束定芳主编的《快速阅读（4）》既可以与新编的大学英语综合教程和阅读教程配套使用，也可以单独使用。分8个单元（每两周一单元）。每一单元以“主题”为线索，安排知识内容相近、体裁不同、风格不同的阅读材料5篇。以阅读实践为主，巩固所讲解的技巧。所有练习答案通过附录形式放在书后。

本教程阅读材料选择的主要范围为：散文、科学论文、科普作品、广告、说明书等。所涉及话题尽量对应综合教程所列出的32个主题，包括教育、生活、体育、艺术、经济、科技等内容。

Unit One Arts

 Text 1 Musical Film

 Text 2 Spotlight on Florence

 Text 3 How Jazz Began

 Text 4 The British Museum

 Text 5 Chinese Painting

Unit Two The Economy

 Text 1 Burn Your House, Boost the Economy

 Text 2 Public Release of $2 Bills at Face Value Continues

 Text 3 Risky Business

 Text 4 Shanghai: Real Estate Market Worries

 Text 5 Swiss Banking Secrecy

Unit Three Genetic Engineering

 Text 1 What Are Genetically Modified (GM) Foods?

 Text 2 Feeding the World -- Facts versus Fiction

 Text 3 GE Agriculture and Genetic Pollution

 Text 4 What Are the Risks of Cloning?

 Text 5 Post-Genome Shopper

Unit Four Sleep and Dreams

 Text 1 Why Do We Dream?

 Text 2 Sleep Behavior

 Text 3 What Do Our Dreams Mean?

 Text 4 Lack of Sleep Affects Kids' Alertness

 Text 5 A Good Night's Sleep

Unit Five Outer Space

 Text 1 The Sun's Atmosphere

 Text 2 What Are Falling Stars?

 Text 3 Unmasking the Face of Mars

 Text 4 Mourn for Challenger

 Text 5 The First Traveller in Space

Unit Six War and Peace

 Text 1 The Maginot Line

 Text 2 Lifesaver Hero: Florence Nightingale

 Text 3 The Blitz

 Text 4 Gun Politics in the United States

 Text 5 Mahatma Gandhi

Unit Seven The Internet and Computers

 Text 1 The Origins and History of Computer Viruses

 Text 2 Personal Communication in the Age of the Internet

 Text 3 Chat Room Briton Saves US Family from Poisoning

 Text 4 What Is Cyberlove?

 Text 5 Artificial Intelligence in the Game of Go

Unit Eight Politics

 Text 1 Why the European Union?

 Text 2 Hiroshima: Harry Truman's Diary and Papers

 Text 3 Benjamin Franklin

 Text 4 The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall

 Text 5 Roman Government

Answers