本书的课文材料均选自英语原版的报刊杂志。题材涉及广泛，信息含量大。内容既包括了广大读者关注的社会问题，也有人们在日常生活中应了解的知识，还有许多值得大家深思的问题和需要进一步进行探索的奥秘。教程中的课文选材注重科学性、知识性、趣味性和可读性。每篇课文前配有导读语，课文后编有阅读理解题、思考讨论题和英汉翻译题。

Unit One

Paying for College/1

Unit Two

Tiny Sacrifices at 22,000 Feet/12

Unit Three

UFOs A Second Look/21

Unit Four

Killing Time Online/31

Unit Five

Hidden Dangers of Over the Counter Drugs/42

Unit Six

America's Best Leaders/52

Unit Seven

Twilight Mysteries/61

Unit Eight

Superboost Your Memory/69

Unit Nine

Champion of the Chimps/81

Unit Ten

Terror on an Empty Road/90

Unit Eleven

Who Is Jack Kevorkian, Really/102

Unit Twelve

What's the Difference between Boys and Girls/113

Unit Thirteen

Many Bet the Farm on Auctions on the Internet /123

Unit Fourteen

JFK Jr.'s Final Journey/134

Unit Fifteen

Mix'n' Match/145

Unit Sixteen

Coyote Inc./156

Unit Seventeen

The World Turns Gray/168

Unit Eighteen

Is the Earth Afive /182

Unit Nineteen

Can Hackers Be Stopped/196

Unit Twenty

The Dark/208

Key to the Exercises/225