本书适合初级英语水平的学习者阅读。书中包含40篇文章，选文短小精悍，文字浅显易懂，内容贴近生活，配图生动活泼，每篇文章还配有针对专项阅读技能训练的适量阅读理解题。通过阅读每篇文章并完成习题，学习者可以了解如何获取文章主旨、主题和文章细节的技巧，熟悉如何运用比较、推理等方法和利用各种可视化材料获取信息，从而更准确地理解文章内容。

How Do I Use This Book?
1 School Dance
2 Idioms to Make You Mad as a Hatter
3 German Phrase Book
4 When to Reach for a Glass of Water
5 What's Your Favorite Class?
6 Greetings from Home
7 Better to Be Yourself Than Perfect
8 Welcome to the Sunnyside Dog Park!
9 A Most Delicious Debate:Who Invented the Hamburger?
10 0lympic Games Medal Wins
11 Will Robots Help Us or Just Steal Our Jobs?
12 The Amazing Max
13 The World's Most-Visited Cities
14 Exam Preparation Tips
15 The Seven Colored Earths
16 Movie Budget Breakdown
17 Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
18 Using the Metro
19 Doctors Without Borders
20 Finding the Road to Happiness
21 Understanding ADHD
22 Never Too Young to Change the World
23 Gardening in Space
24 The Carnival of Venice
25 Fort Bragg's Glass Beach
26 EMP Museum
27 The Dos and Don'ts of Online Chatting
28 Ha Long Bay,Vietnam
29 Is a Crow Smarter Than a Seven-Year-0ld?
30 The Languages of International Business
31 Cloud Computing
32 Iceland
33 House Hunting
34 Crosstalk of the Town
35 World Magazine
36 The True Cost of a Tasty Steak
38 Blueberries: The Superfood!
39 A Note for the House Sitter
40 Watch Out! Your Smartphone Can Make You Go Blind