If Confucius(孔子) were 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 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 that 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 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 to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
1.The purpose or the first paragraph is mainly to ________.
A. attract the readers’ interest in the subject
B. provide some key facts about Confucius
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. take an active part in Chinese competitions
B. try to get high scores in Chinese exams
C. fight for a chance to learn Chinese
D. show great interest in studying Chinese nowadays
3.What is the best title for this passage?
A. Forgotten Wisdom in America
B. Huge Fans of the Chinese Language
C. Old Thinker with a Big Future
D. Chinese Culture for Westerners
The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC has thousands of objects on display, including the 1903 Wright Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, and a lunar rock you can touch. In addition to our exhibition gallery, you may want to visit the Albert Einstein Planetarium, Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, and the Public Observatory on the east end. There are many things to do at the Museum in DC. We offer daily tours and educational activities for both children and adults. We also have scheduled lectures and events throughout the year.
Hours and Admission: Open every day except December 25. Admission is free.
Regular Hours: 10:00 am to 5:30 pm
Extended Hours: 10:00 am to 7:30pm
December 26—30, 2014 March 30—April 20, 2015
Friday and Saturdays, April 24—May 16, 2015 May 17—September 7, 2015
Visiting Tips: Limit the number of bags: All visitors are screened through metal detector upon entry. The fewer items you bring inside the Museum, the faster your entry. Before you visit, please review the list of prohibited items, which include pocket knives and tripods(三脚架). Visitors carrying prohibited items will not be allowed inside the Museum, so please leave them at home or in your car.
No Food or Drink: Only bottled water is permitted in the Museum. You may only consume food and other drinks in the Food and Drink Court, not in the Museum. Groups who bring food are encouraged to picnic on the National Hall.
Please Take Photos: You are welcome to take photos for personal use. However, tripods and monopods(单脚架) are not permitted without approval.
First Aid: The Museum has a First Aid office and a nurse on duty. Please contact the nearest security officer or the Welcome Center for assistance.
Visit the Welcome Center: At our Welcome Center in the South Lobby, staff and volunteers can answer any questions you have during your visit.
Open: 10:00 am to 5:30 Phone: 202-666-2212
E-mail: NASM-visitorservice@si.edu
1.According to the passage, the National Air and Space Museum is a place ________.
A. where only adults can take part in some educational activities
B. where one can touch anything he likes
C. everyone can pay a visit to without buying tickets
D. everyone can visit everyday all the year round
2.A visitor can visit the Museum at 6:00 pm, on ________.
A. December 24, 2014(Wednesday)
B. March 1, 2015(Sunday)
C. September 15, 2015(Tuesday)
D. July 6, 2015(Monday)
3.A visitor to the Museum can ________.
A. get some medical treatment if he suddenly falls ill
B. take photos with tripods for personal use
C. bring fewer bags to go through metal detectors
D. eat and drink in the Museum or in the Food Court
4.The passage probably appears in ______.
A. a lecture
B. a history textbook
C. an advertisement
D. a science report
A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin （顽童） was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?” he asked.
Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…” He hesitated.
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He wished he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.
“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?” “Oh yes, I’d love that.”
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again．“Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.
He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled (残疾) brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.
“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent．And some day I’m going to give you one just like it... Then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.
1.The street urchin was very surprised when ________.
A．he saw the shining car
B．Paul told him something about the car
C．he was walking around the car
D．Paul received an expensive car
2.From the story we know that the urchin ________.
A．wished to give his brother a car
B．wished Paul’s brother to give him a car
C．wished Paul could be a brother like that
D．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s
3.The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ________.
A．to show he had a rich friend
B．to show his neighbors the car
C．to let his brother ride in the car
D．to tell his brother about his wish
4.We can infer from the story that ________.
A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin
B．the urchin’s wish came true in the end
C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother
D．the urchin had a deep love for his brother
假定你是李华，正在澳大利亚的一所大学寒假进行交换学习，但是在人际交往及学习上遇到一些困难，希望得到学校咨询中心（Counseling Center）的帮助。根据学校规定，你需书面预约，请按下列要点写一封信：1.本人的基本情况;
2.希望得到帮助的内容;
3.约定的时间(你周三上午和周五下午有空);
4.你的联系方式（Phone:7786456781）。
注意： 1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯;
3. 结语已经为你写好。
Dear Sir/Madam,
I’m looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。作文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
第一节 短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
On the development of the Internet, people use computer to surf the Internet every day. The Internet made it easy for people to leave their own opinions on hot issues, and then some new words are creating. Zhai is a very popular word, which refers to the people who is staying at home all the time. They seldom go out to a real world. People can buy that they want on the Internet and the goods can be delivered to their homes, so more and more people like staying at home. Of course it’s good for health. Get rid of the habit of staying at home can bring people a health life.
Driving to the airport in the early morning, I felt 1.__________(excite) because I would spend the summer in Paris. While 2.___________ (look) for more interesting things to do besides sleeping and eating on the plane, I jumped at the chance to study French in this city 3._________ (know) for its art, food and culture.
My connecting flight (转机) was in Frankfurt, Germany, 14 hours from Denver. But when I arrived there, a feeling of anxiety 4.___________ (begin) to set in. I was very nervous __5._________ I was in a country 6.__________ language I could not speak. But when I found my way, I gained 7.__________(confident). When I boarded the second plane and discovered that the flight was less than an hour, I was filled 8.___________ excitement.
When I stepped on foreign ground for the first time, I was 9.__________ (extreme) happy. I quickly had my first experience trying to communicate in 10.___________ language that I had only practised in school. As I left the airport, with one sharp turn, the Eiffel Tower came into view. I was fully in Paris.
