Unit 1 If you ask me In some time, writer’s life didn’t goes well. He should have gone to London and proceeded to the degree. But because of finical matter, he didn’t want his mother to be so hard. He went to London and found a job.When he was puzzled, Jack gave him a job in pub, and he met the gust Tony who is a good guy. One day, writer felt sad and talk to Tony about money、birthday、the lot. Tony sympathized with him and gave him cheques to the value of 20,000 pounds. Tony said this is for him to set up his business. In next years, the writer went to study and got the master’s degree. Then he used the money Tony gave to invest and set up his own firm.Now Tony can’t walk because of an accident. He appreciate the money the writer returned him. He said he had never made a better investment than the loan to writer. In their opinions, investing in people gives the best return.Unit 2 Danger! Books may change your lifeBooks have a very strong power, they may change ourlife. When we begin to read a book, we may like Alice who falls into a rabbit hole, we will discover a mysterious wonderland. We will have experiences which are new, and liberate us from the real world.Every one has different life enjoy different things, reading allows us to enjoy and celebrate this variety and difference in safety, and provides us an opportunity to grow. In books, we can communicate with others, sometimes we even find that we have more in common with other readers of books in other cultures.Every book has its own language and dialect, its own vocabulary and grammar. We may not always understand every word or sentence, but we can meet different people and enjoy different life.In our daily life, we are always looking for our own home-run books, we enjoy the pleasure and satisfaction when we read it, to meet different people, to live other lives and to reflect ourselves.This is the power of books.Unit 2 They were alive and they spoke to meThe writer of this passage loves reading very much. When it comes to reading, what he thinks first is to obtain books. He met many difficulties but insisted to looking for books.Books are one of the few things men cherish deeply. But what makes book lively Writer think a book lives through the passionate recommendation of one reader to other. And books must be kept in constant circulation just like money. A book is not just a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched.Then, writer gives a piece of advice: Read as little as possible, not as much as possible. When you want to read a book, leave it alone, think about it as intensely as you can. And try to imagine what it would mean to forego this extra pleasure. You should be honest with yourself. In a word, books are alive and reading more books will benefit us.Unit 3 Fifty years of fashionBetween 1960 to 2010, we can not overlook or underestimate two constant factors in the fashion history: the ubiquitous jeans and the rise and fall of hemlines for women’s dress and skirts.In the late 16th century, jeans became popular particularly among young people, it is the symbol of the young. As the same time, the miniskirt developed into a major international fashion. As the economy destroyed, by the mid-1970s jeans become clean、clean, and hemlines dropped to midi and max.As the world economies improved again in the 1990s, fashion for young people become more daring. Colorful long hair and baggy jeans which were often worn low below the buttocks can be seen every where.Unit 3 Eco-jewelry: Sea glass It tells a story between jewelry designer Cowen and sea glass. Once Cowen took a walk on the beach, she found the sea glass which can be shaped differently by the ocean. If you see it, you will know that this glass hasthe ability to transform magically from something ordinary to luminous treasure after the stint in the sea. Then, she began to collect the sea glass.In a way, it is very lucky for human. Because the creation of sea-glass is a form of recycling, but more than that, it is an example of nature compensating for man’s folly. Cowen th ought this is a window of opportunity, sea glass will be run out of eventually one day, it will be rarer than diamonds.If the decline in sea glass seems to suggest we should revive old habits of dumping glass. But Cowen refuse to condone it. She said she liked the story behind every sea glass. It would take away the mystery. She believed people would find creative ways of working with what ever is available.Unit 4 The credit card trapThis passage sets three examples to show the details of credit card trap.Author applied for the shiny golden card the company offered. But she was turned down. Because she is not the kind of person they want to have. They target people who have bad credit risks and don’t have ability to refundmoney.Then author uses two examples of her daughter and Kelly. These examples show a serious problem. Bank sets traps which appeal to our vanity and greed and sometimes to our basic need for survival. They often use credit cards which would be more accurate to call them debt cards to set credit traps. They offer this kind of cards to people and set some rules to let them overdraft, many of those people can’t pay off even the minimum payment on credit card bill. So they have to pay more interest. Then, they got into this ridiculous credit card trap.At last, the author doesn’t want to have credit card any more. She advise people to cut credit card and return it to bank.Unit 4 he Key to Wedded Bliss? Money MattersIt mainly talks about the key to wedded bliss, that is money.Marrying the right person who has the same attitude to money is very important. Although now many people marry for romantic, we have to admit that life is realistic.Marry is still a finical union. If you don’t have same attitude to money, making choose together is the best way to preserve your marriage.In order to get along better with the other half, experts make some guiding rules.1、communicate and make goals together 2、run a home like a business3、be supportive of carries4、enjoy life with reason5、use a mediator6、keep independence7、invest in your marriageWe should remember these when we start marriage, not when we walk to the end of marriage.Unit 5 Sex differences in English gossip rulesIn the research, men gossip just as much as women. But there is a stigma attached to gossip among English males. They claim that they did not gossip. But, in fact man doesn’t always talk about "important". They just think that they are talking about solving the world’s problem. And man talks more about themselves.The main difference between male and female gossip is that female gossip actually sounds like gossip.There seem to be three principal factors involved: the tone rule, the detail rule and the feedback rule.Tone rule means female prefer to use a particular tone of voice for gossipThe detail rule means female may more attention to details.The feedback rule means they want listener to be enthusiastic and be interested about their gossip.Unit 5 Marked: women in the workplace The term “marked”is common in our daily life, especially among females. Some times the extra meanings carried by gender meanings, it reflects the traditional associational with the female gender. It is not always serious and about sex.“The marked”talks about many aspects. For example, dressing styles and dressing types of female. Every kind of style they choose is marked. For example, if we offten wear the style that is not marked, that will mean we don’t care about our appearance. Besides, females wear bright colors, that means she want to attract others; When we wear very sexy sometimes it means we don’t have BF. What’ is more, when females get married,that means she is marked. She should pay more attention on name, she should use her husband’ name or preserve keep her own name.Unit 6 Winston Churchill At the crucial time in England, Churchill use his leadership and example, remind us that when our democracy、our freedom was threatened, we will show our courage and determination.Churchill was born in a grand family, but he was not good-looking or clever, he is silly and his father didn’t like him and didn’t give him support. After graduation, he worked as a war correspondent and became a hero because of great reports. After that, when he worked as MP, he was never a Party animal, but pay more attention on ordinary people and law. In 1940, the most important year in England. As a war leader, Churchill worked hard and encouraged so many people. After war, it comes general election, Churchill became primer in England.Churchill shows strength of character and big-heartedness. Now, he had gone, but, thanks to him, Britain lived on.。