Unit 1 A working life 1
Guided reading Using the Internet to help college students with career planning 1
Timed reading 1 We overvalue college 8
Timed reading 2 Nine ways to ace a job interview 13
Timed reading 3 The mystery of stubbom unemployment 18
Timed reading 4 Eight essential soft skills for leadership for changing and challenging times 23
Unit 2 Talking books 27
Guided reading Why reading is so important for children 27
Timed reading 1 How to learn speed reading 34
Timed reading 2 Why women read more than men 39
Timed reading 3 Age-by-age guide to reading to your baby 43
Timed reading 4 Fourteen ways to cultivate a lifetime reading habit 48
Unit 3 Passing fashions 53
Guided reading The fashion industry 53
Timed reading 1 The skinny model debate—when thin becomes dangerous 61
Timed reading 2 Global fashion sense 66
Timed reading 3 Fashion's dark side 71
Timed reading 4 How to seize the China opportunity,beyond store openings 76
Unit 4 Money matters 81
Guided reading The three reasons money brings satisfaction but not happiness 81
Timed reading 1 Can business evolve in a green world? 88
Timed reading 2 The history of money:from barter to banknotes 93
Timed reading 3 An introduction to stock market indexes 97
Timed reading 4 Seven unbelievable lottery winners'stories 102
Unit 5 The gender gap 107
Guided reading An introduction to Why Mars and Venus Collide 107
Timed reading 1 In college dorms,a"post-gender world" 114
Timed reading 2 Women in the workforce of the United States 119
Timed reading 3 Culture and gender:doing as the culture says? 124
Timed reading 4 At colleges,women are leaving men in the dust 129
Unit 6 Make yourself at home 135
Guided reading Real estate bubble 135
Timed reading 1 How the Intemet can help you buy a house 142
Timed reading 2 When a house is not a house 147
Timed reading 3 Will housing take another hit as boomers sell? 152
Timed reading 4 How I lost my middle-class life 158
Unit 7 A love of language 163
Guided reading A probe into the nature of language 163
Timed reading 1 Why study foreign languages? 170
Timed reading 2 Saving languages 175
Timed reading 3 Why major in linguistics? 180
Timed reading 4 First words 185
Unit 8 Enquiring minds 189
Guided reading Nature's gift:the economic benefits of preserving the natural world 189
Timed reading 1 Seven natural wonders to see before they disappear 197
Timed reading 2 Exploring nature with children 202
Timed reading 3 Seven incredible natural phenomena you've never seen 207
Timed reading 4 Living on the edge:extreme sports and their role in society 213
Answer keys 217