New Horizons College English Textbook Guidance · 3

Author: Pan Xiaoyan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: New Horizon College English was born with the dawn of the 21st century. This refreshing teaching material was compiled by a team of scholars from several well-known universities in China under the guidance of Zheng Shutang, the Chief Editor from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, following the requirements of the College English Teaching Syllabus (Revised Edition). To meet the needs of both teaching and learning, some of the earliest teachers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University who used the textbook jointly compiled this Companion to New Horizon College English. The main components and features of each unit in this companion are as follows:
1. Level Prediction: This section includes authentic multiple-choice questions (CET-4, CET-6, postgraduate entrance exam) and self-assessment questions related to the text content, designed to predict readers' mastery of the language points reflected in these predictive questions before studying the text.
2. Cultural Background: This section introduces the main concepts, terms, writing context, and relevant figures related to the unit's text, helping readers gain a deeper understanding of the material.
3. Close Reading of the Text: This is the core of the companion, including:
1) Text Summary (Chinese-English Contrastive Version): Provides an overall understanding of the central idea and writing techniques of the text.
2) Text Structure Analysis (Chinese-English Contrastive Version): Makes the overall structure of the text clear at a glance.
3) Writing Features: Introduces the genre, writing style, and thought process of each unit's text, not only helping readers grasp the author's ideas more deeply but also teaching them how to write clear, coherent, and thought-provoking articles.
4) Reading and Thinking: Combines five carefully designed multiple-choice and short-answer questions (with answer reference lines marked as LineX) to highlight the key and challenging points of the text, assessing readers' comprehension.
5) Vocabulary and Phrases: Details part of speech, meaning, synonyms, antonyms, example sentences, word formation, derivatives, easily confused words (homophones), and key points (collocations, distinctions, notes). Each vocabulary item is marked with the paragraph number (Para. X). (All vocabulary in this companion is selected according to the College English Teaching Syllabus Vocabulary List compiled by the Ministry of Education and the Advisory Committee on College English Teaching in Higher Education, published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press and Higher Education Press.)
6) Complex Sentence Analysis: Translates and comments on sentences with complex structures or special meanings (original sentences marked as LineX) to help students fully and correctly understand the essence of the text.
7) Exercise Explanations: Provides answers to each question along with translations, with simple explanations for particularly difficult sentences.
8) Reference Translations: The translations are carefully polished and refined, with ingenious wording. Although the compilers are all experienced senior teachers working on the front line of English teaching with postgraduate degrees in English, minor errors may still exist. We sincerely welcome readers' corrections.
4. CET-4 Authentic Tests: This is a distinctive feature of the book, designed to allow readers to test their actual proficiency while studying, identify gaps, see progress, and gain more motivation to learn.
5. Answers and Explanations for Authentic Tests: Provides correct answers along with detailed explanations, summarizing key points for each question and analyzing the patterns of question-setting.
6. Red Film Self-Assessment: In the vocabulary and phrases section, each example sentence and key word in the key points is printed in red. By using the attached red transparent film to cover the keywords, readers can conveniently test their learning progress.