本書涵蓋了從近東文明到二戰(zhàn)后西方社會幾千年的西方文明發(fā)展歷程。每一章節(jié)都力求以歷史為綱, 以文化信息點為目; 從面上總覽一個時代, 從點上洞悉其文化精髓。編者設計了相關的名人名言, 明確了學習目標, 提供了中文導讀、專家評論、專有名詞索引和圖文并茂的文化鏈接等欄目, 并在腳注和專有名詞部分注重文化知識的補充。本書在介紹西方文化的同時, 也注重對學習者語言實踐能力的培養(yǎng)。
		
	
                                                                        Chapter One  The Ancient Near East: The Cradle of Civilisation                   (c. 4000 B. C. --70 A. D. )      Section One  Mesopotamian Civilisation                                                                                        Chapter One  The Ancient Near East: The Cradle of Civilisation                   (c. 4000 B. C. --70 A. D. )      Section One  Mesopotamian Civilisation (c. 4000--539 B. C. )      Section Two  Egyptian Civilisation (c. 3100--c. 332 B. C. )      Section Three  Other Early Civilisations (c. 3000--c. 147 B.C. )      Section Four  The Hebrew Civilization (c. 2000 B. C. --c. 70A. D. )      Section Five  The Assyrian Empire (c. 1000--612 B. C. )      Section Six  The Persian Empire (550--330 B. C. )      Chapter Review      Exercise      Voices on Key Points      Suggested ReadingChapter Two  Greek Civilisation (e. 2000--30 B. C. )      Section One The Emergence of Greece (c. 2000--1100 B. C. )      Section Two  Dark Age and Homer's World (1100--750 B. C. )      Section Three  Sparta and Athens: Greek City-States (750--500B. C. )      Section Four  Greece in Classical Period (c. 500--330 B. C. )      Section Five  The Hellenistic Era (330--30 B. C. )     Chapter Review     Exercise     Voices on Key Points     Suggested readingChapter Three  Roman Civilisation (753 B. C. --476 A.D. )     Section One  The Rise of Rome (753--509 B. C. )     Section Two  The Roman Republic (509--30 B. C. )     Section Three  The Eclipse of the Roman Republic (133--30 B.C. )     Section Four  The Roman Empire (30 B. C. --476 A. D. )     Section Five  Christianity in Rome (c. 50 B. C. --313 A. D. )     Section Six  The Roman Culture (753 B. C. --476 A. D. )     Chapter Review     Exercise     Voices on Key Points     Suggested ReadingChapter Four  Medieval Civilisation {476--c. 1500}      Section One  The Emergence of the Medieval Civilisati0n(476--c. 750)      Section Two  The Development of the Early Middle Ages (c.750--c. 1000)      Section Three  Significant Changes of the High Middle Ages(c. 1001--c. 1300)      Section Four  The Decline of the Middle Ages (c. 1300--c.1500)      Chapter Review      Exercise      Voices on Key Points      Suggested ReadingChapter Five  The Age of the Renaissance (14th--17th Century)      Section One  The Rise of the Renaissance (14th--15th Century)      Section Two  Arts and Literature in the Italian Renaissance(Mid-1400s                         --Late 1500s)      Section Three  The Pattern of Politics in the Renaissance(1494--Early 1600s)      Section Four  The Natural Science in the Renaissance(15th--17th Century)      Chapter Review      Exercise      Voices on Key Points      Suggested ReadingChapter Six  Protestant Reformation (1517--Late 16th Century)      Section One  The Launch of the Reformation (Second Half ofthe 15th Century--1516)     Section Two  German Protestant Reformation (1517--Early 16thCentury)     Section Three  Reformation outside Germany (1520s--Late 16thCentury)     Section Four  The Counter-Reformation (Mid-16th Century)     Chapter Review     Exercise     Voices on Key Points     Suggested ReadingChapter Seven  Early Modern Times (c. 1419--1800}     Section One  Expansion of European Powers (c. 1419--1800)     Section Two  Social Disturbance (Early 17th--Early 18thCentury) and the                        Age of Absolutism (c. 1550--1800)     Section Three  The Scientific Revolution (1543--1700) and theEnlightenment                          (c. 1650--1800)     Section Four  The Last Phase of the Old Order (1715--1789)     Chapter Review     Exercise     Voices on Key Points     Suggested ReadingChapter Eight  The Age of the Revolution and Industrialisation(1775--1860)     Section One  The Revolutionary Era (1775--1815)      Section Two  The Era of the First Industrial Revolution(1750--1860)      Chapter Review      Exercise      Voices on Key Points      Suggested ReadingChapter Nine  Modernity in Europe ( 1815-- 1914)      Section One  Suppression, Revolution, and Romanticism(1815--1850)      Section Two   Nationalism and Realism (1850--1871)      Section Three  The Age of Progress (1871--1894)      Section Four  Anxiety and Tension(1894--1914)      Chapter Review      Exercise      Voices on Key Points      Suggested ReadingChapter Ten  World Wars and Post-war Era (1914--2000)      Section One  Wars and Revolutions (1914--1945)      Section Two  The Cold War and the New Era o{ the WesternWorld                            (1945--2000)      Chapter Review      Exercise      Voices on Key Points      Suggested ReadingCulture LinkProper NamesKey to ExercisesBibliography