本书共有22篇文章，课文内容涉及社会、文化、地理、科技、教育等方方面面，既可以帮助读者提高对英语原版文章的阅读能力，又可以扩大视野，了解国外风情。

本书课文编排由浅入深，词汇覆盖面广，适合学习者安排学习。本书每课后设有与本课主题相关的思考题，可以帮助读者培养阅读的兴趣、激发思维和想象力。课后附有词汇、语法、完型填空、翻译等多种形式的练习，帮助学生巩固掌握每课内容的重点和难点。教材最后附带的词汇表和参考答案可以帮助学习者检查自己的学习情况。

本书课文体裁多样，语言地道。可以帮助读者充分了解正宗的外国各类体裁文章的语言，为出国学习和科研做好准备。

Chapter 1  Geography and Culture

Unit 1 Maldives

Unit 2 Shaking All Over

Unit 3 Nature's Champion

Supplementary Reading

Chapter 2  Science and Technology

Unit 4 To Build a Baby

Unit 5 The Rise of the Green Building

Unit 6 Why We Strive for Status

Unit 7 Wearing Wires

Supplementary Reading

Chapter 3  People and Society

Unit 8 Organized Crime

Unit 9 College Pressures

Unit 10 Albert Einstein

Unit 11 The Foundation of Personality

Supplementary Reading

Chapter 4 Speeches

Unit 12 Martin Luther King's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Unit 13 Shall We Choose Death

Unit 14 To Unite with One Heart and One Mind

Supplementary Reading

Chapter 5 Literary Works

Unit 15 David Copperfield

Unit 16 A Dark Brown Dog

Unit 17 On Work

Supplementary Reading

Keys to the Exercises

Vocabulary