本书选择了当代的优秀研究论文、综述评论和／或科普文章，并就专业术语、理解难点作出了注释和点评，使读者在学习英语的同时，能吸收文章中的新鲜知识。这里选择的学科内容有自然科学、技术科学、生命科学和管理科学等，不仅是为了适应多种专业的需要，而且更重要的是当代科技的新起点往住始于交叉学科；补充更多方面的知识，可以开阔视野、体现创新思维、反映时代特色。

  Text 1 Risks in Scientific Research

  Text 2 Glassmaking in Bronze-Age Egypt

  Text 3 Are Humans Still Evolving?

  Text 4 Times of Our Lives

  Text 5 The Right Time and Place for Making Flowers

  Text 6 Suppressing Cancer：The Importance of Being Senescent

  Text 7 Close to the Edge：Neutralizing the HIV一1 Envelope

  Text 8 Researchers Tie Deadly SARS Virus to Bats

  Text 9 The Hunt for a New Drug：Five Views from the Inside

  Text 10 The Renaissance of Natural Products as Drug Candidates

  Text 11 Making Fuels from Biomass

  Text 12 The Man Who Dared to Think Small

  Text 13 Plenty of Room．Indeed

  Text 14 Small Things and Big Changes in the Developing World

  Text 15 Ultrafine Particles

  Text 16 Nanotubes for Electronics

  Text 17 Spintronics

  Text 18 In Praise of Hard Questions

  (Cont．)

  Question A WHAT IS THE UNIVERSE MADE OF?

  Ouestion B WHAT IS THE BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF CONSCIOUSNESS?

  Question C TO WHAT EXTENT ARE GENETIC VARIATloN AND PERSONAL HEALTH LINKED?

  Ouestion D WHAT CONTROLS ORGAN REGENERATION?

  Question E WHAT GENETIC CHANGES MADE US UNIQUELY HUMAN?

  Ouestion F HOW DID COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR EVOLVE?

  Question G WHAT ARE THE LIMITS OF CONVENTIONAL COMPUTING?

  Ouestion H Is AN EFFECTIVE HIV VACCINE FEASIBLE?

  Ouestion I WHAT CAN REPLACE CHEAP OIL-AND WHEN?

  Question J WILL MALTHUS CONTINUE TO BE WRONG?