The devotion of a Cuban for teaching Chinese culture

河南 刘同功

古巴中文教师一家三代人，共同传播中国文化。

主题语境：文化交流 篇幅：344词 建议用时：7分钟

1 Every day, Sochi Alay spends several hours at Cuba's Confucius Institute in Havana to help students understand the complexity of Chinese calligraphy and pronunciation.

2 The 43-year-old Chinese language professor,who has been working at the institute for more than eight years, said that his special connection with China dates back to his childhood.Among the memories of this period,attending activities organized by the Chinese community in the capital of Cuba remains vivid,said Alay, who is of Chinese descent (血统).With a deep love for China, young Alay chose to go to Sun Yat-sen University in China's Guangdong Province to study Chinese language and literature.

3 Teaching Chinese at the Confucius Institute would not have been possible without Jorge Alay, his father, who also worked as a Chinese language professor at the institute and has continued to serve after retirement.“My father put many values and principles into me, namely love for the motherland, discipline, respect and dedication to studies.The support of my family has been important in my life,”he said.

4 Besides the Chinese language, Alay has also found Chinese martial arts a platform for spreading knowledge about Chinese traditions and customs among Cubans.“I inherited(继承) from my grandfather and my father the love for martial arts, which is in my blood,”he said.“This is part of my family legacy(遗产).”

5 As a Chinese language professor, Alay has witnessed a growing passion among Cubans for learning Chinese.“Our student community is very diverse.Among pupils, we have senior citizens, workers and university students.I feel they are making progress.”The study of Chinese language and culture has been on the rise in Cuba thanks to the work of social organizations and institutions such as the Confucius Institute, which has seen thousands of students graduate since its founding in 2009.

6 Noting that Cuba was the first country in Latin America to establish diplomatic relations with China, Alay said that the two countries share important historical links which make them more united and“share common values and principles since we are focused on the development of our socialist systems”.

Reading Check

Detail1.What inspired Alay's interest in Chinese culture originally?

A.Confucian values and principles.

B.Activities by the Chinese community.

C.His experience at Sun Yat-sen University.

D.His experience at Cuba's Confucius Institute.

Inference2.How did Alay's father influence his choice of career?

A.He provided Alay with financial aid.

B.He educated Alay about Chinese culture.

C.He was opposed to Alay's choice all along.

D.He managed to change Alay's mind in the end.

Detail3.Which of the following does Alay value most?

A.Chinese calligraphy.

B.Chinese literature.

C.Chinese customs.

D.Chinese martial arts.

Gist4.What's the main idea of paragraph 5?

A.Alay is devoted to teaching Chinese language.

B.The Confucius Institute is popular among Cubans.

C.It's becoming trendy to learn about China in Cuba.

D.It's difficult for Cubans to learn Chinese language.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

Teaching Chinese at the Confucius Institute would not have been possible without Jorge Alay,his father,who also worked as a Chinese language professor at the institute and has continued to serve after retirement.如果没有他的父亲豪尔赫·阿莱，他在孔子学院教授中文是不可能的。他的父亲也曾在孔子学院担任中文教授，并在退休后继续任职。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。主句Teaching Chinese at the Confucius Institute would not have been possible without Jorge Alay 使用了用without表条件的含蓄虚拟语气；his father是同位语；who引导的是一个非限制性定语从句，该从句含有两个并列的谓语成分。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

be of Chinese descent 具有中国血统

inherit...from 从……继承……

thanks to 多亏了；由于

be on the rise 兴起；上升；崛起

be focused on 专注于；聚焦于