本书在选材上注重趣味性、信息性、可思性、时代性和前瞻性，题材广泛，内容丰富，主要涉及语言、文化、习俗、伦理、信息、科学、社会焦点等等。每一单元侧重于讨论一个话题，但三篇课文的体裁不尽相同，体现文体的多样性。课文绝大部分选自20世纪八九十年代出版的英美报刊书籍，也有新世纪刚刚问世的作品。

Unit 1

 Section A The Pursuit of Happiness

 Section B Wild like the Weasel

 Section C The Most Successful Human Being I Ever Knew

Unit 2

 Section A My Teacher, My Salvation

 Section B The Most Fantastic Day

 Section C Lee Kuan Yew :Statesman of Singapore

Unit 3

 Section A Humans in the Amazon-A Long-Lost History Comes to Light

 Section B An Inland Paradise for Bird Watchers

 Section C Protecting the Great Bear Rainforest

Unit 4

 Section A An Encounter With Wolves

 Section B From One Extreme to the Other

 Section C Fighting for Life

Unit 5

 Section A A Revolution in Biology-and Society?

 Section B The New Age of Genetic Engineering

 Section C Understanding the Genome Is Only the Beginning

Unit 6

 Section A Jeans :From Low Beginnings to High Fashion

 Section B To Spend or Not to Spend

 Section C Materialism :Economic Engine, Worker's Prison

Unit 7

 Section A The Effects of Space Travel on the Human Body(Part 1)

 Section B The Argument for Going to Mars

 Section C The Effects of Space Travel on the Human Body(Part 2)

Supplementary Reading

Appendices

Clossary

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