unit one
text a unveiling and consuming art in the multifarious spaces of early modern china 1
text b book review of mi fu and the classical tradition of chinese calligraphy 13
twenty minutes’ reading…25

unit two 29
text a take this fish and look at it 29
text b another school year—what for? 37
twenty minutes’ reading 45

unit three 49
text a your flexible friends 49
text b words that get you hired 58
twenty minutes’ reading 67

unit four 70
text a european business news 70
text b is higher inflation the most painless way to escape current economic troubles? 81
twenty minutes’ reading 89

unit five 93
text a solve that problem—with humor 93
text b the crooked streets 101
twenty minutes’ reading 110

unit six 114
text a when bright girls decide that math is “a waste of time”114
text b escaping the daily grind for life as a house father 122
twenty minutes’ reading 130

unit seven 134
text a a matter of degrees 134
text b how to build a student for the 21st century 143
twenty minutes’ reading 152

unit eight 157
text a friendship: the laws of attraction 157
text b the bond: staying in touch when children go to college 167
twenty minutes’ reading…175

unit nine 179
text a the biggest extinction on earth 179
text b spyware on your cell phone? 187
twenty minutes’ reading 193

unit ten 197
text a fame 197
text b the vice of punctuality 205
twenty minutes’ reading 213

unit eleven 216
text a the shocks of doom 216
text b luck 226
twenty minutes’ reading 234

unit twelve 238
text a the price of oil 238
text b deal or no deal 247
twenty minutes’ reading 255