subplot(1,2,1)
plot([1.,1.],[0,3.])
ax=gca()
ax.spines['left'].set_position('zero')
ax.spines['right'].set_color('none')
ax.spines['bottom'].set_position('zero')
ax.spines['top'].set_color('none')
#ax.spines['left'].set_smart_bounds(True)
#ax.spines['bottom'].set_smart_bounds(True)
ax.xaxis.set_ticks_position('bottom')
ax.yaxis.set_ticks_position('left')
xlim([-2.,2.])
ylim([-1.,3.5])
subplot(1,2,2)
plot([-10.,10.],[0,0.1])
ax=gca()
xlim([-2.,2.])
ylim([-1.,3.5])
(-1.0, 3.5)