1 . 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(缺陷)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.

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

2. 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

3. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Forgotten Wisdom in America

B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language

C．Chinese Culture for Westerners

D．Old Thinker with a Big Future

4. The passage is likely to appear in__________.

A．a personal biography	B．a history paper
C．a cultural newspaper	D．a philosophy textbook

2 . I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles”(风格)of directions every time I ask “ How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑的)in Japan because most streets there don’t have names. In Japan, people use landmarks(地标)in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “ Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat. In many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “ Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map. They measure distance in time, not miles. “ How far away is the post office?” you ask. “ Oh,” they answer, “ it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “ Yes, but how many miles is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “ Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “ I don't know”. People in Yucatan believe that “I don't know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!
1. When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually _______ .

A．describe the place carefully

B．show him a map of the place

C．tell him the names of the streets

D．refer to recognizable buildings and places

2. What is the place where people measure distance in time?

A．New York.	B．Los Angles.
C．Kansas                 C. Iowa

3. People inYucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________ .

A．in order to save time	B．as a test
C．so as to be polite	D．for fun

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences.

B．It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.

C．People have similar understanding of politeness.

D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.

3 . 书面表达
一个英文网站面向中学生征稿。请你写一篇英语稿件，介绍“中秋节”及这个节日里的主要活动。
写作要点：
它是中国传统节日之一；
家人团聚；
赏月、吃月饼；
还有旅游、访友等其他活动。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3.开头语已经为你写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：中秋节 the Mid-Autumn Festival 农历 lunar calendar 赏月 enjoy the full moon
月饼 moon cake
The Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15^th of the eighth month of our Chinese lunar calendar.
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