An American named Greg Mortenson has written a very popular book with a very unusual title (标题). It's calledThree Cups of Tea. In it, Mortenson talks about his experiences building schools for poor children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Why did he do this? And how did the book get its title?
In 1993, Mortenson wanted to climb a high mountain in Pakistan called K2. He stayed on the mountain for more than 70 days, but he couldn't r the top. After he turned to go down, he became very sick and w. Two local men took him to a small village called Korphe. There, the Balti people took care of him for several weeks u he got stronger. To thank the people of the village for their kindness, he d to build a school in Korphe.
Mortenson worked hard for years to get the money for his first school. Since then, he has built more than 70 schools, and more than 25,000 boys and girls have s in them. His work was sometimes very difficult, because he was a foreigner and his customs (习俗) were d. At that time, it was natural for the girls to stay at home and do the housework instead of going to school. Some men in the villages were very a with him, because they didn't want schools for girls.
But Mortenson learned about the local culture, and he found a good way to break the ice: by drinking tea with the local people. That's where the title of his book comes from. The Balti people have a saying, "The first time you drink tea with a Balti, you are a s. The second time you have tea, you are an honoured (荣幸的) guest. The t time you share a cup of tea, you become family."
By drinking three cups of tea with the local people, Mortenson was able to c with them and learn about their villages and their problems.
