散文作为文学的四大体裁之一，在文学史上占有重要地位。周保国编著的这本《英美经典散文鉴赏》选用了英美文学各个时期具有代表性的名作以及能够反映英语散文技巧的经典佳作，可作为英语专业本科英语散文选修课教材，也可作为英语文学爱好者的自学读本。

散文作为文学的四大体裁之一，在文学史上占有重要地位。周保国编著的这本《英美经典散文鉴赏》选用了英美文学各个时期具有代表性的名作以及能够反映英语散文技巧的经典佳作，可作为英语专业本科英语散文选修课教材，也可作为英语文学爱好者的自学读本。《英美经典散文鉴赏》分为英国散文和美国散文两大部分，其中英国散文选择了10位英国作家的代表作，美国散文选择了6位美国作家的代表作。所选散文皆是名篇，每位作家均有两篇作品入选，按作家分单元，每单元分为作者简介、作者名言、名篇选读、生词注释和思考题五个部分。

Unit 1 Francis Bacon(1561-1626)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/1

 II.Selected Reading/3

1.Of Studies/3

2.Of Marriage and Single Life/6

Unit2 Jonathan Swifl(1667-1745)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/9

 II.Selected Reading/ 12

1.A Modest Proposal/12

2.The Drapier's Letters( Letter I)/22

Unit 3 Joseph Addison ( 1672-1719 )

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/32

 II.Selected Reading/34

1.The Royal Exchange/34

2.The Cries of London/39

Unit 4 Samuel Johnson(1709-1784 )

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/44

 II.Selected Reading/46

1.To the Right Honourable the Earl of Chesterfield/46

2.The Preface to Shakespeare(Excerpt)/49

Unit 5 Charles Lamb ( 1775-1834 )

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/54

 II.Selected Reading/57

1.Old China/57

2.Poor Relation/64

Unit 6 William Hazlitt(1778-1830)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/72

 II.Selected Reading/74

1.On Going a Journey/74

2.On Familiar Style/86

Unit 7 Thomas Carlyle ( 1795-1881 )

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/94

 II.Selected Reading/96

1.Signs of the Times/96

2.On History/123

Unit 8 George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/135

 II.Selected Reading/ 137

1.Treatise on Parents and Children(Excerpt)/137

2.The Sources of Idealism/142

Unit 9 Bertrand Russell(1872-1970)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author /147

 II.Selected Reading/149

1.What I Have Lived for/149

2.How to Grow Old/150

Unit 10 Winston Churchill(1874-1965)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/154

 II.Selected Reading/156

1.Their Finest Hour/156

2.Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat/168

Unit 11 Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790 )

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/ 170

 II.Selected Reading/ 172

1.The Handsome and Deformed Leg/172

2.Autobiography(Excerpt)/175

Unit 12 Washington Irving ( 1783-1859 )

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/182

 II.Selected Reading/184

1.Westminster Abbey(Excerpt)/184

2.The Author's Account of Himself/191

Unit 13 Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/194

 II.Selected Reading/ 196

1.Self-Reliance/196

2.The American Scholar/223

Unit 14 Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/-243

 II.Selected Reading/245

1.Love Your Life/245

2.Solitude/248

Unit 15 Helen Keller(1880-1968)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/257

 II.Selected Reading/260

1.Three Days to See/260

2.The Story of My Life( Chapter 1 )/271

Unit 16 E.lwyn Brooks White(1899-1985)

 I.Brief Introduction to the Author/275

 II.Selected Reading/277

1.Once More to the Lake/277

2.The Three New Yorks/285