本书包括五个主题单元:Communication，Life&Death，The Small Screen&the Big Screen，Education，People&Places；涉及的方面有人际沟通、生命思考、荧屏传媒、教育、人地认同等不同层面。注重培养英语专业生的语言使用体悟、思想分析领悟、人文情操感悟等批评敏锐力。

课文解读与翻译

Unit One Communication

 Text l Hills like White Elephants

 Text 2 How to Say Thank You

 Text 3 The Ways We Lie

Unit Two Life & Death

 Text 1 The Discus Thrower

 Text 2 On Being a Cripple （Part I）

 Text 3 On Being a Cripple （Part II）

Unit Three The Small Screen and the Big Screen

 Text 1 The Presence of the Word in TV Advertising

 Text 2 Managing Mixed Messages

 Text 3 Amusing Ourselves to Death

Unit Four Education

 Text 1 In Defense of Disorder

 Text 2 College Pressures

 Text 3 Letter to a B Student

Unit Five People & Places

  Text 1 Canadians: What Do They Want？

  Text 2 My Wood

  Text 3 Once More to the Lake

课文习题参考答案