Question

If Confucius（孔子）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 studies 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（哲学）.Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient 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 opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________

A．provide some key facts about Confucius

B．attract the readers’ interest in the subject

C．show great respect for the ancient thinker

D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations

2.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students______

A．have a great interest in studying Chinese

B．take an active part in Chinese competitions

C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams

D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese

3.What is the best title for the passage?

A．Forgotten Wisdom in America

B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language

C．Chinese Culture for Westerners

D．Old Thinker with a Big Future

4.The passage is likely to appear in ___________.

A．a biography

B．a history paper

C．a newspaper

D．a philosophy textbook

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】文章讲述的是东方文化受到西方的欢迎，特别提到孔子学院在西方传播古老的中国的文化。

1.B 推理题。第一段以一种幽默的方式提出了一个有趣的话题，目的在于引起下文关于孔子和中国文化的问题，故B正确。

2.A 根据第四段6,7行Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese.可知美国学生在学习中国方面很有兴趣，故A正确。

3.D 主旨大意题。文章的中心思想是古老的中国文化在西方受到欢迎，孔子正是中国文化的代表。故D正确。

4.C 推理题。本文是关于东方的孔子思想在西方收到欢迎的情况，最有可能出现在西方的报纸上，故C正确。