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 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.
【小题1】The opening paragraph is mainly intended to　　　.

Most of the people who appear most often and most gloriously in the history books are great conquerors (统治者) and generals and soldiers, while the people who really helped civilization forward are often never mentioned at all. We do not know who first set a broken leg, or launched a seaworthy boat, or calculated the length of the year, or manured (施肥)a field; but we know all about the killers and destroyers.

People think a great deal of them, so much that on all the highest pillars (纪念柱)in the great cities of the world you will find the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier. And I think most people believe that the greatest countries are those that have beaten in battle the greatest number of other countries and ruled over them as conquerors. It is just possible they are, but they are not the most civilized. Animals fight; so do savages（野蛮人）; so to be good at fighting is to be good in the way in which an animal or a savage is good, but it is not to be civilized. Even being good at getting other people to fight for you and telling them how to do it most efficiently — this, after all, is what conquerors and generals have done — is not being civilized.  People fight to settle quarrels. Fighting means killing, and civilized peoples ought to be able to find some ways of settling their disputes other than by seeing which side can kill off greater number of the other side, and then saying that the side which has killed most has won. And not only has it won, but, because it has won, it has been in the right. For that is what going to war means; it means saying that power is right.

This is what the story of mankind has on the whole been like. Even our own age has fought the two greatest wars in history, in which millions of people were killed or mutilated (disabled). And while today it is true that people do not fight and kill each other in the streets — while, that is to say, we have got to the stage of keeping the rules and behaving properly to each other in daily life — nations and countries have not learnt to do this yet, and still behave like savages.

1.In the opening sentence, the author indicates that           .

       A．most history books were written by conquerors, generals and soldiers

       B．history book tell us far more about conquerors, generals and soldiers than actual creators of civilization

       C．those who rally helped human civilization forward is not mentioned in history books at all

       D．conquerors, generals and soldiers should be least mentioned in history books

2.According to the passage, most people believe that the greatest countries are those that     .

       A．built the highest pillars for their conquerors

       B．were ruled by the greatest number of conquerors

       C．won the greatest number of battles against other countries

       D．were beaten in battle by the greatest number of other countries

3.In the author’s opinion, the countries that conquered a large number of other countries are

                 .

       A．certainly both the most powerful and most civilized.

       B．neither the greatest nor the most civilized in any way.

       C．possibly either the most civilized or the most powerful in a way.

       D．likely the most powerful in some sense but not the most civilized.

4.The meaning of the last sentence in Paragraph 2 is that          .

　　A．fighters believe that the winner is right and the loser wrong.

       B．only those who are powerful have the right to go to war.

       C．those who are right should fight against those who are wrong.

       D．only powerful nations might win the right to rule weak ones.

    The link between environment and poverty is central to that great race for sustainability. It is a pity, then, that several powerful fallacies (谬论) keep getting in the way of sensible debate. One popular myth is that trade and economic growth make poor countries' environmental problems worse: Growth, it is said, brings with it urbanization, higher energy consumption and industrialization —all factors that contribute to pollution and pose health risks.

    Another common view is that poor countries should pollute now and clean up later. Certainly poor countries should not be made to adopt American or European environmental standards. But there is evidence to suggest that poor countries can and should try to tackle some environmental problems now, rather than wait till they have become richer.

    One powerful—and until recently ignored—weapon in the fight for a better environment is local people. Much academic research has shown that the poor are often victims of resource depletion (损耗) : it tends to be rich locals or outsiders who are  responsible for the worst exploitation (开发). Local people usually have a better knowledge of local ecological conditions than experts in faraway capitals, as well as a direct interest in improving the quality of life in their village.

　　  1. From the first paragraph we can learn that——.

　　　　  A. in developing countries 6 million people die from environmental factors each year

　　　　  B. in developing countries 3 million people lose their lives each year because of water shortage

　　　　  C. in developing countries environmental factors are the biggest cause for abnormal death

　　　　  D. in developing countries more people die from malnutrition

　　  2. According to the author, which of the following contributes most to environmental problems in poor countries?

　　　　    A. poverty　　　　　　　　 B. urban air pollution

　　 C. water-related diseases　　  D. rich locals and outsiders

　　  3. The main idea of Para. 3 is

　　　　    A. poor countries should pollute now and clean up later

　　　　    B. poor countries should take environmental problems seriously as early as possible

　　　　    C. poor countries should follow American or European environmental standards

　　　　    D. some poor countries hold a false guideline in tackling environmental problems

　　  4. According to the author, people who can play an important role in tackling environmental problems are ——.

　　　　    A. rich locals　　　　　　  B outsiders

　　　　    C. local residents　　　　   D environmental experts

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment－to draw a picture of something for which they were __31__.

Most of the class might be considered economically __32__，but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These，the teacher thought，would be the __33__ of most of her students’ art. And they were.

But Douglas made a different kind of __34__.Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery，weak and __35__.As other children played at break，Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the __36__ Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.

Yes，his picture was __37__.When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful，he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an __38__ hand.

His abstract image __39__ the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer，because farmers __40__ turkeys. Another suggested a police officer，because the police protect and __41__ people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God，for God feeds us. And so the __42__ went－until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments，she __43__ at Douglas’desk，bent down，and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and __44__，“It’s yours，teacher.” She __45__ the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there，__46__ she had the other students. How often had she said，“Take my hand，Douglas，we’ll go outside.” Or，“Let me show you how to __47__ your pencil.”Or，“Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.

Brushing aside a tear，she went on with her work.

The story speaks of __48__ thankfulness. It says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing __49__，and how much it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks，but they’ll remember the hand that __50__.

第二题：填空（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

阅读下面的短文，在标有序号的空白处填入一个适当的词，或填入括号中单词的正确形式。

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All thought that they were the most ______1_______, the most useful, the most beautiful and the best.

Green said: "Clearly I am the most important. I am the ___2______ of life and of hope. I’m the color of grass, trees, leaves. Without me, all animals would die.”

Blue ______3_____(interrupt): "Don’t just think about the earth. What is the color of the sky and the sea? Isn’t water the most important thing for life?”

Yellow laughed: "You are all so serious! I bring laughter and warmth into the world. Every time people look at a yellow sunflower, they start to smile. ____4________ me, there would be no fun!"

Orange said at the ____5_____ of his voice: "I am the color of ____6_______ and strength. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins and oranges. When I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, everyone is shocked at my beauty and nobody gives another thought to any of you.

Red could _____7____ it no longer, so he shouted: " I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood.”

　　And so the colors went on quarreling. Their voices became louder and louder. The thunder got angry and the rain started to pour. ____8____the colors began to cool, the rain said,” You foolish colors. Don’t you know that each of you is unique? Join hands and follow me.” They did what they ________9________(tell) and together made the most beautiful rainbow,___10______ is a sign of hope of tomorrow." And whenever a good rain washes the world and a rainbow appears in the sky, we should remember to appreciate one another.