A
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 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. show great respect for the ancient thinker
C. attract the readers’ interest in the subject
D. prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations
2. 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
3. The passage is likely to appear in ___________.
A. a newspaper B. a history paper
C. a philosophy textbook D. a p biography
【答案】1. C 2. D 3. A
【解析】
这是一篇新闻报道。主要讲述了外国人对中国文化的兴趣越来越浓，对于孔子思想也越来越感兴趣这一社会现象。孔子思想已深入西方，成为西方人深入了解中国的桥梁。美国学生对汉语产生了浓厚兴趣，这就需要更多的老师传播孔子思想和中国文化。
【1题详解】
推理判断题。在文章第一段中，作者假设如果孔子活到现在的话，过生日一定需要很多蜡烛。从第二段开始说孔子在西方很流行等内容，由此可推断作者写第一段的目的是为了吸引读者，故正确答案为C。
【2题详解】
主旨大意题。由倒数第二段“So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.（因此，这位老思想家的思想仍然鲜活。）”和最后一段“As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.（至于这位老思想家，他不会很快被西方人民遗忘，即使他的生日是。）”可知文章想要阐述的观点是古老的思想家孔子并未被忘记，并且将来在西方还会很流行，由此可知D项“有前途的老思想家”符合文意。
【3题详解】
推理判断题。文章主要讲的是中国的思想家孔子及其所代表的东方文化仍然被西方所推崇，而并没有讲孔子这个人具体如何，也没有谈及历史或者哲学内容，由此可推断这篇文章更可能出现在报纸上，故正确答案为A。
