BEIJING,Oct.14(Xinhua)——A total of 120 middle school students from 35 countries will attend the final of an international China language contest,to be held in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality from Oct.16 to 30.
The candidates,aged from 15 to 20,must be from foreign countries and not native Chinese speakers,said a statement issued by the Chinese language Council (CLC),the contest’s organizer,here Thursday.
All of the candidates have passed the preliminary contests(初赛)held in their own countries.
According to the organizer,the competition will have a top prize,five second prizes,10 third prizes and a dozen prizes for special talents.The organizer will also launch an online vote for“the most liked candidate.”
It was the third year China has held the contest.
“The competition not only tests the proficiency of Chinese language but also the candidates capability to communicate across different cultures.”the statement said.
All the candidates in the final will receive scholarships from the Chinese goverment.said Hu Hangyu,an official with the Education Bureau o
f the Chonqing Municipality,jointly organizing the contest.
They will also meet local Chinese students and live with Chinese families,Hu said.
“The competition is to meet the increasing demand for Chicese learning by foreign youngsters.”said Xu Lin.the CLC director.
The CLC has also hosted similar contest for foreign college students since 2002.
China has been working to promote Chinese language learning abroad over the past few years.According to the CLC,the.country had 282 Confucius Institutes and 272“Confucius Classrooms”in 88 countries and regions 
as of 2009 since the first one was established in 2004.
小题1:The text is intended to .
A．show the popularity of Chinese language learning in the world
B．introduce an international Chinese language learning test system
C．make readers aware of the importance of Chinese language learning
D．report an international Chinese language contest to be held小题2:The candidates must be .
A．foreign college students
B．non—native middle school students
C．native Chinese students
D．students from Confucius Institutes小题3:According to the text,the competition is .
A．organized by the Chongqing Municipality government
B．mainly to test the candidates’Chinese language competence
C．held every three years in Chongqing Municipality
D．to provide foreign students with a chance to know China小题4:What has China been doing to promote Chinese language learning abroad according to the text?
A．Thousands of Chinese teacher are sent abroad to teach the language.
B．282 Confucius Institutes are established in China to teach Chinese.
C．The Chinese language contests for foreign students are regularly held.
D．Many Chinese students are sent abroad for culture exchanges every year.小题5:In which part of the newspaper is the text most likely to be found?
A．Education
B．Advertisement
C．Business
D．Entertainment
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