No matter where he lives, 16-year-old Danny Lopez feels like an outsider: he is half-Mexican and half-white.
At his private high school in wealthy northern San Diego, California, US, Lopez is too brown to fit in, whereas for the Mexican side of his family in National City, just a dozen miles from the border, he is too white to belong.
Different from both sides, Lopez is silent in school. He focuses on his passion for baseball and working hard to improve the pitches (球场) that have kept him off the school team.
Mexican Whiteboy, by Matt de la Pena, is about a teenager’s search for identity. It was named as one of the Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults in 2009 by the US Young Adult Library Services Association.
When Lopez’s mother decides to go to live with her wealthy white boyfriend in San Francisco, he chooses to spend the summer with his father’s family in San Diego. It’s a trip to explore roots and self-identity, filled with unexpected friendship.
There he meets Uno, of mixed heritage (遗传) like himself, also with a divorced mom. Uno understands Danny’s split background and helps him improve his baseball skills. Both boys have big league dreams, but they both have to learn to come to terms with their mixed heritages before they can achieve their goals.
Aside from discussions of racism, Mexican Whiteboy takes on other issues, such as the importance of family and the negative influence of hiding the truth. It also shows how sports can draw cultures together.
【小题1】The reason why Lopez feels like an outsider lies in the fact that ___________.

Microsoft founder  Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his fortune(财富)，largely to the cause of global health，during the course of his lifetime.With an estimated(估计)worth of more than $40 billion，according to Forbes，the project will be no small fate(功绩) for Gates.Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $24 billion to address global health issues，Gates said that finally his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids”.
So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest？Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity（机会）”in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world. Improving the health of the populations，he says，has proven to be an essential method in helping poor countries to be financially successful.“National borders allow inequalities，”said Gates.“We all need  to take a more global view，rather than just saying my country is doing well.We have to step up these health issues，knowing how few resources are going into them.”
Gates said that both his parents set up an example for him as a child.His father，William H．Gates，was the head of the local Planned Parenthood，and his mother，Mary，volunteered for the United Way.As he gathered his fortune，Gates knew he would finally want to give back as well，but he didn’t expect to devote himself whole?heartedly to one project until he was about 60.
However，Gates,47，began to question his ability to wait that long.“It seemed there was a real time urgency，”Gates said.“I started to think how many lives I could save before then.”
【小题1】Bill Gates will give away his vast fortune to　　　　.

I’d just got in a taxi at the railway station when suddenly I found one of my suitcases missing. Just then, I saw a young fellow about 30 walking away with it, opening it and drawing out the valuables. “Stop thief! Stop thief!” I shouted and threw open the car door and rushed out to him, followed by the driver and half a dozen passers-by. Very soon the thief was cornered at the turn of the road. My driver caught the thief by the neck and put his hand into his trouser pocket, drawing out money, credit card, telephone book and so on and put them back into my suitcase.
Half an hour later, the car was running at full speed on the express highway. I sat back and breathed a long sigh of relief (松口气). But as I pulled out those stolen things from the suitcase and started to check them, I became dumbfounded (惊呆了). Before my eyes were 200 yuan instead of 100. And a blood test report of a 58-year-old woman appeared. I suddenly realized that the taxi driver must have mistaken the thief’s belongs and put his into my suitcase. The pitiful and begging look of the poor young man flashed across my mind again. My heart began to sink.
Two years has passed since then. But this event keeps coming back to me. Was the young man a habitual robber or a dutiful son who had been driven to desperation (铤而走险) to find money to save his mother’s life? My heart aches for him. How I wish I had gone back that summer afternoon to return the 200 yuan and say sorry to him. For the first time in my life, I realized that hate and love are very close.
【小题1】Why was the writer dumbfounded when he opened his suitcase?

第三部分：阅读理解，共两节，共40分。
第一节，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。 
After her parents separated, things at Tami’s house changed. Her mom, was busy working, and Tami became responsible for the house and making meals for herself and her younger sister. Though money was tight, they never went without. They had a nice home in a modest neighborhood. What Tami missed most of all, though, was family.
Tami spent the summer during her ninth grade year working at a park to earn exam spending money. Her job was to organize activities for the kids who spent their summer days at the park. The kids absolutely loved Tami. She was constantly going out of her way to do things for them. She would plan picnics, organize field trips and even buy ice cream for all of them, using her own money. She always did more than the job required, even if it did mean using her own money.
She got to know one little boy who lived in an apartment across the street from the park. His parents both worked at fast – food restaurants, and she knew that they didn’t have much money. The boy talked about his upcoming birthday and the fire truck he wanted so badly. He said he was going to be a fireman some day and needed the truck to practice. He told Tami more details about the truck than she knew a boy truck could have.
The boy’s birthday came and went. The next day when Tami saw the boy, she expected to see a shiny red truck in his arms. When he arrived empty – handed, she asked whether he had got the truck. The boy said no. His parents were going to get it for him later, when things were better. He seemed a little sad.
That week, Tami eased her paycheck and headed for the toy stores. She found the truck easily – after all, from his descriptions, she felt she knew it inside out. She used the money from her paycheck to buy the truck, and then had it wrapped in birthday paper.
56. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. They didn’t need worry too much about their living.
B. Tami’s sister became more responsible.
C. Tami began to earn money.  
D. Her mother changed her job.
57. Why did Tami buy the birthday present for the boy using her own money?
A. Because he was poorer than she.  
B. Because he was her best friend.
C. Because she wanted him to be a fireman.
D. because she wanted him to feel love around him.
58. What can we learn from the underlined sentence?
A. She knew how much money she would pay.
B. She knew she should check the toy truck inside out.
C. She was fully aware which toy truck the boy wanted.
D. She walked inside and then out of the toy store several times.
59. Which of the following could be the opening sentence of the next paragraph?
A. The next morning, Tami rode to the boy’s house and left the truck at the door.
B. When the boy showed up at the park that day, he was more excited than ever.
C. He showed off his new truck to Tami, and then played with it all day long.
D. That afternoon, the boy’s mom came to the park and walked over to Tami.

“Can I see my baby?” asked the happy new mother. The bundle was placed in her arms and when she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped—the baby had been born without ears. Time, however, proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect except his appearance．
One day when he rushed home from school and threw himself into his mother’s arms，he cried out bitterly，“A boy, a big boy…called me－a f—…freak．”She sighed, knowing that his life was to be endless of heartbreaks．
He grew up，handsome for his misfortune．A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that．He developed a gift for literature and music．
The boy’s father had a talk with the family doctor．Could nothing be done? “I believe we could graft on a pair of outer ears，if they could be donated，”the doctor decided．So the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man．Two years went by．Then, “You’re going to the hospital，son．Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need．But it’s a secret,” said the father．
The operation was a brilliant success．His talents blossomed into genius．School and college became a series of successes．Later he married and entered the diplomatic service．“But I must know!” he urged his father．“Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him．”
“I do not believe you could,” said the father，“but the agreement was that you are not to know…not yet．”The years kept the secret, but the day did come …one of the darkest days that ever passed through a son．He stood with his father over his mother’s casket(棺材)．Slowly and tenderly，the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick，reddish-brown hair to let out the secret．
【小题1】.
When the mother unfolded the cloth and looked upon the tiny face we know that the mother________．

A．suddenly decided to make a sacrifice for the baby

B．kept the baby’s situation unknown to others

C．felt shocked and disappointed to see her new baby

D．complained of her bad luck and regretted having a disabled child

A．Real love lies in what is done unknown rather than what is done known．

B．It is up to parents to help their children heart and soul．

C．True beauty lies only in the heart not in appearance．

D．It is a virtue for young generations to learn to be grateful．