本教程根据教育部*新《大学英语课程教学要求》(试行)编写。旨在帮助学生巩固并熟练应用在基础阶段所学的英语语言知识和阅读技能，进一步扩大英语学习者在政治、经济、文化、生活、科技方面的英语词汇，提高阅读能力和翻译能力。
教程中的所有材料均选自国外*新报纸、杂志，内容广博、题材广泛、语言规范，寓知识性、趣味性、前沿性、思想性于一体。在编写过程中，我们充分考虑了目前高等院校学生的英语实际水平和大学英语教学要求，在单元安排、内容取舍、体例结构上注意区分教学层次，根据由浅入深、循序渐进、方便教学的原则安排教学内容。
本教程的每个单元都围绕一个主题展开。所有主题均是当今政治、经济、文化、生活、科技发展的前沿，具有强烈的时代气息。教材将语言学习贯穿在了解、思考、探讨现实生活中的各种问题的过程中。每个单元分为两个部分：主课文(TextA)和副课文(Text B)。每篇课文后均附有生词表、注释和练习。生词表大部分采用双解方式。练习的设计从有利于学生打好语言基础和提高语言应用能力的角度出发，采取了“任务”方式(task—based)，如discuss the following topics等。在题型上

大学英语阅读教程：上
Unit 1
TextA Elementary Education in the United States Public Schools
Text B Higher Education in the United States
Unit 2
Text A Don't Wait to Give Daddy a Hug,
Text B I Didn't Want Anything,
Unit 3
Text A The First Thanksgiving
Text B Merry Christmas
Unit 4
Text A How the Visua Media Affect People
Text B Music to Your Gears
Unit 5
Text A The Troub e with Cars
Text B Cars Necessities for Families in the United States
Unit 6
Text A Conversational Ballgames
Text B Food and Culture
Unit 7
Text A How Can the Government Help People Protect Their Health?
Text B Medicine in the Future
Unit 8
Text A What Successful People Have in Common
Text B Holding onto a Dream
unit 9
Text A The Present
Text B How to Guess Your Age
Unit 10
Text A Can We Become Caught in the Web?
Text B E-mail
Unit 1 1
Text A What You Don't Know about Exercise,
Text B Learnina the Difference between Play and Sport
Unit 12
Text A Honesty: Is It Going Out of Style?
Text B Science and Truth
Unit 13
Text A Why We Dream What We Dream,
Text B Daydream a Little
Unit 14
Text A Profits of Praise
Text B The New Frontier of Beauty
Unit 15
Text A Edmond Halley
Text B Against All Odds,
Unit 16
Text A Comets: As Close to Nothing As You Can Get
Text B The Space Program: Is It Worth It?
Keys to Exercises
Glossary
大学英语阅读教程：中
大学英语阅读教程：下

教程中所有材料均选自国外*新报纸、杂志、内容涉及政治、经济、文化、生活、科技等各领域。题材广泛，语言规范，寓知识性、趣味性、前沿性、思想性、实用性于一体。