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 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(哲学)．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.
【语篇解读】 本文阐述了西方学生学习中国文化的现象，并告诉我们中国古代伟大的思想家——孔子的思想仍然受到人们的追捧。
21．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
答案 B [写作意图题。作者首先提出，如果孔子活到今天，按照西方国家的方式点蜡烛来庆祝他的生日的话，那么吹蜡烛将会是一件麻烦的事。作者以这个作为开场白，目的是吸引读者。C项有一定的干扰性。]
22．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
答案 A [推理判断题。第四段第一句就是本段的主旨句。这一段讲述了孔子文化在西方国家的受欢迎程度，由此可以得出答案。]
23．The passage is likely to appear in ________．
A．a biography
B．a history paper
C．a newspaper
D．a philosophy textbook
答案 C [文章出处题。本文介绍了孔子学院在西方的盛行，因此属于报道类文章，应出现在报纸上。]
;color:black'>C．Brave. D．Friendly.
答案 D [词义猜测题。根据后面的“Instead，she was a fierce black woman.”可知，前面是说莲纳·荷恩在当时并不是一个让人感觉温暖和“亲切友好的”人。]
