If Confucius(孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be many 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 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.

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 biography        B. a history paper

C. a newspaper        D. a philosophy textbook

下面五人想要寻找有意思的活动来放松自己。阅读下面活动的介绍（A, B,C,D,E和F）,选出符合各自需求的最佳选项。选项中有一项是多余选项。

______ 1. Li Ling is a university student who studies music. He hopes to get some practical experience of foreign music from western band.

______ 2. Albert is interested in Chinese literature, so he came to China with his parents. During his stay in Beijing. He wants to know more about Chinese contemporary Literature.

______ 3. Li hua is a eighteen-year-old boy. He is studying in a high school. After many month’s study, he is tired of his lessons. He would like to experience something adventurous.

______ 4. Alice is an American girl who studies Art in Beijing University. She has no classes on September 14. She hopes she can enjoy some wonderful oil paintings.

______5. Victoria is fond of Chinese music. She hopes to listen to various songs performed by different bands. She doesn’t care much about what kinds of songs they are.

A．An acrobatic (杂技)soul: To celebrate its 50^th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe will present “The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills will run down you spine as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge.

Time: 7:30p.m, September 13-19

Place: capital Theatre, 22 Wang Fujing Dajie, Dong Cheng District

B．Exhibitions

Joint Show: A group ink painting exhibition is running at the Huangshicheng Art Gallery in Beijing. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display.

Time: 9a.m-5p.m. until September 10

Place: Huang shicheng Gallery, 136 Nanchizi Djie, Dongcheng District

C．Oil paintings: The Wanfung Art Galley will host a joint show of oil paintings by 10 young and middle-aged artists. On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture（捕捉） the wonderous variety of life in unique（独特的） styles.

Time: 9a.m-4pm until September 15

Place: 136 Nanchizi Street, Dong Cheng District

D．Literature Museum: The Nation Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an indepth study of the evolution of Chinese contemporary literature form 1919 to 1949.

Time: 9a.m-4p.m, daily

Place: 45 Anyuan Donglu, Chaoyang District (Shaoyaoju area)

E. Concerts

Beijing rocks: “The Fashionow Night of Chinese Rock” is set to bring rock fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals The audience will be given a chance to decide what songs they want to hear, which is sure to bring a storm.

Time: September 16

Place: The Olympic Center

F. Belgium Orchestra (管弦乐队): La Petite Band, the Baroque Orchestra of Belgium will perform in Beijing at he Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities as part of activities across the world to commemorate（纪念） the 250^th anniversary of Bach’s death.

Time: 7:30p.,. September 11-14

Place: Grand theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities

阅读下面句子，根据括号中的提示在横线的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词，一个空格错误，该题不得分。
【小题1】Many people think classics _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ (没有任何关系) life today.
【小题2】Pip rather than Joe ______ ______ ______ ______ (下定决心成为) a gentleman.
【小题3】Burns divided this poem into short sections ______ ______ (包含) four lines each.
【小题4】Two nights without sleep ______ ______ ______ ______ (已经让我很累).
【小题5】Those who cannot answer all three riddles will ______ ______ ______ ______ (处死).
【小题6】The story _____ ______ (呈现了) a classic love triangle between Calaf, Turandot and Liu.
【小题7】When it becomes evident ____ ____ (发生的事), he scolds her for not being more merciful.
【小题8】A manager should ______ ______ ______ (平易近人) his staff in the daily routine.
【小题9】I will ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ (简要回顾) how Western music progressed.

The relationship between humans and animals has always been complex. Some cultures have developed entire belief systems around favored animals. Even in cultures with less formal belief systems, connections between people and animals still lead to commonly accepted opinions about animals.

These belief systems usually develop around the animals that interact (互动) with humans most frequently. Therefore, it should not be surprising that so many stories surround the most common of animals: rats. Rats live side by side with humans all over the world and regularly interact with people. Human-rat coexistence may be common all around the world, but different cultures respond to that closeness in different ways.

In the United States and Europe, one typical attitude is that the rat is a pest. This could be due to the common belief that rats spread disease. Actually, they don’t, at least not directly, but many people don’t know that. The Pied Piper of Hamlin, a well-known children’s story, is one example of how rats have been described in Western literature: in that story, rats cause such a problem that a town has to hire a piper to call them all away.

In many Latin American countries, the rat is described in a very different way. The story of the tooth fairy (a fairy believed by children to leave money while they sleep in exchange for a tooth that has come out) is common all over the world, but in Latin America, the “fairy” is a rat! Rats do have very strong teeth, which could explain the association. Clearly, this shows another attitude toward rats that is much more positive.

Yet another attitude toward the rat can be seen in the Chinese Zodiac (生肖). The Rat is one of the animals of the Zodiac. Like the other zodiac animals, the Rat is neither entirely good nor entirely bad. It’s described as clever and friendly, but also tricky and not entirely honest. That may be the most accurate description of the rat so far. Whether you like rats or not, it’s hard to deny their reputation for cleverness.

As many people are discovering these days, rats can even make excellent pets, so long as you remember to close the cage carefully!

1.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. A trend of keeping rats as pets.              

B. How different cultures look at rats.

C. How humans get along with animals.          

D. Favored animals in different cultures.

2.The rats in The Pied Piper of Hamlin appear______.

A. unpleasant        B. honest         C. smart        D. unusual

3.The tooth fairy in Latin America mentioned in Paragraph4 is to show______.

A. the tooth fairy is lovely                     

B. rats look very frightening

C. rats are welcome in Latin American countries

D. the story of the tooth fairy is common all over the world

4.According to the author, rats______.

A. don’t spread disease               

B. should be treated as pests

C. are fairly described in the Chinese Zodiac         

D. are kept as pets by more and more people

5.The passage is probably taken from a ______.

A. travel guide           B. news report        C. nature magazine       D. history textbook

单词拼写(满分10分)

1. __________(暴露) of the body to strong sunlight can be harmful.

2.Graduates have to fight for jobs in a highly __________(竞争的) market.

3.I made my husband stay with the __________(行李) while I went to find a taxi.

4.Under the new__________(规章), spending on office equipment will be strictly controlled.

5.On no account can we__________(忽视) the value of knowledge.

6.Much hard work has been done to ____(促进) an understanding of the politics and culture of Arab world.

7.Dinner is served at seven; please try to be _________(准时的).

8.China has US$7200 per _________(居民) , which is low compared to some western economies.

9.Giant pandas are among the world’s most ____________ (濒危的) animals.

10.To our ___________(安慰) , Geoffrey’s illness proved not to be as serious as we had feared.