本书是依据全新的教学理念、全新的构思、全新的素材编写而成的供大学英语教学使用的教材。

本教材的宗旨是：在遵循现代外语教学理念、充分运用先进信息技术的基础上，注重为学生创造自主学习环境，强调个性化学习，全面培养学生的英语综合应用能力，尤其是听说能力，使他们在今后工作和社会交往中能用英语有效地进行口头和书面的信息交流。

Unit 1

  Text A-1 Education and Good Books

  Text A-2 Why Read?

  Text B-1 A World Without Books or Music

  Text B-2 Why Read Literature?

Unit 2

  Text A-1 Going Green After Gray

  Text A-2 Health Education Should Start at Home

  Text B-1 The Wonders of Water

  Text B-2 Going Vegetarian -- The Healthy Way

Unit 3

  Text A-1 White Lies

  Text A-2 Fibbing Common in Everyday Conversation

  Text B-1 Little White Lies

  Text B-2 Can Telling Lies Ever Be Justified?

Unit 4

  Text A-1 What Are the Qualities of a Good Teacher?

  Text A-2 Telelearning. The Multimedia Revolution in Education

  Text B-1 Do Universities Broaden Minds?

  Text B-2 The University of the Future

Unit 5

  Text A-1 Death of a President

  Text A-2 The Civil War

  Text B-1 The Civil War on Film

  Text B-2 Literary Women in the Civil War

Unit 6

  Text A-1 Marriage Works Better for Men

  Text A-2 Study Finds Why Marriage Is on the Decline

  Text B-1 Happy Marriages Make for Happy Hearts

  Text B-2 The Role of the Family in Society

Unit 7

  Text A-1 Hello, World

  Text A-2 LA Times Tests Multilingual Waters

  Text B-1 Weaving a Multilingual Web

  Text B-2 A Universal Language

Unit 8

  Text A-1 Should Gambling Be Legalized?

  Text A-2 Against All Odds

  Text B-1 The Appeal and Drawbacks of Gambling

  Text B-2 Normie's Bet

Appendix

  Key to Comprehension Exercises