《21世纪大学新英语长篇阅读》共分五册，旨在 帮助学生进行系统的、有针对性的快速阅读（长篇阅 读）训练，掌握基本阅读技能，培养良好阅读习惯， 提高阅读效率。选材方面，我们力求所选文章兼备时 代性、信息性、趣味性以及可读性，语言难度适中， 其体裁和题材体现多样性，话题涵盖中西文化、教育 、生活、媒介、历史、科技、哲学、文学等。每册书 后附有本册练习的参考答案供师生参考。
     本册为第4册，由刘金玲、方卫、王聿玮主编。
     本书共分八个单元，每个单元由Passage 1、Passage 2和Passage 3三篇文章组成。Passage 1和Passage 2供课堂使用，Passage 3供学生课外阅读。

Unit1 COLLEGE EDUCATION
Passage 1 Universities Branch Out
Passage 2 What Good Is a College Education Anyway?
Passage 3 Colleges Taking Another Look at the Value of Merit-based Aid
Unit 2 SCIENCE AND SUPERSTITION
Passage 1 Bermuda Triangle: Behind the Intrigue
Passage 2 Are You Superstitious?
Passage 3 What Is Science? What Is Pseudoscience?
Unit 3 OLD AND YOUNG
Passage 1 The New Old and the Conserva-teen
Passage 2 The Secrets of Long Life Revealed?
Passage 3 Reverse Ageism
Unit 4 SPORTS AND HEALTH
Passage 1 The Truth about Sports and Weight Loss
Passage 2 Health Benefits of Exercise
Passage 3 The Role of Exercise in My Life
Unit 5 HAPPINESS
Passage 1 How to Find Happiness in a Nine to Five Job
Passage 2 Finding Happiness. How to Appreciate the Little Things
in Life -- Small Ways to Find Joy in the Everyday
Experience
Passage 3 Three Treasure Boxes -- The Pursuit of Happiness
Unit 6 ECOLOGY
Passage 1 We Can't Wish Away Climate Change
Passage 2 Going Green Without Going Broke
Passage 3 Overpopulation Is the Main Threat to the Planet
Unit 7 TECHNOLOGY AND PROGRESS
Passage 1 Does Technology Improve Quality of Our Lives?
Passage 2 Technology and Our Dependence upon It
Passage 3 Caught in the Web -- Undesirable Effect of Internet Technology
Unit 8 HUMANITY AND NATURE
Passage 1 A Grassroots Remedy
Passage 2 The Nature of Human Body -- Chinese Explanation of Body Clock
Passage 3 An Unlikely Way to Save a Species. Serve It for Dinner
Appendix Keys and Answers