本书选材以科学普及方面的文章为主，全书共分为16个单元，每个单元包含两个内容相近的篇章，每个篇章后设计有生词、短语、注释以及与课文相关的练习等，并在全书的最后提供了所有练习的参考答案，以方便学习者使用。

本书根据教育部2007年新颁布的《大学英语课程教学要求》以及1998年颁布的《大学英语教学大纲词汇表》确定了全书的词汇量为4500词。生词的注解主要以四级以上的词汇为主，但对个别词义相对少见的四级词汇也增加了注解；在短语方面，本书主要选取大学英语四级学习阶段常见的条目。

总序

前言

Unit One

 Passage A Can We Survive on the Moon?

 Passage B Chasing the Moon

Unit Two

 Passage A Running on Empty? (1)

 Passage B Running on Empty? (2)

Unit Three

 Passage A Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat

 Passage B Studies Say Clearing Land for Biofuels Will Aid Warming

Unit Four

 Passage A Malware Goes Mobile (1)

 Passage B Malware Goes Mobile (2)

Unit Five

 Passage A Is Your Car Smarter Than You Are? (1)

 Passage B Is Your Car Smarter Than You Are? (2)

Unit Six

 Passage A The Memory Hacker

 Passage B Sweet Memories

Unit Seven

 Passage A Robots vs. Humans in Space: Both Will Be Required

 Passage B The Year in Robots

Unit Eight

 Passage A Evidence-based Fitness Programs

 Passage B Multigenerational Programming

Unit Nine

 Passage A New Predictor of Disease (1)

 Passage B New Predictor of Disease (2)

Unit Ten

 Passage A Sharks

 Passage B Sustainable Fisheries

Unit Eleven

 Passage A The Phenomenon of Aging

 Passage B Calorie Restriction: Is This Anti-aging Diet Worth a Try?

Unit Twelve

 Passage A The Rise of Renewable Energy (1)

 Passage B The Rise of Renewable Energy (2)

Unit Thirteen

 Passage A Window on the Extreme Universe (1)

 Passage B Window on the Extreme Universe (2)

Unit Fourteen

 Passage A Are Aliens among Us? (1)

 Passage B Are Aliens among Us? (2)

Unit Fifteen

 Passage A Science 2.0-Is Open Access Science the Future? (1)

 Passage B Science 2.0-Is Open Access Science the Future? (2)

Unit Sixteen

 Passage A Genetically Modified Foods: Are They Safe? (1)

 Passage B Genetically Modified Foods: Are They Safe? (2)

Key to the Exercises