本书由圣智学习集团引进，主要培养学生英语阅读能力和提高词汇量和词汇运用能力。本册书共9个单元，分别为9个不同的主题。每个单元包含两个阅读语篇，语篇与单元主题相关。语篇配有阅读理解练习和词汇练习，注重培养学生的语篇理解能力、词块意识、思辨能力。本册书适合程度较好的初三学生或高一学生使用。

乔·麦肯泰尔，美国籍资深英语教学专家，研究领域是第二语言学习，是ELT专业多本学生书籍和专业参考书的作者，有多年英语读物、教师指导手册、练习册等英语教学材料的编写经验。

TRAVEL
READING 1 Forty Days and Forty Buses
READING SKILL: Understanding Time
Order
READING 2 Perfect Place, Perfect Job
READING SKILL: Finding the Main Idea
of a Paragraph
UNIT REVIEW
FIRE AND WATER
READING I Nature's Fires
READING SKILL: Identifying Main Ideas
and Supporting Details
READING 2 A Wall of Water
READING SKILL:= Identifying Cause and
Effect
UNIT REVIEW
THE POWER OF IDEAS
READING 1 A Bright Idea
READING SKILL: Identifying Supporting
Details
READING 2 Clean Travel
READING SKILL: Understanding Pronouns
UNIT REVIEW
FOOD
READING 1 Eat Less Meat
READING SKILL: Understanding Graphs
READING 2 An Unusual Garden
READING SKILL: Finding Definitions
UNIT REVIEW
NATURAL HISTORY
READING 1 Nature's Clues
READING SKILL: Scanning for Specific
Information
READING 2 The Answer is in the Trees
READING SKILL: Organizing Information
in Outlines
UNIT REVIEW
RECYCLING
READING | From Useless to Useful
READING SKILL: Understanding Gerund
Subjects
READING 2 Living in a Box
READING SKILL: Finding Reasons
UNIT REVIEW
WILDLIFE RESCUE
READING 1 Saving Baby Elephants
READING SKILL: Improving Reading
Speed
READING 2 Koalas in Parking Lots
READING SKILL: Identifying Reporting
Verbs
UNIT REVIEW
VOLCANIC ISLANDS
BEADING 1 Tall, Young, and Active
READING SKILL: Understanding and
Learning Technical Terms
READING 2 An Uncertain Future
READING SKILL: Understanding a
Process
UNIT REVIEW
MEMORY
READING 1 An Amazing Memory
READING SKILL: Connecting Personal
Experiences to a Reading
READING 2 Mental Athletes
READING SKILL: Identifying Contrast
UNIT REVIEW
Vocabulary Index
Credits