这是一本为高等学校成人教育而编写的英语教材，也可作为网络教育、夜大、函大、高等专科院校和高等职业院校英语教材使用，还可作为自学教材供相应水平的英语爱好者学习使用。

本教材旨在指导学生深入学习课文的基础上，从读、写、译、听、说等方面进行语言操练，使学生具备较扎实的英语语言基础知识、较强的阅读能力和翻译能力以及一定的听和说的能力。

全书共有十六个单元。每个单元都设计有一个话题及两篇阅读文章。它们既相互关联，又各有侧重。围绕这些与学生生活和学习息息相关的话题，教师可以安排学生讨论，充分发挥学生的学习主动性。每个单元后还配有相关的语法知识和情景对话，帮助学生达到能够比较熟练地应用英语进行交流的目的。

Unit One

Text A Why I Want a Wife

Text B Why ! Want a Husband

Unit Two

Text A The Family: Past, Present, and Future

Text B Families

Unit Three

Text A How to Be a Successful Language Learner？

Text B Is Learning English Easy or Not？

Unit Four

Text A A Plate of Peas

Text B A Coke and a Smile

Unit Five

Text A Not a Chance to Regret

Text B One Hour of Time

Unit Six

Text A You Never Really Lose Your Value

Text B If I Were a Boy Again

Unit Seven

Text A The Man Who Create Mickey Mouse

Text B Disneyland

Unit Eight

Text A What We Eat and Drink

Text B Fallacies about Food

Unit Nine

Text A Poll Reveals TV News too Negative 

Text B Television -- a Blessing or a Curse？

Unit Ten

Text A Net Has Become a British Way of Life

Text B Hacking

Unit Eleven

Text A Goal of American Education

Text B The British School System

Unit Twelve

Text A The Delights of Books

Text B Time Spent in a Bookshop

Unit Thirteen

Text A Mystery Monsters of Loch Ness

Text B Eskimos

Unit Fourteen

Text A How New York Became America's Largest City

Text B Cities in the United States

Unit Fifteen

Text A American Men don't Cry

Text B American Stores

Unit Sixteen

Text A Current Attitudes towards Physical Fitness

Text B Dieting Your Way to Health