19．If Confucius（孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28birthday 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 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 80countries．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．
54．The opening paragraph is mainly intended toB．
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
55．We can learn from Paragraph 4that American studentsC．
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
56．What is the best title for the passage？B
A．Forgotten Wisdom in America
B．Old Thinker with a Big Future
C．Chinese Culture for Westerners
D．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language
57．The passage is likely to appear inC．
A．a biography
B．a history paper
C．a newspaper
D．a philosophy textbook．
分析 本文是一篇新聞報道．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(xiàn)象．孔子思想已經深入西方，成為西方人深入了解中國人的一座橋梁．美國學生對漢語產生了濃厚興趣，這就需要更多的老師傳播孔子思想和中國文化．
解答 54 B．作者意圖題．根據(jù)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 b wind to help him put them out．"可知文章開篇做了一個有趣的設想，假如孔子活到現(xiàn)在，給他過生日，需用扇子或大風幫他熄滅生日蛋糕上的蠟燭，目的是吸引讀者，引起讀者興趣．引起本文要討論的真正話題，故答案B正確．
55 C．推理判斷題．根據(jù)"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，故答案C正確．
56 B．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?guī)砹诵律�，故答案B正確．
57 C．推理判斷題．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(xiàn)象，那么很有可能是新聞報道的內容，文章新穎有時效性，所以選C．A項指傳記，詳細描述人物的生平；B項指歷史論文，用詞要術語化；D項指哲學課本，應著重哲學概念和思想．故答案C正確．
點評 本文是一篇歷史文化類閱讀．本文主旨鮮明，題目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(jù)，完成閱讀任務．
