第一章Unit 1 Language in mission

This unit focuses on learning English, with text A talking about how grammar and vocabulary can be taught efficiently and Text B how the language can be learned successfully. In other words, one is about how to teach and the other how to learn. Learning English is never easy but always rewarding. Sometimes the detailed work of understanding grammar and building vocabulary can seem too overwhelming, but learning can hapen dramatically with different methods. While an effective language teacher can maximize students’ learning in an extremely fun way, motivated and committed learners can always enjoy what they are learning. So the topic discussion of online learning is about learning English through reading. The second part is reading skill. The topic is about reading for the key ideas in sentences. The third part is writing skill. The topic is how to compose a college essay?

●1.1英语怎么说？：Topic Discussion

Have you ever asked yourself why it seems so hard to master English grammar and remember words? This part is about learning English through reading. How to enlarge your vocabulary and grasp the grammar more effectively are also introduced. Reading provides the kind of repetition that makes learning a new language easier. Familiar words can be read over and over until they are part of your thinking. Unlike talking which can be too fast or too hard to understand, reading is something that you can do on your own and that greatly broadens your vocabulary, thus helping you in speaking. If you want to learn English more quickly, lots of reading is important. The more you read, the more input your brain gets about how the language works. When you read in English, you can improve your vocabulary, your grammar, your writing skills and even your spoken English at the same time. An example of how to improve your English is introduced.

●1.2英语怎么读？：Reading Skills

In this part, the viewers will know the purpose of reading comprehension is for a reader to understand and interpret what he reads. Without good reading comprehension, a person may be able to pronounce the words in a text but not be able to grasp which parts are important or to determine the main idea of a passage. Looking for the key idea in a sentence, especially for a complex sentence, is of crucial importance to comprehension of the whole passage. The methods of finding the key idea in a sentence will be introduced. Then the students will learn the method by an example. At last the tips for reading for the key ideas in sentences will be introduced. Such as: 1) Sometimes we had to infer the main idea or key idea of a sentence. 2) Once the reader has determined what he or she believes to be the implied main idea, there is one question that can be used to test the theory. 3) We cannot always easily decide which details are simply descriptive and which add much to the key idea.

●1.3英语怎么写？：Writing Skills

In this part, we'll focus on how to write a college essay. As college students, writing an English essay often seems to be a dreaded task among students. The students will learn some fundamental principles and rules on how to compose a short essay. The hamburger essay outline will be introduced. How to write the introduction. How to write the body part? How to write the conclusion? These questions are solved in this part. At last, something important is emphasized. Such as: the importance of being able to write a strong thesis statement, make valid points that support and prove your thesis, and then end with a strong concluding paragraph to tie it all together.

第二章Unit 2 College - The ladder to success?

Young people are now facing more challenges in educational choices. On one hand, they need to consider the increasing costs of higher education. On the other hand, they see many new graduates end up being unemployed or getting jobs that don't really require the knowledge learned from college. So, young people are asking themselves: Should I still sacrifice time, effort and money to go to college? Should I focus my studies solely upon a particular type of degree? Should I still include courses in the humanities for a broader based education? Is it more beneficial to just attend a technical or vocational school for easier to find jobs? These questions have bothered young people and yet remain to be answered. So the topic discussion of online learning is about the humanities. The second part is reading skill. The topic is reading for major details. The third part is writing skill. The topic is the focus on an advantage / disadvantage essay.

●2.1英语怎么说？：Topic Discussion

1. The term Millennial is introduced firstly. Some of the common topics that people talk about job are introduced. First, what you will face in the future job market. Second, what kind of talents are needed in the future society? Third, should you include courses in the humanities in university? What kind of jobs will be replaced by AI in the future? The jobs that are least likely to be replaced by AI usually have some characteristics.
2. During the job application and interview process, employers look for applicants with two skill sets: hard skills and soft skills. Then the term of humanities is introduced. Why do the humanities matter? First, Humanities teach students to think and write. Second, We live in a world increasingly dominated by science. Third, you need jobs when you graduate.

●2.2英语怎么读？：Reading Skills

We just talk about the main part of a hamburger essay outline - the supporting details. First, we’d better know what are the functions of supporting details? Supporting details give details of the main ideas and help you understand main ideas and prove a significant point and make it convincing. Those details connect ideas within a paragraph. Second, there are two levels of supporting details: major details and minor details. There are 3 tips you should pay attention to, when talking about supporting details. Why do we need to identify major details?
Since reading for major details can improve your comprehension of passages, you must be eager to know how to identify the major details? Step 1, Learn to read for the main idea. Step 2, Separate the major detail from the minor details. Step 3, Focus on the major details. Step 4, sometimes, turning the main idea into a question can help you find the major details.

●2.3英语怎么写？：Writing Skills

      You will learn a good way to achieve your goals. A particular writing method will be introduced in today's show. That is how to write an advantage or/ disadvantage essay. In this kind of essay, the advantages or disadvantages should be listed or expounded upon. An advantage or /disadvantage essay is categorized as exposition or expository writing. 
       There are some characteristics. The outline of writing an advantage or/ disadvantage essay falls in one of these three formats: First, advantages and disadvantages; Second, advantages only; Third, disadvantages only. 
      The basic structure is very simple. First , you should introduce the Topic of the essay. Second, write an Introduction. Third, write a body paragraph by giving the advantages or disadvantages. At last, write a conclusion.

第三章Unit 3 Discovery of a new life stage

1. This unit first introduces a new phase of life, the “odyssey years”, a recently added life stage the youngsters have to face and go through. It comes after high school graduation, continues through college, and then leads to starting a family and having a career. How can young people succeed through this journey of life? Concentrate on this unit, and you’ll figure out the answer. So the topic discussion of online learning is about discovery of a new life stage. 2. Then this unit deals with the reading skill: Understanding figurative language. Figurative language is a word or phrase that cannot be taken literally. It creates images through words for readers which makes the writing more interesting and impressive. There’re several types of figurative language, simile, metaphor and personification, to name but a few. Stay focused on this reading skill to fully appreciate and enjoy the great charms of figurative language. 3. The third part is writing skill. The topic is focus on a comparison/contrast essay. If you have two items to compare or contrast, what will you do and how can you write an effective essay to show their similarities and differences? This unit mainly covers the major steps to write a comparison or contrast essay and how to organize the comparison or contrast with the point-by-point writing model. Focus on this writing model to discover more about it.

●3.1英语怎么说？：Topic Discussion

      This lecture introduces a new phase of life, the “odyssey years”. The term is originated from The Odyssey, a long poem by one of the greatest Greek authors, Homer. It centered on the main character, Odysseus’ long journey trying to return home. His journey is not only outward struggles against tremendous difficulties but, more importantly, inward struggles leading to self-discovery by combating his own arrogance and pride from his young rebellious heart. Therefore, we now use the odyssey years to describe the rebellious time young people usually go through between adolescence and adulthood. 
       Then, how to succeed through this life stage? Firstly, get some identity capital. Then, use your weak ties and pick your family. Don't be defined by what you didn't know or didn't do. 
    Anyway, try to explore and discover yourselves with a positive attitude, stay strong and keep focused on your goals. Someday when you look back, you'll find the great changes on you are unbelievable.

●3.2英语怎么读？：Reading Skills

This lecture focuses on the reading skill: Understanding figurative language. To truly understand figurative language, we must first understand the terms "literal" and "figurative". Literal meaning refers to the usual, basic or ordinary meaning of the words. When you say something "literally", you mean exactly what you say. To add interest, writers often write in a figurative way. “Figurative” is the opposite of “literal”. It refers to the imaginative meaning of the words. When you say something “figuratively”, you are usually making a comparison to give a description or make a point. So figurative means that words are used in a way that is different from the usual meaning.
There're different types of figurative language. This lecture mainly deals with simile, metaphor and personification. Many examples are cited to illustrate the application of these figures of speech. In short, this lecture will help you to fully appreciate the charms of figurative language.

●3.3英语怎么写？：Writing Skills

Comparison is the process of examining two or more things in order to find out their similarities, while contrast is the process of examining two or more things in order to emphasize their differences. This lecture mainly focuses on the point by point writing pattern. This pattern is to examine two subjects at the same time, discussing them point by point.
Some examples are given to illustrate how this pattern develops in an essay. Besides, to write a successful and coherent essay, it’s very important to use suitable structure words to highlight the comparison or contrast and help to move smoothly from one idea to the next. Common structure words for contrast include “differ in”, “different from”, “in contrast”, “contrary to”, “even though”, “whereas”, “unlike”, and “however”, etc. And common structure words for comparison include “similar to”, “just like”, “like”, “the same as”, “not only…but also…”, etc.

第四章Unit 4 Dance with love

Nowadays, for many students, college years are a perfect time to build friendships, especially for dating and romantic relationships. Young people long to find the right person ( their great love) whom they will spend their whole lifetime and raise a family with. However, it has never been an easy task. Just as the traditional rules and roles of dating are changing fast, beliefs and norms about how men and women should interact with one another are changing tremendously as well. Should students date during college years? If yes, should they date seriously or just for fun? What kind of person is ideal to date? Should women initiate and invite men out for a date? Who should pay for the date? Does formal dating have more advantages than casual dating or vice versa? Consider your own feelings about dating and get ready to give your insights to respond to these questions.This unit is designed to let students navigate their college romance. 
The topic discussion of online learning is about the background informaion of the 1960s. 
The second part is reading skill. The topic is understanding idiomatic expressions. 
The third part is writing skill. The topic is the focus on a narrative essay.

●4.1英语怎么说？：Topic Discussion

The 1960s in the United States are often perceived today as a period of profound societal change. Attitudes to a variety of issues changed, sometimes radically, throughout the decade. The urge to “find oneself”, the activism of the 1960s, and the quest for autonomy were characterized by changes toward sexual attitudes and practices, particularly among the young. The sexual revolution was often seen to have been centered on the university campus, among students. While the term “revolution” implies radical and widespread change, this was not necessarily in the case. Even in the “liberal”1960s, conservative and traditional views were widely held. The love story in Text A coincides with what happened in that particular historical period of time in the United States. From the story students can see the main characters, college sweethearts back then, were actually following a more traditional pattern of dating, romantic but conservative, a clear stream on campus in the 1960s.

●4.2英语怎么读？：Reading Skills

An idiom is a phrase or expression where the words together have a meaning that is different from the meaning of the individual words as defined in dictionaries. Students or English learners often find that it is difficult to understand the idioms. Why do we have difficulty understanding the idioms? It is because the definitions for each individual word in dictionaries don’t always help and can even fool students entirely.
Idioms grow out of events and usage within the specific culture, which is why learning about different aspects of a certain culture is as important and maybe more important in some instances, if students want to understand idioms to achieve truly effective communication. An idiom usually contains these three features. When we try to understand an idiomatic expression, we should put the idiom into the specific culture or put it into a context. If we do not have the knowledge of the specific culture, we cannot understand why the idiom appears.

●4.3英语怎么写？：Writing Skills

A narrative is a story containing specific elements that work together to create interest for not only the author but also the reader. The elements of narrative writing include the plot, the characters, the setting, the climax, and the ending.
A plot tells us what the story is about. It gives us the basic information such as who, what, where, when, why, and how does the story happen. Events unfold as they happen. Characters are the people who are affected by the actions of the plot. Setting is where and when the narrative takes place. It allows the readers to visualize the scenes and the characters in those scenes. Climax is the turning point of the narrative. It reveals the process involved for solving the conflicts. The ending tells how the resolution of the conflicts have affected the characters. To write a narrative paragraph, you should follow 4 steps

第五章Unit 5 The money game

1. This unit first addresses the topic of “how to manage your money”. Nowadays, it's very necessary for college students to develop an elementary sense of money management, learn to spend money more wisely and cultivate rational consumption views, thus laying a solid foundation for a better life in the future. So the topic discussion of online learning is about how to manage your money. 2. Then this unit deals with the reading skill: Making inferences and mainly covers the following points: definition of inference, examples in daily life, necessity to make inferences, ways to make reasonable inferences and things that should be noted while making inferences. Without the ability to make inferences, readers may be unresponsive to the subtle uses of language and cannot fully understand or enjoy what they read. So there's good reason for you to focus on this reading skill and learn to achieve successful inferences. 3. The third part is writing skill. If you have two items to compare or contrast, what will you do and how can you write an effective essay to show their similarities and differences? This unit will tell you another basic mode to organize comparison and contrast: the block mode. Concentrate on this writing skill, you'll learn how to organize your thoughts more efficiently and effectively.

●5.1英语怎么说？：Topic Discussion

      Although you are still students at present and most of your daily expenses mainly come from your parents, it's still very necessary for you to develop an elementary sense of money management and learn to spend money more wisely. 
      This lecture will tell you how to manage money:  Firstly, adjust your perspectives. Don't let money management distract you from your studies. Then, budget your money carefully. The next step is to set monthly goals to save at least a bit of money and deposit it in the bank. Besides, practice economy and be thrifty in your daily life. What's more, try to expand the sources of your income. Last but not least, I strongly recommend you to invest your money in all the things that may add values to who you are. This will be the most profitable and rewarding way to manage and invest your money.
      Follow my suggestions and try to be the master of your money.

●5.2英语怎么读？：Reading Skills

This lecture focuses on the reading skill: Making inferences. An inference is a statement about the unknown made on the basis of the known. As writers often tell us more than they write directly by giving us hints or clues that help us to read between the lines, we need to make inferences to figure out something that is implied, or not specifically stated in the reading material.
How to make reasonable inferences? Firstly, identify the inference questions. Secondly, hunt for clues or hints to grasp the literal meaning of the stated facts and ideas before making any interpretation. Then, read beyond the given words. Finally, relate the ideas and deduce additional meaning from them. You may look back at the stated information to be sure that there is sufficient evidence to support your inference and check if it is accurate.
Making inferences while reading can help us understand the content more thoroughly and catch the author’s purpose and attitude more efficiently.

●5.3英语怎么写？：Writing Skills

      This lecture focuses on another basic mode to organize comparison and contrast: the block mode. It consists of two forms. One is the subject-by-subject pattern and the other is the similarity-difference pattern. This pattern is to examine one thing thoroughly and then examine the other. Ideally, you should cover the same points for both subjects and in the same order. There are generally two body paragraphs when using this pattern.
      For the similarity - difference pattern, you'll have one paragraph that is entirely focused on all the similarities between the two subjects and then another paragraph for all the differences together. 
Please note, between the two paragraphs of the block pattern, a strong transition is necessary to indicate the switch, such as “In contrast”, “Although there are a number of similarities, there are also several differences between … and …”, etc.
      Anyway, follow the guide and try to write a good comparison or contrast essay!

第六章Unit 6 Less is more

Is more always better than less？Just as all people have to make decisions in their everyday lives, college students are always faced with the dilemma of making right choices. The experiments in which students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology participated reveal one of the weaknesses in human beings: It’s hard to bear seeing opportunities slip away. This can also be illustrated by our modern life which brings an abundance of options to choose from. Repeated messages all around people say, “This choice is good. But wait! This next choice might be even better!” However, when there are too many choices in life, people usually feel less happy and more depressed. This kind of situation is not uncommon and can be noticed everywhere, and in the end nothing seems “good enough”. This unit provokes an interesting topic: Is more always better than less? Revolving around this topic, Text A pinpoints a weakness of human beings. As is evidenced by an experiment conducted by Dr. Ariely, it is hard for people to bear to see their options vanish. Text B supports this assumption: People feel less happy and more depressed when given an overabundance of choice. The two texts are similar not only in the theme but also in the way they unfold the topic, using a dramatic entrance to present the issue. So the topic discussion of online learning is “ Is less always better than more?” The second part is reading skill. The topic is reading between the lines. The third part is writing skill. The topic is the format of a letter.

●6.1英语怎么说？：Topic Discussion

       The topic is about less is better than more. Life is full of choices. No matter who you are, you're going to be faced with situations where you need to make a choice every day. 
       Is more choices always better than less? Some examples are introduce. To an extent, it is only logical to think that if some choice is good, more is better. The fact is many people end up unhappy rather than pleased when their options expand. In numerous everyday domains, it has been ‘demonstrated that increasing the number of options can lead to poor choice. That can decrease satisfaction with the choice. 
How to live happily with less? What is the proper way to deal with this dilemma? 1) Limit the amount of information you take in. 2) Be aware of what you want. “Duan, She, Li” is also important on decision making. Letting yourself have less options to choose from can help you arrive at a more creative answer.

●6.2英语怎么读？：Reading Skills

      The topic of this lecture is about a reading skill, reading between lines. Reading between the lines is making inferences about the author's ideas from what is written as well as from what is not written. In other words, writers do not express all their thoughts directly, but they give hints and clues that help you “read between lines”. It gives us a deeper understanding of our reading; It can help us go beyond the surface details to see deeper meanings that the details imply or suggest; It can enhance the pure joy of reading. It can boost the development of our meta-cognitive skills;
What steps to follow to acquire the skill?
Step I: Read the title and the subtitles for the main idea.
Step II: Read the entire passage.
Step III: Relate the passage to extra-contextual factors.
Step IV: Connect ideas and make the conclusion.
By following these steps, students can better understand the reading passage and improve their reading skills.

●6.3英语怎么写？：Writing Skills

Practical writing is a tool for people to convey information, deal with affairs and exchange feelings. Letters, according to different purposes, can be divided into thanks letter, invitation letter, apology and complaint letters. Format for letters should include addressing, date and inscription.
Let's firstly look at the location of dates. It should be put on the top right of the paper. There are two kinds of formats for date. In America, people often use month, date, year format in a letter. While British people like to use date month year format in their writing. For month, we can use its full name, or abbreviation. For date, we can use either cardinal number or ordinal number. For year, you should write it completely. We use a comma to separate date month and year. The location of addressing is in the next line of the date, top left. The last part is inscription, which is placed one or two lines below the body part of the letter, in the middle right.

第七章Unit 7 Women: Making a difference

Should women stay home or work outside?  Male and female gender roles have continually changed throughout history. In the early 1900s, definite gender roles existed between men and women. The man worked outside to support  the family, fixed the family car and did the manly "handyman" jobs. The woman stayed at home, cared for children and cooked and cleaned. But gender roles have undergone many changes and advancements. Gender roles especially affect the home and workplace. Men and women who had employed mothers have a greater acceptance of working mothers than those who didn't. Working dads seem to be spending more time with their kids than 30 years ago. Men also have a tendency to handle more of the caring for their children than in past decades. Due to the many changes, the gap is shrinking between how both men and women view traditional roles in the family. This unit aims at exploring a current social issue: gender roles, a topic that could spark a lot of debates and arguments. So the topic discussion of online learning is about the changes of gender roles. In the second section, the differences between British and American English are introduced.  The discrimination of the different use between British and American English can help students understand more correctly in reading and listening comprehension. In the third section, the useful skills and the specific procedures of how to write an argumentative essay are introduced.

●7.1英语怎么说？：Topic Discussion

      With the development of economy and women's liberation, male and female roles have changed throughout history. Women embraced this abrupt status change and rose to the challenge of finding work to support their family. But traditionally women who work full time are still perceived as having the primary responsibility of caring for the children and home and still do more housework than their husbands. There have been great changes in equality in the workplace, but men are still expected to earn more money and act as leaders in working. However, in contemporary society, gender issues have become more and more controversial than ever before as a consequence of the fiece competition of today's global economy, which has produced many strong and competent female executives and leaders at various management levels. There are lots of examples which tell us momen have entered the workforce playing significant roles and societies have been greatly impacted.

●7.2英语怎么读？：Reading Skills

While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American English and British English are the two main varieties that are taught. British people and American people can always understand each other – but there are a few notable differences between British English and American English.
The three major differences between American and British English are:
Vocabulary. Differences in nouns and verbs, especially phrasal verb usage and the names of specific tools or items. There are British words which many Americans will not understand and vice versa.
Spelling. Differences are generally found in certain prefix and suffix forms. There are also a number of different spelling rules between British English and American English
Pronunciation.Differences in both vowel and consonants, as well as stress and intonation. Generally speaking, we follow the same grammar rules. However, there are still a few differences.

●7.3英语怎么写？：Writing Skills

In this section, we talk about how to write an argumentative essay. The primary purpose of writing an argumentative essay is to persuade the reader to agree with a point of view or to take an action. A well-written argumentative essay will succcessfully use evidence to support a point of view, respond to opposing views, and present a strong conclusion in which an action is called for.
The steps we should follow while planning an argumentative essay include: 1. choose a position. 2. Analyse the audience. 3. Research the topic. 4. Structure the essay.
Specifically when structuring an essay, students should first introduce the debate topic and state their point clearly and then use solid evidence and facts to support their viewpoints such as statistics, quotes from experts and examples. Meanwhile they should think about why people might have a different opinion and try to show why they are not important or they are not true and finally conclude with a brief summary.

第八章Unit 8 Human rights vs. animal rights

This unit will provide a platform for students to debate another social controversy: animal rights protection. In text A, the author, a physician engaged in doing animal research, expressed his growing, frustration with the animal rights movement and justifies animal research with many reasons including how medical advances benefited from the experiments on animals. Text B is a touching story that describes the painful experience and feelings from a perspective of a dog. Since early times, animals have lived closely with human beings. Most of us, especially animal rights activists, agree that both humans and animals deserve the same right to live and they both should enjoy decent and favorable conditions. Should animals be treated in the same way as human beings? If so, should scientific experiments use animals to develop medicines to help and heal human beings? These topics have become very controversial issues. So the topic discussion of online learning is about human rights and animal rights. The second part is about the idioms of knot. The third part is about the idioms of heel.

●8.1英语怎么说？：Topic Discussion

1. The topic of today's show is human rights vs. animal rights. Students can follow the Shan Hai Jing, Bible and other classical works to return to the ancient myths and legends. What are the relationship between domestic animals and humanity. A book named “Tippi My book of Africa” is recommended.
2. How to treat animals? Some terms will be mentioned here. Animal right, welfare utilitarianism and animal welfare. There are two main important themes that form the philosophical basis for animal keeping and care in modern societies. The first one is known as animal rights framework developed by Tom Regan. The second philosophical argument is associated with welfare utilitarianism and animal welfare. We can see human can do good things for animals. Humans can also cause harm to animals. But one thing we have in common is that all animals do have feelings and sentiments just like mankind, should not be treated inhumanely.

●8.2英语怎么读？：Reading Skills

      The idiom of this unit is about Knot. knot is a countable noun which means a join by tying together two pieces of string, rope, cloth etc. While in the text, we have the sentence “We're too young to tie the knot.”
      Several idioms about knot are explained. Such as, “ to tie the knot”, “a knot in the pit of one’s stomach” and“Gordian knot”. The meaning of these idioms are illustrated in details. 
       The third idiom about knot is famous “Gordian knot” derived from Greek myth. For example, the Gordian knot is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem. And we use “cutting the Gordian knot” to refer to settle the difficulty. (or disentangling an "impossible" knot) without thinking too much of the result or solve it easily by cheating or "thinking outside the box".

●8.3英语怎么写？：Writing Skills

     Do you want to know more phrases about heel? Let us focus on some idioms about heel and their origins. The first idiom is Achilles' heel. The second one is cool one's heels. The third one is drag one's heels. Next one is kick up one’s heels. Five is at one's heels. Six one is down at he heels. Seven is lay by the heels. The next one is to set someone back on their heels. The nine is take to one's heels or show one's heels. The last one is come to heel. These idioms are introduced in details by giving the examples and origins.