尼斯特、莫尔编著的《英语词汇突破(第2版)》共5个单元，每个单元含6章内容。除了每章设有众多练习外，每单元结束后都有一道字谜题和数套测试题。字谜题和测试题用以强化学生的单词记忆。此外，大多数章节会重复前章已学过的单词(此类复现单词以小圆圈。标识)，以期进一步加深记忆。这些练习旨在引导学生以最有效的方法学习单词，即细致、反复地操练每一个单词。
每章的开篇题让学生从3个选项中选出所给单词的词义。完成了这项词义选择题有助于学生完成第二题的词义配对题。如此设计，意在促使学生积极主动地习得词汇，拓展思维。
本书中260个核心词和40个构词成分是花费了大量时间精心挑选出来的。编者查阅了很多词频表，参考了大量词汇书。每位作者，包括编辑在内，各自准备了一份词表，经过电脑整合筛选，再经历漫长的研讨过程，最终生成了适合相应阶段英语学习者的词汇表。

前言
导读
Pretest of the Whole Book
UNIT ONE
Unit One Pretest
Chapter 1 Apartment Problems
Chapter 2 Hardly a Loser
Chapter 3 Grandfather at the Art Museum
Chapter 4 My Brother's Mental Illness
Chapter 5 A Get-Rich-Quick Scam
Chapter 6 Holiday Blues (Word Parts)
Unit One Review (Crossword Puzzle)
Unit One Tests
UNIT TWO
Unit Two Pretest
Chapter 7 A Phony Friend
Chapter 8 Coco the Gorilla
Chapter 9 Our Annual Garage Sale
Chapter 10 A Debate on School Uniforms
Chapter 11 My Large Family
Chapter 12 Alex's Search (Word Parts)
Unit Two Review (Crossword Puzzle)
Unit Two Tests
UNIT THREE
Unit Three Pretest
Chapter 13 Ann's Love of Animals
Chapter 14 A Costume Party
Chapter 15 The Missing Painting
Chapter 16 An Ohio Girl in New York
Chapter 17 How Neat Is Neat Enough?
Chapter 18 A Cult Community (Word Parts)
Unit Three Review (Crossword Puzzle)
Unit Three Tests
UNIT FOUR
Unit Four Pretest
Chapter 19 Halloween Troubles
Chapter 20 Thomas Dooley
Chapter 21 Twelve Grown Men in a Bug
Chapter 22 Adjusting to a Group Home
Chapter 23 A Different Kind of Doctor
Chapter 24 Grandpa and Music (Word Parts)
Unit Four Review (Crossword Puzzle)
Unit Four Tests
UNIT FIVE
Unit Five Pretest
Chapter 25 My Devilish Older Sister
Chapter 26 Harriet Tubman
Chapter 27 Tony's Rehabilitation
Chapter 28 Rumors
Chapter 29 The End of a Political Career
Chapter 30 Firing Our Boss
Unit Five Review (Crossword Puzzle)
Unit Five Tests
Posttest of the Whole Book
APPENDIXES
A Answer Key
1. Answers to the Pretest of the Whole Book
2. Answers to the Unit Pretests
3. Answers to the Chapter Activities
4. Answers to the Unit Reviews and Tests
5. Answers to the Posttest of the Whole Book
B List of Words and Word Parts