Question

If Confucius were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake，there would be a lot of candles．He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out．

While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day，few people in the United States will give him a passing thought．It’s nothing personal．Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes．

But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius．In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China．

In the past two decades，the Chinese study programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities．More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries．These schools teach both Chinese language and culture．The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art，history and philosophy．Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the old Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy．Students in the United States，at the same time，are racing to learn Chinese．So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States．Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers．

So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well．

Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West．

As for the old thinker，he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West，even if his birthday is．

1.The first paragraph is mainly intended to_________．

A. provide some key facts about Confucius

B. prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations

C. show great respect for the old thinker

D. attract the readers’ interest in the subject

2.The reason why few Americans remember Confucius on his birthday is probably that______．

A. they don’t care about Confucius at all．

B. they consider their own national heroes more important．

C. he has bee a bridge between foreigners and China.

D. they don’t pay much attention to the birthdays of famous people．

3.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students________．

A. were not interested in Chinese studies before

B. take an active part in Chinese petitions

C. have a great interest in studying Chinese

D. hope to make money in China

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. Old Thinker with a Big Future

B. Huge Fans of the Chinese Language

C. Chinese Culture for Westerners

D. Forgotten Wisdom in America DDCA

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】

1.目的意图题。第一段选说如果孔子仍然活着并能庆祝生日的话，将会有很多的蜡烛，他需要一个扇子或很大的风才能吹灭，是为了吸引读者的注意力，让读者继续读下去。所以选D。

2.推理判断题。根据文中第二段的句子：It’s nothing personal．Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes．可知美国人不记得孔子的生日因为美国人不关心名人的生日，所以选D。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段第一句“In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities.”和第四句中的“are racing to learn Chinese可知，美国学生对中国文化很感兴趣。所以选C。

4.主旨大意题。本文主要向我们介绍了孔子思想对西方的影响，以用将来可能产生的影响，所以用Old Thinker with a Big Future作为标题很适合，所以选A。