本书共分两册，每册包括十六个单元，每单元包括四篇课文，每篇课文后面都编有练习，并附有练习答案和词汇表。这是本书的第二册，适用于大学非英语专业二年级学生阅读。

本书的最大特点是取材新老兼顾，题材多样，知识性强，语言地道，兼顾趣味性和广泛性。置身其中，你既可以领略光怪陆离的尼斯湖的神秘，又可以追溯风靡一时的“博克”的来源；既可以学习名人的成功之道，又可以了解各国有关数字的迷信……

本书的另一特点是练习的针对性强且全面合理。每课的练习都分为两大部分。第一部分为理解练习(Comprehension Exercise)，其中包括根据短文回答问题、英译汉(文中的关键句和难句)、汉译英(练习文中出现的重点词汇或短语)等三种形式。第二部分为词汇练习(Vocabulary Exercises，其中包括易混词、多义词以及构词法练习。

Unit One

1. Music Has Power / 1

2. Learning from Failure / 8

3. Israel: Holidays, Festivals and Traditions / 15

4. My Passion / 22

Unit Two

5. Is Packing Important to You? / 30

6. What Do Children Need?  / 36

7. Seven Secrets to A Great Life / 43

8. Friendship / 50

Unit Three

9. Tell Mommy I Love Her / 58

10. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed,Something Blue ! / 65

11. Rat's Brain Waves: A Hope to Trapped People / 72

12. The Hope of Missing Children / 79

Unit Four

13. Pressure Benefits Study / 87

14. If Only You'd Listen to Your Own Intuition / 94

15. Aspects of English Life: Getting Acquainted / 102

16. Breakthroughs for Future Household Products by 2007 / 109

Unit Five

17. Suburbanization / 117

18. Learn to "Think" / 125

19. Social Sciences as "Soft"  / 132

20. Painting A House / 139

Unit Six

21. In A Bookstore / 146

22. Modem American Universities / 153

23. InferentialStatistics / 160

24. Artificiallntelligence / 167

Unit Seven

25. Environment and Community / 174

26. Memory / 181

27. Juvenile Delinquency / 187

28. Monetary Value of Education / 195

Unit Eight

29. How to Reintegrate Released Criminals into the Society?  / 202

30. Super Slow Training / 209

31. Cat's Ability to Survive Falls / 216

32. Boys Have More Crises than Girls / 222

33. Drivers on Cellphones are Prone to More Crashes than Drunk Drivers?  / 229

34. The Fight for Survival / 237

35. Information Superhighway / 244

36. Christmas / 251

Unit Ten

37. Parties in Australia / 258

38. The Risks of Cigarette Smoke / 265

39. Mother's Love Saved Daughter / 273

40. Seeking Higher Qualifications / 280

Unit Eleven

41. How I Made My Dreams Come True / 288

42. Carly Fiorina's Road to Success / 295

43. How to Win Respect / 302

44. Is Test-tube Baby Risky?  / 309

Unit Twelve

45. An Optimistic Attitude / 316

46. That's Life / 323

47. Downloads Will Replace Discs / 330

48. Gender Detector / 337

Unit Thirteen

49. Strict Parents and Overweight Children / 344

50. Climate vs DNA / 352

51. Endangered Indian River Dolphin / 360

52. Tigers under the Siege / 367

Unit Fourteen

53. Measles / 374

54. The Trusts inU. S.A. / 381

55. Film Rating System / 389

56. Cloned Pigs, the New Source of Fatty Acids / 396

Unit Fifteen

57. Why Do We Sleep? ( I )  / 402

58. Why Do We Sleep? ( II )  / 408

59. Youth of Today: No Savings, No Pension,Huge Debts (I)  / 416

60. Youth of Today: No Savings, No Pension, Huge Debts (11)  / 423

Unit Sixteen

61. A Doctor's Duty / 430

62. From Rubble to Revival / 439

63. Marriage: Addition or Division?  / 446

64. Should Parents Become Big Brothers?  / 454