呈現於讀者面前的這套《美國語文讀本》，亦名《麥加菲讀本》，其編者威廉·H·麥加菲曾先後任美國邁阿密大學語言學教授和俄亥俄大學校長。
《美國語文讀本》從19世紀中期至20世紀中葉，一直被廣泛用作美國學校的語文教材，據稱有10000多所美國學校拿它當作教材。美國**汽車制造商亨利·福特稱贊這套書是他兒童時代*有興趣的讀物，後來他自費大量印刷這套書，分發給很多學校。到了21世紀，西方一些私立學校(Private School)和家庭學校(Homeschool(仍用它作為教材，足見這套書的價值與影響力。
這套讀本的英文原版共分七級，包括啟蒙讀本和**-6級。本書為《美國語文讀本》第4冊。書中均是比較正式的課文，每一課包括詞彙和課文，對一些生詞有英文解釋，讓學生學會通過簡單英文理解生詞，養成用英語理解和思維的習慣。從所選課文的英文難易程度來看，該冊跟**小學畢業程度相近。另外，本書還附有課後思考練習，這些練習可以幫助學生*好理解文章，引發孩子們的思考。本書對**中學生真正感受英語這一西方語言的魄力是大有幫助的。

This series of schoolbooks teaching reading and moral precepts, originally prepared by William Holmes who was a professor at Miami University McGuffey, had a profound influence on public education in the United States.The eclectic readers, meaning that the selections were chosen from a number of sources, were considered remarkably literary works and probably exerted a greater influence upon literary tastes in the United States more than any other book, excluding the Bible. It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary. Since 1961 they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. No other textbook bearing a single person's name has come close to that mark. McGuffey's Readers are still in use today in some school systems, and by parents for home schooling purposes. The fourth reader was an introduction to good literature. It contained British poetry and used the Bible among its selections. This text was addressed to the highest grade in schools, its difficulty compared to that of American secondary schools. It discussed Napoleon Bonaparte, Puritan fathers, women, God, education, religion and philosophy.

LESSON 1 PERSEVERANCE
LESSON 2 TRY, TRY AGAIN
LESSON 3 WHY THE SEA IS SALT
LESSON 4 WHY THE SEA IS SALT (CONCLUDED.)
LESSON 5 POPPING CORN
LESSON 6 SMILES
LESSON 7 LAZY NED
LESSON 8 THE MONKEY
LESSON 9 MEDDLESOME MATTY
LESSON 10 THE GOOD SON
LESSON 11 TOMORROW
LESSON 12 WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY
LESSON 13 PICCOLA
LESSON 14 TRUE MANLINESS
LESSON 15 TRUE MANLINESS (CONCLUDED.)
LESSON 16 THE BROWN THRUSH
LESSON 17 A SHIP IN A STORM
LESSON 18 THE SAILOR’S CONSOLATION
LESSON 19 TWO WAYS OF TELLING A STORY
LESSON 20 FREAKS OF THE FROST
LESSON 21 WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
LESSON 22 JEANNETTE AND JO
LESSON 23 THE LION
LESSON 24 STRAWBERRIES
LESSON 25 HARRY’S RICHES
LESSON 26 IN TIME’S SWING
LESSON 27 HARRY AND HIS DOG
LESSON 28 THE VOICE OF THE GRASS
LESSON 29 THE EAGLE
LESSON 30 THE OLD EAGLE TREE
LESSON 31 ALPINE SONG
LESSON 32 CIRCUMSTANCES ALTER CASES
LESSON 33 THE NOBLEST REVENGE
LESSON 34 EVENING HYMN
LESSON 35 HOW MARGERY WONDERED
LESSON 36 THE CHILD’S WORLD
LESSON 37 SUSIE’S COMPOSITION
LESSON 38 THE SUMMER SHOWER
LESSON 39 CONSEQUENCES OF IDLENESS
LESSON 40 ADVANTAGES OF INDUSTRY
LESSON 41 THE FOUNTAIN
LESSON 42 COFFEE
LESSON 43 THE WINTER KING
LESSON 44 THE NETTLE
LESSON 45 THE TEMPEST
LESSON 46 THE CREATOR
LESSON 47 THE HORSE
LESSON 48 EMULATION
LESSON 49 THE SANDPIPER
LESSON 50 THE RIGHT WAY
LESSON 51 THE GOLDEN RULE
LESSON 52 THE SNOW MAN
LESSON 53 ROBINSON CRUSOE’S HOUSE
LESSON 54 ROBINSON CRUSOE’S DRESS
LESSON 55 SOMEBODY’S DARLING
LESSON 56 KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
LESSON 57 GOOD WILL
LESSON 58 A CHINESE STORY
LESSON 59 THE WAY TO BE HAPPY
LESSON 60 THE GIRAFFE, OR CAMELOPARD
LESSON 61 THE LOST CHILD
LESSON 62 WHICH?
LESSON 63 THE PET FAWN
LESSON 64 ANNIE’S DREAM
LESSON 65 MY GHOST
LESSON 66 THE ELEPHANT
LESSON 67 DARE TO DO RIGHT
LESSON 68 DARE TO DO RIGHT (CONCLUDED.)
LESSON 69 THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS
LESSON 70 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS
LESSON 71 THE RAINBOW PILGRIMAGE
LESSON 72 THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET
LESSON 73 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
LESSON 74 THE YOUNG WITNESS
LESSON 75 KING SOLOMON AND THE ANTS
LESSON 76 RIVERMOUTH THEATER
LESSON 77 ALFRED THE GREAT
LESSON 78 LIVING ON A FARM
LESSON 79 HUGH IDLE AND MR. TOIL
LESSON 80 HUGH IDLE AND MR. TOIL (CONCLUDED.)
LESSON 81 BURNING THE FALLOW
LESSON 82 THE DYING SOLDIERS
LESSON 83 THE ATTACK ON NYMWEGEN
LESSON 84 THE SEASONS
LESSON 85 BRANDYWINE FORD
LESSON 86 BRANDYWINE FORD (CONCLUDED.)
LESSON 87 THE BEST CAPITAL
LESSON 88 THE INCHCAPE ROCK
LESSON 89 MY MOTHER’S GRAVE
LESSON 90 A MOTHER’S GIFT—THE BIBLE