本教材以主题为线索，以内容为依托，选材多元化，涉及教育、艺术、文化、科学等方面的内容，旨在通过语言和内容的融合学习，帮助学习者理解语言的思想内涵和文化积淀，在语言习得的同时，潜移默化地拓展学习者的跨学科视野，培养人文情怀和科学素养。 每个单元通过口语练习、批判性阅读、写作练习三大板块重点培养学习者的语言应用能力、思辨能力和自主学习能力。通过有认知挑战的口语话题和项目研究引导学习者学会从多渠道获取信息，对信息进行批判性思考和加工，通过分析、推理等思辨技能的综合运用解决实际问题。每个单元的两篇阅读文章或观点对立或内容互补，以此拓展学习者的创新思维，进而提升学习者思维的广度与深度。写作部分既重视基础写作方法和技巧训练，又充分满足学习者提高学术英语写作能力的需求，通过循序渐进地教学指导，有序而高效地提高学习者的思辨能力和写作水平。

Unit One Schooling
Lead-in
Reading 1 Marva Collins' Way
Reading 2 Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Writing Effective Sentences
Unit Two Music
Lead-in
Reading 1 The Mozart Effect: How Music Makes You Smarter
Reading 2 "Mozart Effect" Dispelled: Music Study Does Not Make Children Smarter
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Writing Effective Paragraphs
Unit Three Language
Lead-in
Reading 1 Travel Language
Reading 2 From English to Chinglish: The Globalization of Languages
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Cohesion and Coherence
Unit Four Entertainment
Lead-in
Reading 1 The Not So Wonderful World of Disney
Reading 2 Think Like an Iconoclast: The Principles of Walt Disney's Success
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Cause and Effect
Unit Five The lnternet
Lead-in
Reading 1 In Search of Serendipity
Reading 2 The Intemet Doesn't Hurt People--- People Do: "The New Digital Age"
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Comparison and Contrast
Unit Six Dictionary
Lead-in
Reading 1 Principles and Methods of Modem Dictionary-Making
Reading 2 Principles and Methods of Traditional Dictionary-Making--Based on the First Oxford English Dictionary
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Writing an Argumentative Essay
Unit Seven Elite Education
Lead-in
Reading 1 The Disadvantages of an Elite Education
Reading 2 Is Harvard Worth It?
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Writing Academic Papers
Unit Eight Travel
Lead-in
Reading 1 Answer the Call of the Wild
Reading 2 Impacts of Tourism on the Environment
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Linguistic Feature (1) Nominalization
Unit Nine Beauty
Lead-in
Reading 1 An Obsession with Looks
Reading 2 The Price of Beauty
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Linguistic Feature (2) : Hedging
Unit Ten Artificial Intelligence
Lead-in
Reading 1 Why Does Artificial Intelligence Scare Us So Much?
Reading 2 Artificial Intelligence Poised to Ride a New Wave
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Avoiding Plagiarism (1) : Plagiarism and Quoting
Unit Eleven Globalization
Lead-in
Reading 1 Slowbalization: The Steam Has Gone Out of Globalization
Reading 2 The New-Old Globalization
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Avoiding Plagiarism (2): Paraphrasing
Unit Twelve Social Problems
Lead-in
Reading 1 Say No to Drugs: World War Three
Reading 2 Marijuana Legalization: A Response to the Failure of the War on Drugs
Projects and Critical Thinking
Focus Writing Avoiding Plagiarism (3): Summarizing