阅读理解
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 strong
wind to help him put them out.
While many people
in China will remember Confucius on this 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 advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for
the drawbacks (缺点) 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
答案: B
A
D