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．

 

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．
【小题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

【小题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．

【小题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

【小题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．

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白出的最佳选项.选项中有两项为多余选项.

Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so．“Health is the greatest wealth,” wise people say. __1___

If you have a headache, toothache, backache, or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure, I think you go to the doctor．

The doctor will examine your throat, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed. __2___The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice．

__3___

An old gentleman came to see the doctor．The man was very ill．He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs．The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease．He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest．__4__In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is．” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day．

A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office．__5__He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man．

“But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age”

A．He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks．

B．You can’t be good at your studies or work well when you are ill．

C．After that he will advise some treatment or some medicine．

D．All these will cost a lot of money．

E．He looked cheerful and happy．

F．He was more worried about his illness．

G．Speaking about doctor’s advice, I can’t help telling you a funny story．

 

When my grandfather died, my 83-year-old grandmother, once so full of life, slowly began to fade. No longer able to manage a home of her own, she moved in with my mother, where she was visited often by other members of her large, loving family. Although she still had her good days, it was often hard to arouse her interest.

But one chilly December afternoon three years ago, my daughter Meagan, then eight, and I were visiting her, when she noticed that Meagan was carrying her favorite doll.“I, too, had a special doll when I was a little girl,” she told a wide-eyed Meagan. “I got it one Christmas when I was about your age. I lived in an old farmhouse in Maine, with Mom, Dad and my four sisters, and the very first gift I opened that Christmas was the most beautiful doll you’d ever want to see.”

“She had an exquisite(优美的，高雅的), hand-painted face, and her long brown hair was pulled back with a big pink bow. Her eyes were blue, and they opened and closed. I remember she had a body of kidskin, and her arms and legs bent at the joints.”

GG’s voice dropped low, taking on an almost respectful tone. “My doll was dressed in a pretty pink gown, decorated with fine lace. … Getting such a fine doll was like a miracle for a little farm girl like me — my parents must have had to sacrifice so much to afford it But how happy I was that morning!”

GG’s eyes filled and her voice shook with emotion as she recalled that Christmas of long ago. “I played with my doll all morning long. And then it happened. My mother called us to the dining room for Christmas dinner and I laid my new doll down gently on the hall table. But as I went to join the family at the table, I heard a loud crash.”

“I hardly had to turn around — I knew it was my precious doll. And it was. Her lace skirt had hung down from the table just enough for my baby sister to reach up and pull on it. When I ran in, there lay my beautiful doll on the floor, her face smashed into a dozen pieces. She was gone forever.”

A few years later, GG’s baby sister was also gone, she told Meagan, a victim of pneumonia(肺炎). Now the tears in her eyes spilled over — tears, I knew, not only for a lost doll and a lost sister, but for a lost time.

Subdued(沉默的) for the rest of the visit, Meagan was no sooner in the car going home than she exclaimed, “Mom, I have a great idea! Let’s get GG a new doll for Christmas. Then she won’t cry when she thinks about it.”

My heart filled with pride as I listened to my sympathetic little daughter. But where would we find a doll to match GG’s fond memories?

Where there’s a will, as they say, there’s a way. When I told my best friends, Liz and Chris, about my problem, Liz put me in touch with a local doll-make. From a doll supply house I ordered a long brown hair and a kidskin body to copy the outfit GG had so lovingly described. Liz volunteered to put the doll together, and Chris helped me make the doll’s outfit. Meagan wrote the story of the lost doll by giving examples.

Finally our creation was finished. To our eyes it was perfect. But there was no way it could be exactly like the doll GG had loved so much and lost. Would she think it looked anything like it?

On Christmas Eve, Meagan and I carried our happily packed gift to GG, where she sat surrounded by children, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. “It’s for you,” Meagan said, “but first you have to read the story that goes with it.”

GG no sooner got through the first page than her voice cracked and she was unable to go on, but Meagan took over where she left off. Then it was time to open her present.

I’ll never forget the look on GG’s face as she lifted the doll and held it to her chest. Once again her tears fell, but this time they were tears of joy. Holding the doll in her frail arms, she repeated over and over again, “She’s exactly like my old doll, exactly like her.” 

And perhaps she wasn't saying that just to be kind. Perhaps however impossible it seemed, we had managed to produce a close copy of the doll she remembered. But as I watched my eight-year-old daughter and her great-grandmother examining the doll together, I thought of a likelier explanation. What GG really recognized, perhaps, was the love that inspired the gift. And love, wherever it comes from, always looks the same.

1.GG moved in with her daughter because ______.

A．she wanted to live with a large family

B．she was not able to live on her own due to her weakness

C．her husband passed away

D．she thought it was the children’s obligation to take care of her

2.Why did GG become very emotional on a December afternoon?

A．Because she saw her great granddaughter’s doll.

B．Because she recalled her long deceased parents.

C．Because she was surrounded by her offspring.

D．Because she felt lonely during the Christmas season.

3.What can we infer from the underlined sentence in paragraph 4? 

A．GG’s doll was important and was a symbol of many things.

B．GG showed great respect for his husband’s love.

C．GG missed the great old days she spent with her family

D．GG was grateful for her long life.

4.What happened to GG’s baby sister?

A．She envied her sister all her life.

B．She felt guilty for breaking GG’s doll and decided to go.

C．She left home at a young age.

D．She died of some disease at a young age.

5.Why did Meagan’s mum feel proud of her daughter?

A．Because she was clever.                  B．Because she was loving.

C．Because she was amiable.                 D．Because she was imaginative.

6.This passage implies that ______.

A．treating the elderly well is moral

B．it is impossible to copy the exact doll for the elderly

C．love, the permanent rhythm of life, will always remain in the elderly’s heart

D．physical comfort from children rather than psychological care is important

 

Lisa was running late. Lisa，25，had a lot to do at work，plus visitors on the way: her parents were coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown. But as she hurried down the subway stairs， she started to feel uncomfortably warn. By the time she got to the platform，Lisa felt weak and tired--maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to give blood the night before，she thought. She rested herself against a post close to the tracks.

Several yards away，Frank，43，and his girlfriend，Jennifer，found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop. They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying.

But when he heard the scream，followed by someone yelling，“Oh，my God，she fell in!” Frank didn’t hesitate. He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails. “No! Not you! ”his girlfriend screamed after him.

She was right to be alarmed. By the time Frank reached Lisa，he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming. The train was about 20 seconds from the station.

It was hard to lift her. She was just out. But he managed to raise her the four feet to the platform so that bystanders could hold her by the grins and drag her away from the edge. That was where Lisa briefly regained consciousness，felt herself being pulled along the ground，and saw someone else holding her purse.

Lisa thought she’d been robbed. A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head. And she tried to talk but she couldn’t，and that was when she realized how much pain she was in.

Police and fire officials soon arrived，and Frank told the story to an officer. Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40-minute train ride downtown—just as he had been seconds after the rescue，which made her think about her reaction at the time. “I saw the train coming and 1 was thinking he was going to die，”she explained.

41. What was the most probable cause for Lisa’s weakness?

A. She had run a long way.

B. She felt hot in the subway.

C. She had done a 1ot of work.

D. She had donated blood the night before.

42. Why did Jennifer try to stop her boyfriend?

A. Because they would miss their train.

B. Because he didn’t see the train coming.

C. Because she was sure Lisa was hard to lift.

D. Because she was afraid the train would kill him.

43. How did Frank save Lisa?

A. By lifting her to the platform.

B. By helping her rise to her feet.

C. By pulling her along the ground.

D. By dragging her away from the edge.

44. When did Lisa become conscious again?

A. When the train was leaving.

B. After she was back on the platform.

C. After the police and fire officials came.

D. When a man was cleaning the blood from her head.

45. The passage is intended to _____________

A. warn us of the danger in the subway

B. show US how to save people in the subway

C. tell US about a subway rescue

D. report a traffic accident