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，每册分16个单元。

该书的编写以《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。可供各大专院校作为教材使用，也可供从事相关工作的人员作为参考用书使用。

UNIT ONE

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Will Spelling Count?

　Text B: How to Read Better and Faster

　Reading Skills: Contextual Clues to Word Meaning

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT TWO

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: The Book That Changed My Lives: An Introduction

　Text B: For the Love of Books

　Reading Skills: Guessing Word Meaning from Word Formation (I)

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT THREE

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Giving Disorganized Boys the Tools for Success

　Text B: The Traditional Approach and Why It Doesn't Work

　Reading Skills: Guessing Word Meaning from Word Formation (II)

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FOUR

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Bringing the Best out of People

　Text B: Putting Feelings into Words

　Reading Skills: Guessing Word Meaning from Synonyms and Antonyms (I)

　Readings and Self-testing

　FIVE

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Independence Day

　Text B: Independence Day (continued)

　Reading Skills: Guessing Word Meaning from Synonyms and Antonyms (II)

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT SIX

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self

　Text B: Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self (continued)

　Reading Skills: Recognizing Examples and Illustration

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT SEVEN

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: The Threat of Secondhand Smoke Justifies Smoking Restrictions

　Text B: Smoking Should Be Treated as Nicotine Addiction

　Reading Skills: Prediction

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT EIGHT

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Channelled Whelk

　Text B: Never Say Never

　Reading Skills: Recognizing Restatement

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT NINE

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: An Honest Doubter

　Text B: My Friend Lodovico

　Reading Skills: Skimming

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT TEN

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Own This Child

　Text B: Barbie to Baby Einstein: Get Over It

　Reading Skills: Scanning

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT ELEVEN

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Australia: An Underappreciated Nation

　Text B: Towards One Destiny

　Reading Skills: Summarizing (I)

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT TWELVE

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: On Seeing England for the First Time

　Text B: Welcome to St Paul's

　Reading Skills: Summarizing (II)

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT THIRTEEN

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: A Granddaughter's Fear

　Text B: On the Verge of Adulthood: Older Teens and the Library

　Reading Skills: Recognizing Sequence (I)

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FOURTEEN

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Joyas Voladoras

　Text B: Leader of the Pack: The Fascinating Lives of Wolves

　Reading Skills: Recognizing Sequence (II)

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT FIFTEEN

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: 86,400 Hours

　Text B: Men and Women Talking on the Job

　Reading Skills: Signal Words (I)

　Readings and Self-testing

UNIT SIXTEEN

　Thinking Starters

　Text A: Gravity

　Text B: What If It Happens in Your Family?

　Reading Skills: Signal Words (II)

　Readings and Self-testing