本书选择当代的优秀研究论文、综述评论和科普文章，并就专业术语、理解难点作出注释和点评，使读者在学习英语的同时，能吸收文章中的新鲜知识。我们在这里选择了自然科学、技术科学、生命科学和管理科学等不同学科的内容，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往始于交叉学科；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 The Pleasures and Pains of Information
Text 2 What Future Will We Choose for Physics?
Text 3 100 Years of Quantum Mysteries
Text 4 The Odd Couple and the Bomb
Text 5 Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT)
Text 6 Finding Common Ground in the U.S. Math Wars
Text 7 How Are Memories Stored and Retrieved?
Text 8 How Can a Skin Cell Become a Nerve Cell?
Text 9 Repair Yourself
Text 10 The New Faces of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Text 11 The Lowdown of Ginkgo Biloba
Text 12 Drink to Your Health?
Text 13 Inorganic Electronics Begin to Flex Their Muscle
Text 14 Expanding the Molecular Electronics Toolbox
Text 15 In Pursuit of the Ultimate Lamp
Text 16 Photonic Crystals: Semiconductors of Light
Text 17 Giant Electrocaloric Effect in Thin-Film PbZr0.95Ti0.05O3
Text 18 Nanotechnology Takes Aim at Cancer
Text 19 Toxic Potential of Materials at the Nanolevel
Text 20 Can Buildings Be Made Earthquake-Safe?
Text 21 The Social Psychology of Modern Slavery
Text 22 Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen and the Glimmer of Light