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 include Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲學).Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Western 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.
【小題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

【小題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

【小題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

【小題4】The passage is likely to appear in　　　.

A．a biography	B．a history paper
C．a newspaper	D．a philosophy textbook

Answer 1

【小題1】B
【小題2】A
【小題3】D
【小題4】C

解析試題分析：本文主要講述了外國人對中國文化的興趣越來越濃，對于孔子的思想也越來越感興趣這一社會現象。
【小題1】B 推理題。根據文章第一段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.是以孔子生日這一個有趣的話題來引起本文要討論的真正話題，故B正確。
【小題2】A 推理題。根據Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.說明中國對每個人有很強的吸引力，很多美國人對中國都很感興趣，故A正確。
【小題3】D 主旨大意題。本文主要講述的正是中國越來越引起世界的關注，同樣，中國的文化也引起了世界人民的興趣，很多人都開始了解中國的文化，這給孔子這位中國的思想家帶來了新生，故D正確。
【小題4】C 推理題。本文主要講述了外國人對中國文化的興趣越來越濃，對于孔子的思想也越來越感興趣這一社會現象，那么很有可能是新聞報道的內容，故C項正確。
考點：考查新聞報道類短文閱讀
點評：本文主要講述了外國人對中國文化的興趣越來越濃，對于孔子的思想也越來越感興趣這一社會現象。本文主旨鮮明,很容易在文中找到答案。做題時要注意文章的首段和每一段的首句或尾句，因為它們往往就是文章的主題句。閱讀中要注意要點之間的關系。然后帶著問題，再讀全文，找出答題所需要的依據，完成閱讀任務。