Unit 1 Ancient Greek Culture and Wisdom…1
Section A Greek Mythology…1
Section B City-States: Athens and Sparta…8
Section C Socrates …14


Unit 2 Roman Empire and Latin Culture…24
Section A History of Roman Empire…24
Section B All Roads Lead to Rome…30
Section C Cleopatra, the Egyptian Queen and Her Love Affairs…36


Unit 3 The Middle Ages and the Rise of Modern Europe…46
Section A The Middle Ages…46
Section B The Rise of the States…53
Section C The Rise of Universities in the Middle Ages…60


Unit 4 Renaissance and Shakespeare…71
Section A Renaissance…71
Section B William Shakespeare…78
Section C Henry VIII and His Six Wives…84


Unit 5 Enlightenment and the Origin of Modern Science…96
Section A The Age of Enlightenment…96
Section B On the Shoulders of Giants: Isaac Newton and Modern Science…103
Section C Francis Bacon: Fame and Disgrace…108


Unit 6 Romanticism and Realism…119
Section A Romanticism in Europe…119
Section B Romanticism in America…127
Section C Realism in Europe…133
Unit 7 Modernism and Contemporary Western Culture…148
Section A Modernism and Modernist Movement…148
Section B The Distinct Character of Contemporary American Culture …156
Section C How Contemporary American Society Tramples on Principles
of Integrity…163


Supplementary Reading…174
Passage 1　The Toxic Individualism of Pandemic Politics…174
Passage 2　False Values Conveyed by American Entertainment and Cultural
Industries…176
Passage 3　What Is the Bamboo Ceiling and How Do We Break It?…179
Passage 4　White-collar Crime…183


Glossary…187