Unit 1 Regional Focuses： Domestic Turmoil and War1

1. After Benghazi attacks， Islamist extremists akin to alQaeda stir fear in eastern Libya1

2. Syrian unrest spills into Lebanon5

3. North Korea moves missile to coast， but limited threat seen9

Unit 2 Conflicts in the Middle East15

1. “Terrorist” explosion on Tel Aviv bus jeopardises Hamas truce deal15

2. Hizbollah debates dropping support for the regime of President Bashar alAssad

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3. The IsraelPalestine conflict won’t go away24

Unit 3 The African Scene30

1. Boko Haram： Borno residents want permanent military presence30

2. What are Western and African powers up against in Mali， Algeria?34

3. CAR： how Bozizé lost his piece of Africa39

Unit 4 Violence and Terrorist Attacks in the U.S.46

1. Terrorists hijack 4 airliners， destroy World Trade Center， hit Pentagon; hundreds dead46

2. “I Saw Bodies Falling Out— Oh， God， Jumping， Falling”52

3. 2nd bombing suspect caught after frenzied hunt paralyzes Boston56

Unit 5 American Election 201262

1. With debates over， candidates race to clinch vital states62

2. Heated fight for presidency goes to voters67

3. Will we be better off in 2016?72

Unit 6 Social News—the U. S.78

1. Storm barrels through region， leaving destructive path78

2. Nation reels after gunman massacres 20 children at school in Connecticut83

3. Some give up their guns as others rally against tighter laws87

Unit 7 National News—the UK93

1. David Cameron’s critics are wrong. He’s on the verge of something great

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2. MPs to escape expenses investigations after paperwork destroyed by Parliament

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3. Thatcher’s death has Britain peering back through time102

Unit 8 Social News—South Africa109

1. Bloody gunfight109

2. Marikana： 900 bullets112

3. Nelson Mandela’s condition “unchanged”， officials say117

Unit 9 Social News—Life and Lawsuits123

1. Victim’s friend tells of brutal gang attack123

2. Family sues over Hout Bay tragedy127

3. Oscar Pistorius charged with Reeva Steenkamp murder131

Unit 10 Environmental Protection—Saving Wild Lives138

1. Rangers in isolated Central Africa uncover grim cost of protecting wildlife

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2. Saving twoton giraffe a tall order143

3. Cape’s abalone is well on the way to extinction148

Unit 11 Computer Technology and the Internet155

1. The web is the most conservative force on Earth155

2. Google pledge to downgrade piracy sites under review160

3. Simultaneous translation by computer is getting closer164

Unit 12 Science and Technology172

1. Grandma’s curse172

2. It’s snowing， and it really feels like the start of a mini ice age176

3. Climate change alters ecosystems from Walden Pond to “The Shack”181

Unit 13 World Economy186

1. The economy is holding up surprisingly well in a year of austerity186

2. IMF calls on UK to do more to boost economy191

3. EU， South Korea to ally on faster mobile access195

Unit 14 Business News201

1. Chinese trade with Africa keeps growing; fears of neocolonialism are overdone

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2. “We’re happy” — Frenzy drives traffic to retailers205

3. EU duties on Chinese solar panels losing member state support210

Unit 15 The London 2012 Olympics216

1. London Olympics opening ceremony quirky， fun， loud， British216

2. Licence to thrill! London welcomes the world with spectacular threehour Olympic Opening Ceremony celebrating Great Britain220

3. Don’t Deny the Joy of Usain Bolt225

Unit 16 Culture News231

1. Eid AlAdha， the story and traditions231

2. Coming to bad ends： stories that refuse closure235

3. The Box and the Keyhole240

Unit 17 The British Pub and Drinking Culture247

1. A Pub Crawl through the Centuries247

2. Still the Moon under Water252

3. Booze buses and drunk tanks to tackle Britain’s drinking culture256

Unit 18 Entertainment News261

1. Scarlett Johansson in Broadway’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof： What did critics think?261

2. Story of Young Woman’s Awakening Is Top Winner265

3. Jennifer Lawrence， interview： ‘I do worry that I’m too in your face’268

Keys to Understanding Ideas in the News274

“孔子學院”的中方院長，外派到南非的開普敦大學。去年底接到通知，開始準備修訂，於是在工作之餘，多少抽出時間收集材料和考慮如何修訂。

幾年之後回頭看看原來的書，纔感覺到修訂是十分必要的。首先，“世事多變”，這個世界上每天發生的事情確實太多了。幾年工夫，地球上發生了很大的變化，作為讓人們及時了解變化、應對變化的媒體手段之一的新聞，也緊跟事件的發生發展，不停地更新報道。原來的選文，已經有很多過時了，不更換不行。其次，原來選文的標準和注釋說明的力度，存在很多不足之處，也不乏錯漏的地方。而且，配合選文所編寫的一些知識和練習，也存在不少的錯漏。因此，不修訂不行，不改不行。

本次修訂，在選文上的考慮是：與其修修補補，不如更換新的。如去掉一些文章，補充一些新的文章，這樣雖然比較簡單，但有些章節已經沒有必要保留了，如The Iraq War；再看，原來的選文也不是很有價值。所以的主題做了改動，大多數選文也是新的。從新聞內容的角度來看，這樣的修訂，使新版和原版能相互補充和照應。當然，對於已經使用過這本教材的教師來說，就必須重新備課。

本書繼續保留原版的編寫體例，但也做了一些微調，如“句子翻譯”這一部分增加了對新聞句子特點的簡單分析，並不再重復原句，而是在選文中以數字序號標示；在“新聞介紹”中增加了對新聞背景的介紹，以幫助讀者理解選文的內容。練習則盡量緊扣選文，從詞語和全文理解兩個方面設計練習，同時布置一些自主學習的思考題，供學生自己上網搜索和閱讀，並將結果寫成書面報告，有條件的可以讓學生在課堂上交流和討論。

後，隨著電腦和通訊技術的發展，新聞報道也發生了急劇的變化。報刊這一曾經是人們獲取新聞的媒體，已經全面立體化了。報刊網站上的聲音、豐富的照片和視頻，使閱讀新聞更加生動和現實。但是，是否也使閱讀語言變得不重要了呢？因為圖片和視頻基本就可以讓讀者明白所發生的一切。其次，新聞報道的時效性更強了，由於互聯網的廣泛使用，使在世界上某一地點發生的事情，幾乎是同時地被用各種不同的語言傳遍到世界各地。任何英文報刊上的重大消息，幾乎馬上就可以在互聯網上找到中文的報道。閱讀英文報刊作為學習英語的一種手段，是否也變得可有可無了呢？還有，許多大學已經在進行“零課時”的課程教學改革，基本上已經把閱讀、聽力、寫作等變成以學生為主的課程了，這使“英美報刊選讀”課是否有必要繼續存在成為一個很大的疑問和懸念。這也是對編寫報刊閱讀教材提出的挑戰。不管怎樣，學習、掌握和應用一門外語還是需要付出勞動的，至於怎麼學、怎麼用，就要根據實際情況了。教師隻是引路人，教材隻是他手中的拐杖。由於在南非教學等工作的影響，使得修訂工作趕趕停停，進度較慢，不能如期完成，請多原諒。