本书作为英语专业基础阶段的阅读教材旨在扩大学生的词汇量，增强英语语感，丰富文化知识，提高人文素质，并培养学生的逻辑思维和形象思维能力，训练略读、寻读、细读、评读等阅读技巧。为满足扩充词汇量、拓展知识面的需要，本书选题范围较广，内容丰富；为提高学生的思辨能力和阅读欣赏能力，优先选择具有经典意义和收藏价值的文章，有助于学生从西方传统文化和现当代文化中汲取精华部分，了解其独特的精神内涵。配套练习旨在引导学生去解读、思考、分析、批评，并激发学生更强烈的阅读欲望。

Unit One
Text A Essay on America
Text B Western Civilization, Our Tradition
Unit Two
Text A French and English
Text B The American Character
Unit Three
Text A Professions for Women
Text B The Beauty Industry
Unit Four
Text A The Road to Happiness
Text B Entropy
Unit Five
Text A Philistines and Philistinism
Text B The Rewards of Living a Solitary Life
Unit Six
Text A Expressing One's Individuality
Text B Defining the Authentic Self
Unit Seven
Text A The Worker as Creator or Machine
Text B Where I Lived, and What I Lived for
Unit Eight
Text A On the Sense of Humor
Text B On Human Nature and Politics
Unit Nine
Text A Creativity Will Dominate Our Life
Text B Unlock Your Own Creativity
Unit Ten
Text A The Long-Haul Degree
Text B Graduate Degrees, Are They Worth It?
Unit Eleven
Text A Global Warming & Climate Change
Text B They Cheat, I Tell You
Unit Twelve
Text A The Trouble with Television
Text B Dolly's False Legacy