本书共有八个单元，每单元包括课文和补充阅读两篇文章。
本书强调语言基本功的训练和语言实用能力的培养，因此在每单元的课文后均配有大量练习，其中包括回答问题（Comprehension Questions）、话题讨论（Topics for Discussion）、词汇（Vocabulary）、短文填空（Cloze）、翻译（Translation）和写作（Writing）。
每一单元中的口译技能（Translating Skills）体现了本书特色。这一部分简要介绍了口译领域的一些理论知识，并通过实例剖析，概述了口译技能的实际运用。此外，还提供了一些口译范例供学生欣赏，以便进一步提高运用英语的实际能力。
**单元中还增设了补充材料（Additional Work）和谚语（Proverbs）。补充材料包括两个部分：习语学习和阅读欣赏。习语练习与课文无关，主要供语言基础较好或希望参加国际英语考试的学生使用。阅读欣赏主要介绍一些文字价值较高的散文、小说和诗歌等，以提高学生的文学修养。谚语通常与课文内容有关，旨在加深学生的文化底蕴。

Unit one
Text A Question of Degree
Further Reading College Pressures
Translating Skills Translation:general Introduction
Unit Two
Text The Middle Class
Further Reading Three Strata of the Working Class
Translating Skills Diction:A Basic Training
Unit Three
Text How We listen to Music
Further Reading Music,the Medium of the Human Soul
Translating Skills Conversion and Inversion
Unit Four
Text Fashion and Status
Further Reading Civilian Uniformities
Translating Skills Amplification,Omission and Repetition
Unit Five
Text Daisy Miller
Further Reading Pride and Prejudice
Translating Skills Negation,Division and Condensation
Unit Six
Text Believing the Believers
Further Reading New Superstitions for Old
Translating Skills Ways to Deal with Passives and Culture-Specific Rhetorical Figures
Unit Seven
Text Can Ethics Be Taught
Further Reading The Insufficiency of Honesty
Translating Skills Approaches to the Translation of Long Sentences and ldioms
Unit Eight
Text In Favor of Capital Punishment
Further Reading The Death Sentence
Translating Skills Styles of Translation