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 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. 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.
小题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小题2:We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students_________.
A．fight for a chance to learn Chinese
B．try to get high scores in Chinese exams
C．have a great interest in studying Chinese
D．take an active part in Chinese competitions小题3: What is the best title for the passage?
A．Forgotten Wisdom in America
B．Old Thinker with a Big Future
C．Chinese Culture for Westerners
D．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language小题4: The passage is likely to appear in _________.
A．a biography
B．a history paper
C．a newspaper
D．a philosophy textbook
小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:B
小题4:C
题目分析：这篇文章主要讲了中国伟大的思想家孔子以及孔子学说对后世的深远影响。中国政府在很多地方建立了孔子研究院，国内外的很多人都热衷于孔子的理论。
小题1:文章以很幽默的写法开头，目的在于吸引读者的注意，故选B。
小题2:根据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.故选C。
小题3: 根据全文内容以及As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is. 可知这篇文章主要讲了中国伟大的思想家孔子以及孔子学说对后世的深远影响，所以答案为B。
小题4: 根据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 advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy.可看出这样的报道类文章最可能出现在报纸上，因此选C。
点评：这类文章的特点在于篇幅较长，词汇及信息量大。要想答好题目，重在理解全文意思。这篇文章比较难，先看问题，再带着问题读短文，找出各段落的主旨句，理解全文内容，注意细节，总结全文中心，然后再回到问题上来，选出正确答案。