本书对阅读理论和技巧有较详细和系统的介绍，它也可供非英语专业的学生、参加自学考试的人员和其他英语爱好者使用。课文选材的基本主题是东西方文化，因此该教材又可以作为跨文化交际的入门读本来使用。在文化这一主题的统领下，尽可能选择各种体裁的文章，以增强学习者对不同类型语篇之间的互通。

         Unit 13 Mythology

Reading skill Starting from Questions

Lesson Forty-nine

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A The Story of Creation Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath

Text B The Creation of the World

Lesson Fifty

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A Prometheus

Text B Athena

Lesson Fifty-one

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A The Rape of Europa

Text B Trojan War

Lesson Fifty-two

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A The Life of Buddha

Text B The Life of Confucius

         Unit 14 Hot Issues

Reading Skill Conclusion,Inference or Judgement

Lesson Fifty-three

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A The Warming of the World

Text B Enough of Roads

Lesson Fifty-four

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A War and the Population Explosion: Some Ethical Implications

Text B Challenges to a Lasting Relationship

Lesson Fifty-five

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A New Types of Post-Cold War Terrorists

Text B The Terrorist as Mentally Ill

Lesson Fifty-six

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A A Better Understanding of African AIDS and What to Do about it

Text B AIDS

       Unit 15 Popular Science

Reading Skill Reading at the meaning level(I)

Lesson Fifty-seven

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A What is Artificial Intelligence?

Text B Animal Intelligence and Behavior

Lesson Fifty-eight

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A Science into Fiction

Text B What is it with Mona Lisa's Smile? It's You!

Lesson Fifty-nine

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A Large-scale Conferencing at IBM

Text B Graphics Technology in Telecommunication

Lesson Sixty

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A Lunar Homes

Text B How Cloning Stacks up

         Unit 16 Humanities and Social Sciences

Reading Skill Reading at the meaning level(Ⅱ)

Lesson Sixty-one

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A Functionalism

Text B Conflict Theory

Lesson Sixty-two

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A The Quality of Mercy Killing

Text B Greek Self-government

Lesson Sixty-three

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A Augustine: Christianity and Society

Text B Democracy and Education

Lesson Sixty-four

Preliminary Vocabulary Test

Text A Are Asians Really Smarter and Some Groups Less So? Why and What Does It Mean?

Text B Anxiety after 9/11

References