Don Lucas grew up in poverty. His father died when Don was eight. His mother, with three small children and limited education, was on welfare and had no job prospects. She packed the three kids into an old car and set out from Indiana to California where she had obtained a job as a supermarket checker. Don enrolled in a high school in a tough part of town. He describes his town as the spot where drive-by shootings were invented. Few of his classmates ever went to college, and Don did not think about college until his senior year. He had been working from 4 to 9 pm daily at a gas station helping his family to make ends meet.

     In this paragraph, "tough part of town" refers to a(n) （） place.