第二部分：阅读理解（第一节20小题；第二节共5小题；每小题2分，满分50分）

第一节：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。

A

In 1921, Lewis Lawes became the warden （监狱长） at Sing Sing Prison of New York State．No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time．But when Warden Lawes retired some 20 years later, that prison had become a humanitarian institution．Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes．But when he was asked about the transformation, here’s what he said, “I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls．”

Catherine Lawes was a young mother with three small children when her husband became the warden．Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn’t stop Catherine!

When the first prison basketball game was held, she went into the gym with her three beautiful kids and she sat in the stands with the inmates．Her attitude was: “My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me! I don’t have to worry!” She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records．She discovered one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit．Holding his hand in hers she said, “Do you read Braille?” “What’s Braille?” he asked．Then she taught him how to read．Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison．She went to school to learn how to use sign language．

Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921to 1937．Then, she was killed in a car accident．The next morning Lewis Lawes didn’t come to work, so the acting warden took his place．It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong．The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison．As the acting warden took his early morning walk, he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, hardest-looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate．He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness．He knew how much they loved Catherine．He turned and faced the men．

“All right, men, you can go．Just be sure and check in tonight!” Then he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, the three-quarters of a mile to stand in line to pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes．And every one of them checked back in．Every one!

41．Catherine was not afraid of getting inside the prison walls because she believed ______．

A．one good turn deserves another      B．no pains, no gains

C．a new broom sweeps clean         D．virtue never grows old

42．The underlined word in paragraph three most probably refers to ______．

A．basketball players           B．prison guards

C．prisoners                 D．family of the prisoners

43．What made every one of the criminals check back in?

A．The acting warden’s requirement    B．The strict rules of the prison

C．Their respect for Catherine        D．The force of the guards

44．What is the best title of the passage?

A．A Tough Prison                            B．A Woman Bringing Changes

C．A warden Caring for Prisoners         D．A Great Wife