《新21世纪大学英语长篇阅读（上修订版）》是一本以教育部《大学英语课程教学要求》为指导，紧扣大学英语四、六级考试阅读新题型编写而成的阅读教材。该教材结合大学英语教学改革与发展的方向，以外语教学理论为指导，遵循“以人为本”的教学理念，强调大学英语的人文性和工具性。在教材的选材上关注社会热点问题，重视文章内容的时代性、信息性、知识性、趣味性、实用性及可读性。
根据大学英语四、六级考试阅读试题的要求，长篇阅读不但要求学生对文章全篇内容有所理解，同时也要求学生能够把握文章的一些细节。新题型对学生的宏观概括总结能力有较为明显的提升要求，要求学生赋予自己将知识运用并转换的能力，不仅要读懂，更强调考生在语言实践环境中查询有效信息的能力，还要对他们所掌握的信息积极地进行加工处理。

阅读技能(Reading Skills)
Unit 1 CAMPUS LIFE
Passage Ⅰ Do Students Who L ive at Home Miss Out on University Life?
Passage Ⅱ Student Loans in the U．S．
Passage Ⅲ Poll Shows Stress Pains Many in College
Passage Ⅳ 9 Lessons for Success in College——That Actually Make Sense
Unit 2 FRIENDSHIP
Passage Ⅰ How to Make Friends for Life
Passage Ⅱ Is True Friendship Dying Away?
Passage Ⅲ Importance of Friendship in Childhood and Adolescence
Passage Ⅳ The Art of Friendship：Making Friends in Midlife
Unit 3 READING
Passage Ⅰ Story Reader
Passage Ⅱ What Reading Really Means to Me
Passage Ⅲ One Family’S Fun—filled Guide to Reading Success
Passage Ⅳ How Schools Are Destroying the Joy of Reading
Unit 4 FOOD AND CULTURES
Passage Ⅰ Cookery
Passage Ⅱ Chocolate Through the Years
Passage Ⅲ Food Cultures and Traditions of the World
Passage Ⅳ Cross—cultural Spatial Perceptions
Unit 5 THE INTERNET
Passage Ⅰ Generation Gap?“Online Gap”Widens Divide Between Parents and Children
Passage Ⅱ Smartphone：A Splendid Way to Improve Your Engl ish
Passage Ⅲ How the Internet Has Changed Our Everyday Life
Passage Ⅳ Who Is Afraid of Google?
Unit 6 WOMEN
Passage Ⅰ Sexism in America and How You Can Stop It
Passage Ⅱ The Way Women Communicate with the World
Passage Ⅲ Beauty and Body Image in the Media
Passage Ⅳ Women Know More About Finances Than They Get Credit For
Unit 7 HEALTH
Passage Ⅰ Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Passage Ⅱ Deal ing with Fear
Passage Ⅲ Worries About Prescription Drugs
Passage Ⅳ Depression
Unit 8 TECHNOLOGY
Passage Ⅰ Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Passage Ⅱ Artificial Intelligence
Passage Ⅲ Smartphone Payments in China
Passage Ⅳ WeChat and Weibo in China