本书为“超越概念——高等院校英语专业系列教材”之泛读教材，供大学本科一、二年级学生及同等水平学习者使用。泛读教材共四册，本册为第四册，分为16个单元。

本书的编写以《普通高中英语课程标准》对各种技能、知识和词汇量的要求为起点，以教育部颁布的《高等学校英语专业英语教学大纲》对各个级别的阅读量、难度和速度的要求为依据。其独特设计充分体现了泛读课程自身的特点，注重体裁和题材的多样化和视角的多元性，同时兼顾题材的系统性，旨在开阔学生的视野，增强其阅读能力和分析能力。

UNIT ONE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: For Patriot Dreams

 Text B: Little Flag, Full of Hope

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT TWO

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: A Rounded Version: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

 Text B: Names That Match Forge a Bond on the Internet

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT THREE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Think about It

 Text B: Commencement Speech at Harvard University Medical School

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FOUR

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: The Tipping Point

 Text B: Fly on the Wall: Wilson vs. Gould

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FIVE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Debtor Nation

 Text B: Debtor Nation (Continued)

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT SIX

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: "1 Can't Afford to Get Sick"

 Text B: Fat, Inc

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT SEVEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: When Miss America Was Always White

 Text B: Taking for Granted and Surprise

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT EIGHT

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Beyond Belief

 Text B: A Shift in the Created Order

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT NINE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Memoria ex Machina

 Text B: Thriving in a "User-friendly" Universe

 Readings and Self-testing

UNITTEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: The Science of Happiness

 Text B: The Science of Happiness (Continued)

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT ELEVEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Management Philosophies, Old and New

 Text B: Challenging Corporate Power: An Interview with Richard Grossman

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT TWELVE

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Birth of a Feminist

 Text B: Women Under Siege

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT THIRTEEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Toward a Liberal Realist Foreign Policy

 Text B: The Accountability Deficit

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FOURTEEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer

 Text B: Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer (Continued)

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FIFTEEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: Separation versus Accommodation: Why We Should Favor the Latter

 Text B: New Jersey v. T.L.O

 Readings and Self-testing

UNIT SIXTEEN

 Thinking Starters

 Text A: The Obligation to Endure

 Text B: "Taming" the Rhine

 Readings and Self-testing