Unit 1 Cultural Differences 1
Part 1 Reading Skills 1
Section A Guessing Unknown Words from the Context Ⅰ 2
Section B Practice 3
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 4
Part 3 Reading Passages 5
Section A American Values and Assumptions 5
Section B Is this Chinese Candor or a Cultural Handicap? 11
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 13
Unit 2 Education and Examinations 19
Part 1 Reading Skills 19
Section A Guessing Unknown Words from the Context Ⅱ 19
Section B Practice 20
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 21
Part 3 Reading Passages 22
Section A TOEFL and IELTS 22
Section B The Two Kinds(Excerpt) 27
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 30
Unit 3 Earning and Spending Money 38
Part 1 Reading Skills 38
Section A Guessing Unknown Words from the Context Ⅲ 38
Section B Practice 40
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 41
Part 3 Reading Passages 42
Section A Breaking the Cycle of Borrowing Money and Paying Interest 42
Section B Needing and Wanting are Different 46
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 49
Unit 4 Time and Punctuality 58
Part 1 Reading Skills 58
Section A Guessing Unknown Words from Word Formation Ⅰ 58
Section B Practice 62
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 63
Part 3 Reading Passages 64
Section A Punctuality Tips and Strategies 64
Section B The Date Father Didn't Keep 68
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 70
Unit 5 Attitude toward Life and Death 78
Part 1 Reading Skills 78
Section A Guessing Unknown Words from Word Formation Ⅱ 78
Section B Practice 80
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 82
Part 3 Reading Passages 83
Section A Legal Systems Handle Euthanasia Differently Around the Globe 83
Section B :Am I To Love Life Less?" 86
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 90
Unit 6 Love,Marriage and Family 97
Part 1 Reading Skills 97
Section A Understanding Sentences 97
Section B Practice 99
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 101
Part 3 Reading Passages 102
Section A Liking,Loving and Lust 102
Section B Story of Regret 107
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 109
Unit 7 Food and Table Manners 116
Part 1 Reading Skills 116
Section A Distinguishing Topic from Main Idea 117
Section B Practice 118
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 119
Part 3 Reading Passages 120
Section A Food Taboos 120
Section B Dos and Don'ts when Eating in Britain 124
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 126
Unit 8 Housing and Subprime Crisis 134
Part 1 Reading Skills 134
Section A Finding the Topic Sentence 134
Section B Practice 136
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 137
Part 3 Reading Passages 138
Section A Obama Not Planning Another Big Housing Program 138
Section B Two Neediest Cases of Christina Natale and the Gatherses 143
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 147
Unit 9 Health and Medicine 155
Part 1 Reading Skills 155
Section A Patterns of Details Ⅰ 155
Section B Practice 157
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 158
Part 3 Reading Passages 159
Section A Medicine's Bright Future 159
Section B It Takes Courage 164
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 166
Unit 10 Trade and Economy 173
Part 1 Reading Skills 173
Section A Pattern of Details Ⅱ 173
Section B Practice 174
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 175
Part 3 Reading Passages 176
Section A The Right Approach 176
Section B Colors and Their Associations 181
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 183
Unit 11 Festivals and Holidays 191
Part 1 Reading Skills 191
Section A Pattern of Details Ⅲ 191
Section B Practice 193
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 194
Part 3 Reading Passages 195
Section A Public Holidays in the United States 195
Section B A Moving Story 200
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 203
Unit 12 Music and Movies 211
Part 1 Reading Skills 211
Section A Outlining 211
Section B Practice 213
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 215
Part 3 Reading Passages 216
Section A Hollywood and Los Angeles 216
Section B How about China's Hollywood? 220
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 224
Unit 13 Equality and Independence 230
Part 1 Reading Skills 230
Section A Skimming 230
Section B Practice 232
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 233
Part 3 Reading Passages 234
Section A Virginia Declaration of Rights 234
Section B Words in My Heart Tell Me"I Am Strong" 237
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 240
Unit 14 Crime and Punishment 250
Part 1 Reading Skills 250
Section A Scanning 250
Section B Practice 251
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 253
Part 3 Reading Passages 254
Section A Grad Student's Arrest Makes International News 254
Section B Helicopter Moms vs.Free-Range Kids 258
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 261
Unit 15 Beliefs and Religions 269
Part 1 Reading Skills 269
Section A Detailed Reading 269
Section B Practice 270
Part 2 Idioms,Proverbs and Sayings 271
Part 3 Reading Passages 272
Section A Early History of Christianity 272
Section B Hindu-Muslim Family's Choice of Cremation Arouses Anger 276
Part 4 Reading Comprehension Test 280