本书凝聚高校英语专业教学指导委员会主任何其莘教授数十年教学、科研及教材编写经验，是何其莘教授的又一次自我超越；汇集众多中美名家的经验与智慧，吸收国际先进理念，旨在提升本土教学水平；打破以功能训练为主的传统教材编写模式，充分考虑当前教学实践，创新教学方法和手段，突出文化特征，培养学生人文素质和文化意识。

UNIT ONE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Who Needs Love！ In Japan, Many Couples Don't

 Text B: The Breadwinner

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT TWO

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Remarks of Bill Gates at the Harvard Commencement

 Text B: Remarks of Bill Gates at the Harvard Commencement (Continued)

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT THREE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Is Your Boss Spying on You？

 Text B: Homeless Woman Living in a Car

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FOUR

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Revolution Is U.S.

 Text B: Pushing Beyond the Earth's Limits

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FIVE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Capitol Hill

 Text B: The U.S. Was Right/The U.S. Was Wrong

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT SIX

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Two Women, Two Histories

 Text B: Psychology Constructs the Female

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT SEVEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: The Age of Show Business

 Text B: Consumerism: Its Hidden Beauties and Politics

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT EIGHT

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Phelps Is Golden

 Text B: Phelps Is Golden (Continued)

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT NINE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: The Brain Candy Generation

 Text B: Predictable Crises of Adulthood

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT TEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Chimp Talk Debate: Is It Really Language？

 Text B: Body Art as Visual Language

 Readings and Self-testing

 ELEVEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: The Ethanol Illusion

 Text B: Saving Money, Oil, and the Climate

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT TWELVE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Why a Christian in the White House Felt Betrayed

 Text B: Propaganda in a Democratic Society

 Readings and Self-testing

 THIRTEEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Smoking Is Not a Simple Matter of Nicotine Addiction

 Text B: The Threat of Secondhand Smoke Has Been Overstated

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FOURTEEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: I Fought the Law in BIoomberg's New York

 Text B: I Fought the Law in Bloomberg's New York (Continued)

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FIFTEEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: The American Dream

 Text B: What Is the Basis of American Culture？

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT SIXTEEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Constructing U.S. American Jewish Male Identity

 Text B: Working Through Identity: Understanding Class in the Context of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender

 Readings and Self-testing