本教程是根据《关于大学英语四、六级考试题型调整的说明》中阅读理解部分新设立的长篇阅读测试题型的要求而组织编写的。
从理论上讲，长篇阅读介乎精读和快速阅读之间。其和精读相似之处在于，在长篇阅读时，要对篇章进行多层次的理解，不仅要求了解篇章的大意，还要求了解段落大意和句子大意；或者了解词语在文中的意思和用法，以达到对段落或全篇的透彻了解。和快速阅读相似之处在于，根据CET对阅读理解部分的答题要求，篇章的阅读是在限时的条件下进行的。因此，答题时学生需运用略读，“全景式”地通览全文，又要运用寻读技巧寻找所需要的具体信息。
本教程用以检测读者阅读理解能力的题型主要为一些高端大规模英语考试，如大学英语四、六级考试和英国的IELTS Academic Reading Test昕采用的信息匹配题。信息匹配题的特点是考核读者在篇章和段落层次上的阅读理解能力，要求读者能快速找出与每题所含信息相匹配的段落。这种信息包括识别段落的主旨、段落中的事实或论点之间的关系，找出具体的细节，如例子、原因、说明或小结等。这种题型侧重考查的是在有限时间的要求下对于较长篇章的理解和信息定位能力。但从阅读能力的角度来讲，它强调的仍然是快速地阅读和理解英语篇章的能力。

Unit 1
Text-1 Shackleton's Leadership of the Endurance Expedition
Text-2 The Man Who Really Conquered Mt. Qomolangma
Text-3 Memories of Afghanistan
Text-4 Buzz-Bombs and Doodlebugs
Unit 2
Text-1 The Reusable Spacecraft
Text-2 Will Human Jobs Be Replaced by Robots in the Future
Text-3 Maglev: A New Generation in Railroad Technology
Text-4 Letters: Obsolete Technology
Unit 3
Text-1 The Job Hunt: How to Start a Successful Career
Text-2 A Tale of Two Successful Student Job Seekers
Text-3 I Juggled a Full-Time Job While Launching My Startup
Text-4 The Kind of Work Daddy Does
Unit 4
Text-1 Is the World Flat
Text-2 The World Isn't Flat-It's Networked
Text-3 Postcard-Perfect: The Big Business of City Branding
Text-4 Americans and Food
Unit 5
Text-1 Fast-Food Nation
Text-2 Doggie Bag: Why Are the British Too Embarrassed to Ask
Text-3 Anywhere the Eye Can See, It's Likely to See an Ad
Text-4 It's All at the Mall
Unit 6
Text-1 Cultural Differences in Time
Text-2 Scenes from the Culture Clash
Text-3 The Pace of 21st Century Life
Text-4 Slow Is Beautiful
Unit 7
Text-1 My Memories of September 11
Text-2 Remembering 9
Text-3 9/11 Museum: Tragedy Turns the Ordinary into Memorial
Text-4 Engineers Study 9/11 for Lessons on How to Help Buildings Withstand Threats
Unit 8
Text-1 The Joy of Travel: Finding the Unexpected
Text-2 Ecotourism
Text-3 Business Etiquette When Travelling Abroad
Text-4 Jones Beach
Appendix Key to Comprehension Exercises