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.

1.The reason why Lopez feels like an outsider lies in the fact that ___________.

A. he is a Mexican                                             B. he lives in San Diego

C. he is half-white and half-Mexican            D. he studies in a private school

2.Most probably “Mexican Whiteboy” is a ____________.

A. book                 B. club               C. newspaper           D. organization

3.When Lopez found it is hard for him to fit in, he ____________.

A. starts writing a book about himself

B. begins to look for identity with the help of Mexican Whiteboy

C. loses his interest in baseball

D. works in the fields in which he was kept off the school team

4.Lopez and Uno have a lot in common except that ____________.

A. they both have a divorced mom

B. they both have mixed heritage

C. they were both in the school baseball team

D. both of them have big league dreams

 

With petroleum reserves (石油储量) decreasing, the search is on to replace gas with a cleaner，greener alternative. Though much eco－talk has centered on biofuels from corn and soybeans, the biofuel that looks more likely to replace petroleum comes from a most unlikely source: algae(藻类)．

Algae, like corn, soybeans, and other crops, grow via photosynthesis(光合作用) and can be processed into fuel oil. However, they yield 30 times more energy than land crops such as soybeans, according to the U．S. Department of Energy. Many algae species also can grow in saltwater and polluted water—while corn and soy require arable land and fresh water that will be in short supply as the world's population balloons.

“If you replaced all the diesel(柴油) in the U．S. with soy biodiesel, it would take half the land mass of the U．S. to grow those soybeans，” says Matt Caspari, chief executive of Aurora Biofuels, a Berkeley, Calif－based private firm that specializes in algae oil technology. On the other hand, the Energy Department says that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require 15,000 square miles, which is a few thousand miles larger than Maryland (12,407 square miles), the 42nd state in land area.

Another bonus: Because algae can be grown just about anywhere in a closed space, they're being tested at several power plants across the nation as a carbon absorber. Smokestack emissions (烟囱排放物) can be pumped directly into the ponds, feeding the algae while keeping greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

Although processing technology for algae fuel－also known as “oilgae” in some environmentalist circles—is improving, it's still years away from reaching your local gas pump. “It's just a question of cost, because no large－scale facilities have been built yet，” Caspari says.

1. The underlined word “yield” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by ________.

A. control         B. require

C. produce         D. grow

2. Compared with corn and soybeans, algae________.

A. may pollute water and soil

B. can grow in poor conditions

C. provide much less energy

D. need more special care

3. According to Paragraph 3, one of the advantages of algae fuel is that________.

A. it can be used more widely

B. it is more easy to produce

C. it needs much less land

D. it costs much less money

4. What do we learn about algae from Paragraph 4?

A. Algae help protect the environment.

B. People can grow algae anywhere.

C. Fish can get more oxygen from algae.

D. Algae produce less waste.

5. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Environmental protection.

B. Biofuels from corn and soybeans.

C. The false hope of biofuels.

D. A promising oil alternative.

Researchers at San Diego Zoo have been studying what has been described as the “secret language” of elephants. They have been monitoring（监测） communications between animals that cannot be heard by human ears.

The elephant’s call will be familiar to most people, but the animals also give out growls (低吼). Their growls, however, are only partly audible (听得见的); two-thirds of the call is at frequencies that are too low to be picked up by our hearing. To learn more about the inaudible part of the growl, the team attached (附在……上面) a microphone sensitive to these low frequencies and a GPS tracking system to eight of the zoo’s female elephants. The researchers could then relate the noises the animals were making to what they were doing. Matt Anderson, who led the project, told BBC News, “We’re excited to learn how they interact and contact with one another.”

The team has already learned that pregnant females use this low frequency communication to announce to the rest of their long gestation (妊娠期) of over two years, in the last 12 days we see the low part of the growl, which we can’t hear. This we believe is to announce to the rest of the herd that the baby is upcoming,” said Dr Anderson.

The researchers believe that this also warns the elephants to look out for coming danger. “You may think that a baby calf of about 300 pounds would not be as open to predation (捕食) as other species,” he says. “But packs of hyenas (袋狼) are a big threat in the wild.”

Female elephants are only in season for around four days every four years and these calls can be heard by males more than two miles away.

1.Why some elephants’ call is called “secret language”?

A．Because it can’t be heard by human ears.

B．Because it can only be heard by female elephants.

C．Because people don’t know its meanings.

D．Because people haven’t studied it completely.

2.By using a sensitive microphone and a GPS tracking system, the researchers wanted to find out             .

A．where the elephants usually go

B．what the elephants’ growls really mean

C．how mother elephants raise baby calves

D．how elephants protect their babies.

3.A pregnant elephant uses inaudible growls to           .

A．show the location where she is staying

B．ask for help when she losses her way

C．scare away the enemy

D．let others know she will have a baby

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A．The elephants can speak like people.

B．The wild elephants’ ways to fight against enemies.

C．The “secret language” between elephants.

D．The special life of female elephants.

 

With petroleum reserve（石油储量）decreasing, the search is on to replace gas with a cleaner, greener alternative. Though much eco-talk has centered on biofuels from corn and soybeans, the biofuel that looks more likely to replace petroleum comes from a most unlikely source: algae（藻类）.

Algae, like corn, soybeans, and other crops, grow via photosynthesis（光合作用）and can be processed into fuel oil. However, they yield 30 times more energy than land crops such as soybeans, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Many algae species also can grow in saltwater and polluted water—while corn and soy require arable(适于耕种的) land and fresh water that will be in short supply as the world’s population balloons.

“If you replaced all the diesel（柴油）in the U.S. with soy biodiesel, it would take half the land mass of the U.S. to grow those soybeans,” says Matt Caspari, chief executive of Aurora Biofuels, a Berkeley, Calif-based private firm that specializes in algae oil technology. On the other hand, the Energy Department says that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require only l5, 000 square miles, which is a few thousand miles larger than Maryland (12,407 squaree miles), the 42^nd state in land area.

Another advantages: Because algae can be grown just about anywhere in a closed space, they’re being tested at several power plants across the nation as a carbon absorber. Smokestack emissions（烟囱排放物）can be pumped directly into the ponds, feeding the algae while keeping greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

Although processing technology for algae fuel—also known as “oilgae” in some environmentalist circles —is improving, it’s still years away from reaching your local gas pump. “It’s just a question of cost, because no large-scale facilities have been built yet,” Caspari says.

1. The underlined word “yield” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “_______”.

    A. control          B. require          C. produce      D. grow

2. Compared with corn and soybeans, algae_____.

    A. may pollute water and soil          B. can grow in poor conditions

    C. provide much less energy            D. need more special care

3.According to Paragraph 3, one of the advantages of algae fuel is that ____.

    A. it can be used more widely           B. it is easier to produce

    C. it needs much less land                              D. it costs much less money

4.Which of the following might be the best title for the text?

    A. Environmental Protection             B. Biofuels from Corn and Soybeans

    C. The False Hope of Biofuels               D. A Promising Oil Alternative

 

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.

The reason why Lopez feels like an outsider lies in the fact that ___________.

A. he is a Mexican                              B. he lives in San Diego

C. he is half-white and half-Mexican           D. he studies in a private school

Most probably “Mexican Whiteboy” is a ____________.

A. book         B. club           C. newspaper         D. organization

When Lopez found it is hard for him to fit in, he ____________.

A. starts writing a book about himself

B. begins to look for identity with the help of Mexican Whiteboy

C. loses his interest in baseball

D. works in the fields in which he was kept off the school team

Lopez and Uno have a lot in common except that ____________.

A. they both have a divorced mom

B. they both have mixed heritage

C. they were both in the school baseball team

D. both of them have big league dreams