When a dirty and untidy orange cat showed up in the prison yard，I was one of the first to go out there and pet it．I hadn’t touched a cat or a dog in over 20 years．I spent at least 20 minutes，knelt down behind the kitchen as the cat rolled around，relaxed．What he was expressing outwardly, I was feeling inwardly．It was an amazing bit of grace to feel him under my hand and note that I was reaching a life or another creature with something as simple as my care．

Over the next few days，there were other prisoners responding to the cat．Every yard period，a group of prisoners gathered there．They stood around talking and taking turns petting the cat．These were guys you wouldn’t usually find talking to each other．Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．Bowls of milk and water appeared along with bread, wisely placed under the edge of the dustbin to keep the birds from getting it．

The cat was obviously homeless and in pretty bad shape．People said that the cat came to the right place．He's getting treated like a king．This was true．but as 1 watched 1 was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us．There was a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America．We need more programs．We need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds．Some may even talk about making prisons more kind．But I think what we really need is a chance to practise our own kindness．Not receive it，but give it．After more than two decades here，I know kindness is not a value that's encouraged．It's often seen as a weakness．

Instead，the culture encourages keeping your head down，minding your own business，and never letting yourself be weak．

The cat did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here．By simply saying，”I need some help here”，he did something important for us．He needed us．And we needed to be needed．I believe we all do．

1.From the passage，we can learn that the author was        ．

A．an animal protector  B．the cat owner      C．a prison officer     D．a prisoner

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A．The cat was dirty because it was kept in prison．

B．The officer in the prison enjoyed petting the cat．

C．The prisoners prepared food for both the cat and birds．

D．The author realized the importance of practising kindness．

3.We can infer from the third paragraph that              ．

A．showing love to others can make prisoners strong

B．the American prison culture will be improved

C．the author is not content with the prison culture

D．caring for others is encouraged in American prisons

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A．Caring Makes Us Human．                B．Prison Culture is Important．

C．Animals Need Care．                    D．Everyone Needs to be Cared for．

 

Singing had always been an important part of Gloria Estefan’s life. “ Since I was three years old, I sang. I sang everything,” Gloria said. “Gubans,” she added, “are a musical people.”

Gloria was born in Cuba in 1957. Her family left the country just before Fidel Castro came to power. In Miami, where the family settled, many people did not accept Cuban immigrants. In first grade, she spoke little English, but she worked hard to learn the language. Six months after she entered school, she won an award for reading in English!

When Gloria was ten , her father returned from the Vietnam War. Soon, the family realized he wasn’t well. They soon found out that he was badly ill. Her mother went back to teaching at school to support the family. Gloria cared for her father and her younger sister.

She still made the honor roll, and she still had her music, but Gloria was lonely. However, when the band leader Emilio Estefan came to speak at her high school, Gloria sang for him. He asked her to join his band. It was the beginning of the Miami Sound Machine. Within a few months, the Miami Sound Machine was the top band in Miami. In 1978, Gloria and Emilio married.

At first, the Miami Sound Machine was known only in Miami. Then the band signed with CBS Records. Estefan and his band became stars.

Since then, the Miami Sound Machine has sold millions of records. Estefan has done more than just singing when Hurricane Andrew hit central Florida in 1992. She used only two weeks to organize an all-star concert that raised $ 2 million for the people who suffered in the hurricane. “We needed a party after that disaster,” she said.

Estefan said, “You have to stay true to the music you really love to do. There will always be people who will tell you, ‘that won’t work.’ You’ve got to be firm in spite of difficulties. Stick to it——that’s the main thing.”

1.Estefan’s father was ill ______.  

A．after he returned from Vietnam War

B．before they left their home country

C．when they settled down in Miami

D．as soon as she finished high school

2.According to the passage, probably Estefan did the following except________.

A．organizing an all-star concert for Hurricane victims

B．teaching at school to support the family

C．winning an award for reading in English

D．taking care of her father and sister

3.The underlined word “disaster” in this passage refers to _______.

A．the concert

B．the celebration

C．the hurricane

D．the victims

4.This passage mainly tells about Estefan’s ______.

A．Cuban background

B．happy marriage

C．music style

D．life story

 

 “Sixteen,” I said. I have forgotten the math question my second-grade teacher, Joyce Cooper, asked that day, but I will never forget my   36  . As soon as the number left my mouth, the whole class started  37  . I felt like the   38  person in the world..

Mrs. Cooper fixed them with a firm look. Then she said: “We’re all here to  39 .”

Once Mrs. Cooper asked us to write a  40 about what we hoped to do in the future. I wrote: “I want to be a  41 like Mrs. Cooper.

She wrote on my report, “You would  42  an outstanding teacher  43  you are determined and you try hard.” I was to carry those  44  in my heart for the 27 years.

After I graduated from high school, I got married and had children.

We needed every penny just to  45 . College and teaching were out of the question.

Then one day I thought of my  46  of how I wanted to help children. I talked it over with my family and  47  to attend college classes in the  48 before work. And when I got home from work, I would  49 . Finally, after seven years, my dream had been realized and I became a teacher.

Not long after I started  50 , something happened that brought the  51  rushing back to me. I had written a sentence with grammatical errors on the blackboard. Then I asked students to come and  52 the mistakes.

One girl got halfway through, became  53  and stopped. As the other children laughed, 54  rolled down her cheeks. I gave her a hug and told her to have a drink of water. Then, remembering Mrs. Cooper, I fixed  55  of the class with a firm look. “We are all here to learn,” I said.

1.                A．question        B．answer         C．result    D．reaction

 

2.                A．talking         B．shouting        C．discussing D．laughing

 

3.                A．stupidest       B．happiest        C．least amusing  D．most important

 

4.                A．work           B．learn           C．play D．watch

 

5.                A．letter          B．song           C．report    D．story

 

6.                A．teacher        B．friend          C．reporter  D．parent

 

7.                A．develop        B．change         C．return    D．make

 

8.                A．because        B．unless          C．until D．before

 

9.                A．reports         B．words          C．teachers  D．classmates

 

10.               A．get by          B．get past        C．go by D．go ahead

 

11.               A．plan           B．work           C．dream D．idea

 

12.               A．supposed       B．promised       C．decided   D．agreed

 

13.               A．evenings       B．mornings       C．afternoons D．nights

 

14.               A．sleep          B．study          C．rest D．play

 

15.               A．studying        B．writing         C．thinking   D．teaching

 

16.               A．teacher        B．life            C．past  D．feeling

 

17.               A．correct         B．prove          C．check D．read

 

18.               A．mad           B．excited         C．confused  D．confident

 

19.               A．water          B．tears           C．seat  D．smiles

 

20.               A．half           B．most           C．the whole  D．the rest

 

 

第Ⅱ卷  (两部分，共35分)

第四部分：任务型阅读(共10小题；每小题l分，满分10分)

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。

OPTIMISM HELPED US PERSEVERE(坚持)

Left behind, we watched as Shackleton and the boat sailed away from Elephant Island. The danger of what lay ahead of them, the chances of them ever returning to find us, the fear that we might never know their fate and possible delays, at first made us feel low and discouraged. But it was not for long. There was nothing like a good dinner of penguin(企鹅) and some dynamic music to make a man feel more cheerful again.

Life now fell into a regular pattern. Just keeping alive took all our time and energy. For example, we had to gather fresh water by grasping and then melting sea-ice. If this drinking But melting the ice was a problem. With no trees growing on Antarctica and no oil, the only fuel we could use was seal fat. This gave off oily, black smoke but had he advantage of burning strongly in fierce winds. We could also eat the remains when the fire died down.

Food was also a problem as there were no vegetables or fruit to be found. As one of’ our group, Lionel Greenstreet noted in his diary after a few weeks how bored he was with the meals: “The food now is pretty well all meat -- seal steaks, cooked seal, penguin steaks, cooked penguin liver.” As a chef, it was my duty to clean and cook these animals, so I was soon being encouraged to vary the meals in whatever way I could. It was difficult.

We had to be very particular about our personal care because a changeable temperature could harm us. It was almost as dangerous to become too hot from wearing too many clothes as to become too cold from wearing too few. Becoming too hot led to sweating and this could freeze very quickly. Another part of the body that needed special caution was the eyes. The ice and snow reflected dangerous rays from the sun so that if we did not wear sunglasses we would suffer from sun-blindness.

Four months of this was as much as the twenty-two of us could bear in this bone-numbing cold. We were lucky that our group wolf worked hard to show an admirable mental attitude and dealt with our ever-present fears in a positive and successful way. Above all, Shackleton encouraged us to have celebrations: for birthdays, festivals or even just because of a good catch of penguin. This kept us cheerful and encouraged harmony in the group.

When rescue did come, we felt such relief and joy that many of us could not hide our tears. We were at last free to go home to a warm bed, good food and the care of our family and friends. Our optimism and faith in Shackleton had helped us persevere in staying alive and he had repaid us by his commitment to return and save us from a slow but painful death.

Main Points	Details
Setting	Shackleton and his boat having (71)   ▲   away, we stayed on Elephant Island, feeling low and discouraged. A dinner of penguin and dynamic music (72)    ▲   us up.
Water problem	To gather fresh water, we grasped and then melt sea-ice by(73)    ▲   seal fat.
(74)   ▲  problem	Food lacked variety, with only meat from seals and penguins.
Personal care	● Sweating from wearing too many clothes and(75)   ▲   from wearing too few could do harm to us. ● We needed to be (76)   ▲   of the eyes’ being harmed by the dangerous reflected rays from the sun.
(77)    ▲   for our survival	● Our positive (78)    ▲    ● Having celebrations ● Harmony in the group
Ending	Four months later, we were (79)   ▲   by Shackleton. And he (80)    ▲    his promise.

 

When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.

Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note—“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”—and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically（魔术般）appear.

All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn't freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.

There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete (竞争). Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practiced to have a delivery service.

Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊). Every so often my son's friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.

1.Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer     .

A．to show his magical power                B．to pay for the delivery

C．to satisfy his curiosity                    D．to please his mother

2.What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy's house?

A．He wanted to have tea there.              B．He was a respectable person.

C．He was treated as a family member.          D．He was fully trusted by the family.

3.Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?

A．Nobody wants to be a milkman now.         B．It has been driven out of the market.

C．Its service is getting poor.                 D．It is forbidden by law.

4.Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?

A．He missed the good old days.              B．He wanted to tell interesting stories.

C．He needed it for his milk bottles.            D．He planted flowers in it.