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 ap
peared 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 I watched I 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．小题5:In Paragraph 2，the author mentioned that “Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．”to ．
A．show us the officer and prisoners get along well with each other
B．show us the American prison culture does need improvement
C．show us the officer and prisoners all like cat
D．show us the American prison culture is great
