本套教材在设计、编写和制作上严格贯彻《大学英语课程教学要求》和《大学英语四／六级考试大纲》中对大学英语教学性质、教学目标、教学模式、教学评估、教学管理及大学英语参考词汇表等各方面所做的界定和描述，并在此基础上，结合外语教学理论与实际教学需要，进行教学理念和教学模式的探索与创新，开拓大学英语教学的新形式。

本书为第1册，共8个单元，每个单元由Warming up，Text A，Text B，Structured Writing，Culture Focus五大模块构成。这五大模块涵盖了语言学习中的听、说、读、写、译五大要素，每个模块均配有相应的注释或练习，即学即练，形式活泼，图文并茂。

Unit 1 College Life

 Part I Warming up

 Part II Text A: How to Make Friends for College Freshmen?

 Part III Text B: Why Bother Grading at All?

 Part IV Structured Writing

 Culture Focus: Ivy League Universities

Unit 2 Famous People

 Part I Warming up

 Part II Text A: Seven Lessons We Can Learn From Michael Jordan

 Part III Text B: Bill Gates Bids a Teary Farewell to Microsoft

 Part IV Structured Writing

 Culture Focus: George Washington

Unit 3 Western Life

 Part I Warming up

 Part II Text A: Are Fast Food Chains to Blame for the Nation' s Obesity

 Part III Text B: Recession is Reshaping the American Family

 Part IV Structured Writing

 Culture Focus: American Diet Culture

Unit 4 Attitude to Life

 Part I Warming up

 Part II Text A: The Way to Happiness

 Part III Text B: Take a Moment to Really See

 Part IV Structured Writing

 Culture Focus: American Dream

Unit 5 Olympic Spirit

 Part I Warming up

 Part II Text A: The Educational Aspects of the Olympic Ideal

 Part III Text B: My Greatest Olympic Prize

 Part IV Structured Writing

 Culture Focus: The Olympic Motto

Unit 6 Better Yourself

 Part I Warming up

 Part II Text A: Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

 Part III Text B : The Best Advice I Ever Received

 Part IV Structured Writing

 Culture Focus: Andrew Carnegie

Unit 7 Wars of Learning

 Part I Warming up

 Part II Text A: When a Line Forms, the Learning Begins

 Part III Text B: How to Succeed in College

 Part IV Structured Writing

 Culture Focus: Library of Congress

Unit 8 True Love

 Part I Warming up

 Part II Text A: A Brief Visit from My Soldier Son

 Part III Text B: Real-life Fairy Tale

 Part IV Structured Writing

 Culture Focus: Valentine's Day

Glossary

Phrases and Expressions

Proper Names