IfConfucius(孔子)werestillalivetodayandcouldcelebratehisSeptember28birthdaywithabigcake,therewouldbealotofcandles.He‘dneedafanorastrongwindtohelphimputthemout.
WhilemanypeopleinChinawillrememberConfuciusonhisspecialday,fewpeopleintheUnitedStateswillgivehimapassingthought.It‘snothingpersonal.MostAmericansdon‘tevenrememberthebirthdaysoftheirownnationalheroes.
Butthisdoesn‘tmeanthatAmericansdon‘tcareaboutConfucius.InmanywayshehasbecomeabridgethatforeignersmustcrossiftheywanttoreachadeeperunderstandingofChina.
Inthepasttwodecades,theChinesestudiesprogrammeshavegainedhugepopularityinWesternuniversities.Morerecently,theChinesegovernmenthassetupConfuciusInstitutesinmorethan80countries.TheseschoolsteachbothChineselanguageandculture.ThemaincoursesofChinesecultureusuallyincludeChineseart,historyandphilosophy(哲学).SomesocialscientistssuggestthatWesternersshouldtakeadvantageoftheancientChinesewisdomtomakeupforthedrawbacks(缺点)ofWesternphilosophy.StudentsintheUnitedStates,atthesametime,areracingtolearnChinese.SotheywillbereadyforlifeinaworldwhereChinaisanequalpowerwiththeUnitedStates.BusinessmenwhohopetomakemoneyinChinaarereadingbooksaboutConfuciustounderstandtheirChinesecustomers.
Sotheoldthinker‘sideasarestillaliveandwell.
TodayChinaattractstheWestmorethanever,anditwillneedmoreteacherstointroduceConfuciusandChineseculturetotheWest.
Asfortheoldthinker,hewillnotsoonbeforgottenbypeopleintheWest,evenifhisbirthdayis.
1.Theopeningparagraphismainlyintendedto .
A.providesomekeyfactsaboutConfucius
B.attractthereaders‘interestinthesubject
C.showgreatrespectfortheancientthinker
D.provethepopularityofmodernbirthdayceebrations
2.WecanlearnfromParagraph4thatAmericanstudents .
A.haveagreatinterestinstudyingChinese
B.takeanactivepartinChinesecompetitions
C.trytogethighscoresinChineseexams
D.fightforachancetolearnChinese
3.Whatisthebesttitleforthepassage?
A.ForgottenwisdominAmerica
B.HugefansoftheChineselanguage
C.Oldthinkerwithabigfuture
D.ChinesecultureforWesterners
4.Thepassageislikelytoappearin .
A.anewspaper B.ahistorypaper
C.abiography D.aphilosophytextbook
