《21世纪大学英语》自1999年正式出版以来，受到全国广大师生的欢迎和认可，大家普遍认为这套教材紧扣《大纲》要求，重视语言质量，有利于学生打好语言基础，而且符合中国英语教学的特点和需求，具有很强的信息性、趣味性、可思性和实用性，为课堂教学提供了丰富的素材，使教师有充分的发挥余地。本书共八个单元，每一单元包括三篇课文，课文A为精读材料，课文B、C为泛读材料。三篇课文围绕同一题材选定，前面有一单元内容简介。

Unit One
Text A Winston Churchill—His Other Life
Text B Little Sister of the Poor
Text C The New Frontier of Beauty
Unit Two
Text A Why They Excel
Text B Education Methods: East and West
Text C Ronald Reagan's Letters to His Kids
Unit Three
Text A The Tale of a Cultural Translator
Text B A Multicultural Person
Text C A Lifetime of Learning to Manage Effectively
Unit Four
Text A Turning Failure into Success
Text B Failure? No! Just Temporary Setbacks
Text C The Mindset (c) of Possibility Starts with a Vision
Unit Five
Text A Holding Onto a Dream
Text B The Soft Sell
Text C Workin' for a Livin'
Unit Six
Text A A Brief History of Stephen Hawking
Text B Inventor of the Future
Text C Steve Jobs: An Appreciation
Unit Seven
Text A Thinking: A Neglected Art
Text B How to Teach Your Child to Think
Text C Developing Your Thinking
Unit Eight
Text A Unwritten Rules
Text B The Traffic Light: A Brainless Machine
Text C In Ourselves We Trust
Glossary