If Confucius（孔夫子）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 included Chinese art, history and philosophy（哲学）. Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take adventages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United Sates, at the same time, are racing to lean 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.

I’ve noticed that conversations with my children have started to turn into something that I don’t like. It could be my fault. I don’t always think before l open my mouth.

For example, my kids might call me to tell me about something that’s been bothering them. Then, as soon as they’re finished, I go into mom mode（模式）. I can’t help it. It’s my default setting（默认设置）. I am the queen of unwanted advice. When I get one of my adult kids on the phone, I become an expert on everything and anything which I’m obviously not.

I want to be part of their lives. More importantly, I want to prevent them from making mistakes that seem so obvious to me. But they just want someone to listen.

I’m hardy alone in this. Over lunch the other day, a friend told me that her son rarely listened to anything she said. I know that feeling all too well. But I’m learning that talking to is not the same as talking with.

Giving advice to children can be full of problems. Though we may see ourselves sharing our wisdom, they see something else. They see a controlling parent who hasn’t accepted the fact that they’re adults with their own thoughts.

They’re not looking for any tips They may not even want an immediate（立刻的）solution to a difficult problem.

What they’re hoping for is a safe place to talk with a person who loves and supports them.

Because of this, I’ve set the goal of becoming a better parent by being a better listener. It’s not an easy task for parents like me who think they’re just being helpful. But I’m trying to do it anyway.

My first home was a beautiful meadow with a pond of clear water. There were some large trees near the pond. On one side of the meadow was a field and on the other was the house of our master, Farmer Grey. He was a kind man.

My mother and I had a happy life. She worked during the day. I played with the other young horses and had great fun. At night I lay next to her.

One day, my master sold me to Squire Gordon. He lived with his family in a big house. “You’re a beautiful horse,” he said. “You have a beautiful black coat. I shall call you Black Beauty.”

I learned to carry my master on my back and pull a coach. I leaned to ware reins (缆绳) and a bit in my mouth, I did not like them but all the horses had to wear them.

My master had two horses. One of them was Merrylegs. He was very friendly. The other was Ginger. She was not friendly. She bit and kicked people.

Ginger and I palled a coach together. The coachman’s name was John Ginger and I worked very hard. We became friends.

Ginger told me about her life when she was young. She told me, “My master was not kind to me. My reins and bit hurt me. My master did not care.”

Squire Gordon and his men felt sorry for Ginger. They were always kind to her. She stopped biting and kicking people. She became a happy horse.

One day in autumn Squire Gordon went on a long journey, John went with him and I pulled the coach. The weather was rainy and windy. Mr. Gordon and John could not see well in the rain. We came to a bridge. I stopped. “Something is wrong.” I thought, I did not want to go on to the bridge. Mr. Gordon and John wanted me to go on to the bridge. I did not move. Just then a man saw us. “Hey! There! Stop!” he cried.

“What is it?” shouted the Squire.

“The bridge is broken in the middle,” he answered. “If you go on to it, you are all going to drown in the river.” “Thank God!” said the Squire. “Thank you, Beauty!” said John. We turned around and went along the road by the river. For a long time no one said anything. Then John said, “Black Beauty saved our lives. He knew the bridge was dangerous.”

When we returned home, the Squire told Mrs. Gordon:

“We are all safe, thanks to Black Beauty!”

That night I was glad, because I was very tired.

After spending 40 hours playing the online game, a 17-year-old boy suffered a stroke (中风) and nearly died.

This     41     (luck) accident happened in Guangdong Province in April. It shows     42     terrible things will get if one is crazy about the Internet.

To stop more teenagers becoming crazy about the Internet the Ministry of Education (MOE) sent a letter to all parents in China. It asks them to pay more attention to their     43     (child) online activities.

The MOE also sent an important notice lo primary and middle schools,     44     (ask) them to monitor students’ Internet use. From now on, more attention     45     (pay) to their students’ Internet use, as well as their use of mobile phones.

Schools have been told to teach students how to keep     46     from unhealthy information online.     47     students show signs of being crazy about the Internet, they can get help from their teachers     48     (give) up their addiction (上瘾).

Now more and more experts offer some     49     (suggest) that students should limit their screentime to less than 1.5 hours a day. To make     50     (good) use of their free time, they can develop some hobbies, like reading and playing sports.