provinces才符合英语表达习惯。