本教材根据国家新颁布的《大学英语课程教学要求》关于大学英语四、六级学生的快速阅读速度要求和《关于试点阶段的大学英语四级考试说明》设计单元练习，每个单元配有与学习内容相关的阅读理解、词义辨析、句子释义以及修辞等练习和思考题。在练习的设计上，本教材侧重信息的查询、是非的判断以及主旨的归纳。

《大学英语快速阅读》(1-4册)是一套根据教育部新的《大学英语课程教学要求》编写的非英语专业快速阅读教材，适用于大学一、二年级非英语专业的学生或具有高中以上英语水平的阅读爱好者。

本套教材编写目的是通过积极主动的阅读训练，帮助读者扩大英语词汇量，培养快速的浏览能力、准确的猜词能力以及独立的分析能力和归纳总结的综合能力。

本套教材编写严谨，具有高度的科学性、合理性和实用性。选材注重信息性、趣味性和时代性。题材广泛，内容丰富，涉及科学教育、网络技术、风俗人情、饮食文化、假日旅游、语言知识和社会焦点等各个方面。

Unit 1

 Passage 1 Why Teach Thinking?

 Passage 2 Dressing up and Body Language for Job Interviews

 Passage 3 Quality Schools

 Passage 4 How You Can Double, Triple, or Even Quadruple Your Reading Speed!

Unit 2

 Passage 1 College Dorm Life and Beyond

 Passage 2 Landing a Part-time Job

 Passage 3 Tips to Maximizing Your College Budget

 Passage 4 Do You Need a Break?

Unit 3

 Passage 1 Saying Goodbye to the Double-deckers

 Passage 2 Traditional Bridal Showers

 Passage 3 April Fool' s Day

 Passage 4 What's in the Name of American Indians

Unit 4

 Passage 1 D-Day and Saving Private Ryan

 Passage 2 Black Americans and Civil Rights

 Passage 3 Phelps's Mother Helps Her Son Find Gold-Medal Focus

 Passage 4 Mother Teresa: A Special Voice for the Poor

Unit 5

 Passage 1 How to Lose Weight

 Passage 2 Euthanasia

 Passage 3 Prenuptial Agreements

 Passage 4 Ethics Issue for Citizen Snappers

Unit 6

 Passage 1 Anxiety: How to Deal with It

 Passage 2 Saying No to the Net

 Passage 3 Cell Phones: A Love-Hate Relationship with Staying Power

 Passage 4 Up the Ladder, Step by Step

Unit 7

 Passage 1 Nuclear Energy: Can It Help?

 Passage 2 Urbanization and the Environment

 Passage 3 Does the World Face a Future of Water Wars?

 Passage 4 Extreme Weather: Is Global Warming to Blame?

Unit 8

 Passage 1 Is Earthquake Prediction Just Literature?

 Passage 2 The Love of a Robot

 Passage 3 Food Safety and Security: What Consumers Need to Know

 Passage 4 Can Stress Cause Women to Gain Weight?

Mark Sheet

 Timed Reading Rate Chart

 Key to Comprehension Exercises