Steps & Skills繫列包括閱讀、寫作、聽力、口語等分冊，旨在幫助學習者循序漸進地提高英語語言技能。本繫列全部為原版引進，作者均為在語言教學與教材編寫領域有豐富經驗的專家。教材編排新穎，講解生動，由淺入深，有助於學習者打下扎實的語言基礎，同時增強英語思維能力。本繫列既可用於課堂教學，也適合自學提高。注重基礎，繫統性強：介紹提高英語閱讀能力的十大技巧，由基礎閱讀向高級閱讀過渡，配有大量練習與測試題。材料豐富，趣味性強：選篇難度適中，內容引人入勝，輔以形式多樣的閱讀活動，幫助學習者加深理解。鍛煉思維，挑戰性強：繫統的閱讀訓練與啟發性的思考活動有助於學習者提高推理、分析與判斷能力。使用方便，實用性強：講解重點部分配有中文，便於學習者理解和掌握。各章內容安排合理，從講解、舉例、練習到測試，便於教學與評估。

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Preface: To the Instructor
INTRODUCTION 緒論
1 How to Become a Better Reader and Thinker如何更好地閱讀和思考
2 Reading for Pleasure and Power為樂趣和力量而閱讀
3 Some Quick Study Tips高效學習的捷徑
PART ⅠTEN STEPS TO IMPROVING COLLEGE READING SKILLS提高大學英語閱讀技巧的十個步驟
1 Vocabulary in Context語境中的詞彙
Reading: Night WatchRoy Popkin
Mastery Tests
2 Main Ideas主題思想
Reading: Heres to Your HealthJoan Dunayer
Mastery Tests
3 Supporting Details支持性細節
Reading: Child-Rearing StylesDiane E. Papalia and Sally Wendkos Olds
Mastery Tests
4 Implied Main Ideas and the Central Point隱含的主題思想和中心論點
Reading: Rowing the BusPaul Logan
Mastery Tests
5 Relationships Ⅰ語句或段落間的關繫（一）
Reading: Students in ShockJohn Kellmayer
Mastery Tests
6 Relationships Ⅱ語句或段落間的關繫（二）
Reading: l Became Her TargetRoger Wilkins
Mastery Tests
7 Fact and Opinion事實和觀點
Reading: New Respect for the Nap, a Pause That RefreshesJane E. Brody
Mastery Tests
8 Inferences推理
Reading: Gender Inequality in Health Care and in the Workplace
James M. Henslin
Mastery Tests
9 Purpose and Tone目的和語氣
Reading: The Scholarship JacketMarta Salinas
Mastery Tests
10 Argument論證
Reading: In Praise of the F WordMary Sherry
Mastery Tests
PART ⅡTEN READING SELECTIONS十篇精選閱讀文章
1 The Yellow RibbonPete Hamill
2 Urban LegendsBeth Johnson
3 Sha meDick Gregory
4 The Bystander EffectDorothyBarkin
5 The Real Story of Flight 93Karen Breslau, EleanorClift, and Evan Thomas
6 Coping with NervousnessRudolph F. Verderber
7 Compliance Techniques: Getting People to Say YesShelley E. Taylor, Letitia Anne Peplau, and David O. Sears
8 Lizzie BordenJames Kirby Martin and others
9 Nonverbal CommunicationAnthonyF. Grasha
10 Preindustrial CitiesRodney Stark
PART Ⅲ FOR FURTHER STUDY拓展學習
1 Combined-Skills Tests
2 Propaganda
Mastery Tests
3 More About Argument: Errors in Reasoning
4 Writing Assignments
Acknowledgments
Index
Reading Performance Chart

Check Your Understanding
Now read the following paragraph and see if you can underline its main idea:
1Tailgating--following too closely behind another vehicle is a common cause of accidents. 2yet tailgating accidents could be avoided if drivers followed some clear-cut guidelines. 3Any car that is less than two seconds behind the one ahead is definitely too close. 4Two car lengths is a safe following distance to maintain in local driving. 5Two-car accidents often become chain-reaction pileups when a number of drivers are all tailgating in a line. 6At freeway speeds, or in snowy, icy or foggy conditions, people should increase following distance well beyond what is normally safe. 7Finally, drivers who are impatient or aggressive need to develop the self-control not to express those feelings through dangerous behaviors like tailgating.
Explanation:
In the preceding paragraph, the main idea is stated in the second sentence. The fists sentence introduces the topic, but it is the idea in the second sentence--tailgating can be avoided by following clear-cut guidelines--that is supported in the rest of the paragraph. So keep in mind that the first sentence may simply introduce or lead into the main idea of a paragraph. Very often, a contrast word like yet, but, or however signals the main idea, as in the paragraph you have just read:
Tailgating--following too closely behind another vehicle--is a common cause of accidents. Yet tailgating accidents could be avoided if drivers followed some clear-cut guidelines.

To the Instructor
We all know that many students entering college today do not have the reading skills needed to do effective work in their courses. A related problem， apparent even in class discussions， is that students often lack the skills required to think in a clear and logical way.
The purpose of Ten Steps to Improving College Reading Skills， Fourth Edition， is to develop effective reading and clear thinking. To do so， Part I presents a sequence of ten reading skills that are widely recognized as essential for basic and advanced comprehension. The first six skills concern the more literal levels of comprehension：
Understanding vocabulary in context
Recognizing main ideas
Identifying supporting details
Recognizing implied main ideas and the central point
Understanding relationships that involve addition and time
Understanding relationships that involve examples， comparison and/or contrast， and cause and effect
The remaining skills cover the more advanced， critical levels of comprehension：
Distinguishing between facts and opinions
Making inferences
Identifying an authors purpose and tone
Evaluating arguments
In every chapter in Part I， the key aspects of a skill are explained and illustrated clearly and simply. Explanations are accompanied by a series of practices， and each chapter ends with four review tests. The last review test consists of a reading selection so that students can apply the skill just learned to real-world reading materials， including newspaper and magazine articles and textbook selections. Together， the ten chapters provide students with the skills needed for both basic and more advanced reading comprehension.
Following each chapter in Part I are at least six mastery tests for the skill in question. The tests progress in difficulty， giving students the additional practice and challenge they may need for the solid learning of each skill. While designed for quick grading， the tests also require students to think carefully before answering each questioin.