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．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 |
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． |
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 |
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． |
Dear Edward,
I have been very busy recently with some really exciting new developments．If you visit my main website you will see various new items there．
The first is a tab called Food for Thought．This is a short daily email which raises a question or makes a statement or provides something foryou to think about．Some regular readers may find these emails quite basic．However, you would agree with me that there are many people who reject anything spiritual simply because it means venturing(冒险进入) into the unknown．
There is also a tab called Please Help Me．I will be hosting tele-discussions soon-yes, and I am really excited about that!
Here I ask you to propose topics for tele-discussions．If you are concerned about missing out, don’t worry．The proceeds will be recorded and made available as MP3 recordings．Please let me know what burning issues you have or what you are curious about．
I am providing a free mystery gift to the value of £9.95 for each successful suggestion．And please don’t think your issue is meaningless-there may be a number of other people who may have the same issue．
You may not be aware that I have also published a number of guided meditations(思考) on-line．Please have a look at this website for a free guided meditation as well as an explanation of what meditation is about．
And watch this space for more exciting things to come in the next month．I am now in a space where my hobby has become my work-how lucky can a girl be!
I also want to thank you for your support and interest over the past years-you have helped me immensely on my own journey．
Love and Light,
Elsabe
1．What does the item “Food for Thought” mainly focus on?
A．How to eat reasonably． B．Ideas for people to think about．
C．Where to have enough food． D．Ways to enjoy adventurous journeys．
2．How can one get a free mysterious gift from Elsabe?
A．By offering acceptable advice． B．By sending as much email as possible．
C．By sending him £9.95． D．By telling him what you are interested in．
3．What does Elsabe ask Edward to do?
A．Offer topics for the tele-discussion．
B．Record the content of the website．
C．Concern and participate about the issues on the website．
D．Help him find more people to help him．
4．What can we infer from the whole passage?
A．Edward doesn’t know Elsabe at all． B．Many people join in Elsabe’s program．
C．People are afraid to surf Elsabe’s website． D．Everything on Elsabe’s website is free．
The Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race is a sled dog race run every February
between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon．Because of the harsh winter conditions, difficult trail, and the limited support that competitors are allowed, it is considered the “toughest race in the world”．
In the competition, first run in 1984, a dog team leader and a team of 6 to 14dogs race for 10 to 20days．The course follows the route of the historic 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, mail delivery, and transportation routes between Fairbanks, Dawson City, and Whitehorse．Players pack up to 250pounds of equipment and provisions for themselves and their dogs to survive between checkpoints．They are permitted to leave dogs at checkpoints and dog drops, but not to replace them．Sleds may not be replaced and players cannot accept help from non-racers except at Dawson City, the halfway mark．Ten checkpoints and four dog drops, some more than 200miles apart, lie along the trail．Dcotors are present at each to ensure the health and welfare of the dogs, give advice, and provide veterinary (兽医)care for dropped dogs．
The route runs on frozen rivers, over four mountain ranges, and through isolated northern villages．Racers cover 1,016miles or more．Temperatures commonly drop as low as −60°F, and winds can reach 50miles per hour at higher elevations．Sonny Lindner won the first race in 1984 from a field of 26teams．The fastest run took place in 2009, when Sebastian Sch nuelle finished after 9days, 23hours, and 20minutes．The 2009 competition also had the closest one-two finish, as Sch nuelle beat second-place Hugh Neff by just four minutes．The longest race time was in 1988, when Ty Halvorson took 20days, 8hours, and 29minutes to finish．To allow participation in both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod, the 2010 Yukon Quest will begin in Fairbanks one week earlier than usual–on February 6．
1．What is the Yukon Quest particular in?
A．The difficulty the competition has to face．
B．The special team and the special weather．
C．The limitation of time and support in the run．
D．The way the competition is valued．
2．The competitors can do the following except ______．
A．pack less then 250 pounds of equipments and provisions
B．drop any dogs at the checkpoints
C．replace dogs which are worn out
D．get medical care for dogs in any checkpoint
3．Who keeps a new record in the Yukon Quest in terms of speed?
A．Sonny Lindner． B．Sebastian Schnuelle．C．Hugh Neff． D．Ty Halvorson．
4．The underlined word “harsh” in the first paragraph might most probably mean “______”．
A．happy B．important C．difficult D．unforgettable
三．阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
请阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
When the research on the effect of electric fields on E．coli was begun in 1962, it was essential that a biologist–specifically, a microbiologist–contributed to the project．She does not want her name used because she did not become a scientific researcher for fame, but rather for the challenge of putting pieces of a scientific puzzle together．
As a girl, she was inspired by the work of great scientists: she read the story of the cure of malaria in the Panama Canal; she also read a biography of Madame Curie．These accounts inspired her to pursue a career in scientific research．After high school, she worked for the Michigan Department of Health, where she did research in biology and microbiology．There, her colleagues saw 
her talent and encouraged her to pursue science as a career．She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1948 in medical technology．
When she began working at Michigan State in the early 1960s,
she was balancing the demands of scientific research with the needs
of her family．At that time both of her children were in school．She would work in the lab in the morning while they were at school, go home to see them at lunch, return to the lab for the afternoon, go home for dinner, and return to the lab in the evening, if necessary．At that time, there were fewer women scientists working than there are today, but she encountered several in her career．At the Michigan Department of Health, many of her colleagues were women and, consequently, she did not feel isolated because of her gender–nor did she feel that she was treated differently because she was a woman．
While working at Michigan State, she also felt that she was treated with respect by her peers．Her colleagues, among them doctors and Ph．D．chemists, all treated her as an equal．On the whole, she believes that there is not a great deal of difference between men and women in science．
1．Why does the woman scientist refuse to let out her name?
A．Because she is a shy lady．
B．Because she doesn’t mind her fame．
C．Because she never takes pride in her research．
D．Because she never works for her fame．
3．What is the noble lady scientist really interested in?
A．The life stories of other women scientists．
B．Biology and microbiology．
C．The secret of the success of the other scientists．
D．The difference between men and women scientists．
3．Who helped and encouraged her to carry on her scientific research?
A．Her family and friends． B．Madame Curie．
C．Her colleagues and other scientists． D．Some of the officials．
4．What is the whole passage mainly about?
A．The life story of a famous woman scientist with great success．
B．A brief introduction about an unknown great woman scientist．
C．The new development of a special woman scientist．
D．The secret of an infamous woman scientist．
HONG KONG, Feb 2 (Reuters Life!) – They’ll huff, they’ll puff – and Hong Kong Disney hopes. The Three Little Pigs will bring the house down this Chinese New Year.
The pigs, who last the Big Bad Wolf in Disney’s 1933 hit cartoon, will parade around the park in a bid to attract visitors during the lunar new year holiday, which this year falls on Feb 18. This year has been dubbed the “Year of the Pig.”
With funny caps and oversized bow ties the porky trio will make their first appearance before Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Millions of mainland Chinese visitors are expected to visit Hong Kong during the extended break.
Hong Kong Disney will be decked out in splendid golds and reds in the run up to this important holiday. The park will also have firecrackers and peach blossoms to ward off bad luck.
Mickey, Goofy, Donald and the gang will wear traditional Chinese clothing during the festivities which run from February 2 to March 4 th.
The pigs are part of a marketing campaign aimed at restoring the park’s reputation which was ruined last Chinese New Year when overcrowding made officials lock the doors, barring scores of mainland tourists with valid tickets from entering.
1．The underlined phrase “bring the house down” in the first paragraph probably has the same meaning as .
A．pull down the house B．be warmly welcomed
C．be on stage D．be brought in to Hong Kong
2．We can infer from the passage that the three little pigs are .
A．special pigs to be raised in Hong Kong B．imported from Europe
C．lovely cartoon characters D．specially prepared for the festival dinner
3．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A．There were too many people from Hong Kong to visit the park last year.
B．Many people from mainland China could not enter the park although they had the right ticket.
C．Many people from mainland China could not enter the park because they did not have the right ticket.
D．The officials looked the doors in order not to ruin the reputation of the park.
In a moment of personal crisis (危机), how much help can you expect from a New York taxi driver? I began studying this question and found the answers interesting.
One morning I got into three different taxis and announced: “Well, it’s my first day back in New York in seven years. I’ve been in prison.” Not a single driver replied, so I tried again. “Yeah, I shot a man in Reno,” I explained, hoping the driver would ask me why, so I could say casually, “Just to watch him die.” But nobody asked. The only response came from a Ghanaian driver: “Reno? That is in Nevada?”
Taxi drivers were uniformly (一致地) sympathetic when I said I’d just been fired. “This is America,” a Haitian driver said. “One door is closed. Another is open.” He argued against my plan to burn down my boss’s house: “If you do something silly and they put you away, you cannot look for another job.” A Pakistani driver even turned down a chance to profit from my loss of hope: He refused to take me to the middle of the George Washington Bridge, a $20 trip. “Why you want to go there? Go home and relax. Don’t worry. Take a new job.”
One very hot weekday in July, while wearing a red ski mask (面具) and holding a stuffed (塞满的) pillowcase with the word “BANK” on it, I tried hailing (招呼) a taxi five times outside different banks. The driver picked me up every time. My ride with Guy Caaude Theve – nain, a Haitian driver, was typical of the superb (一流的) assistance I received.
“Is anyone following us?”
“No.” said the driver, looking in his rearview mirror at traffic and me.
“Let’s go across the park,” I said. “I just robbed the bank there. I got $ 25,000.”
“$ 25,000?” he asked.
“Yeah, you think it was wrong to take it?”
“No, man. I work 8 hours and I earn just $ 70. If I can do that, I do it too.”
As we approached 86, Lexington Street, I pointed to the Chemical Bank.
“Hey, there’s another bank.” I said. “Could you wait here a minute while I go inside?”
“No, I can’t wait. Pay me now.” His reluctance may have something to do with money – taxi drivers think the rate for waiting time is too low, but I think he wanted me to learn that even a bank robber can’t expect unconditional support.
1．From the Ghanaian driver’s response, we can infer that .
A．he was not caring about the killing
B．he was frightened to hear what the writer said
C．he thought the writer was a criminal
D．he thought the writer was crazy
2．Why did the Pakistani driver refuse to give the writer a ride?
A．He didn’t want to help the writer get over his career crisis.
B．He was in a hurry to go home and relax.
C．The place was far away.
D．He thought the writer was going to kill himself.
3．The underlined word “reluctance” in the last paragraph most probably means .
A．anger B．unwillingness C．opportunity D．eagerness
4．What does the passage mainly discuss?
A．Honesty of taxi drivers in New York.
B．Taxi riders’ awareness of possible dangers.
C．Taxi drivers’ attitudes towards riders.