对于中国广大英语学习者来说，学好英语的一条重要途径便是进行大量的阅读。而阅读材料的好坏则直接影响到学习者的学习效果。为此，上海外语教育出版社从美国最大的教育出版集团之一麦格劳-希尔出版公司引进出版了这套英语新概念阅读系列。
本书系英语新概念阅读系列中的第五本，供广大学生和英语自学者提高英语阅读能力、同时学民和了解多方面学科知识使用。
本书中所有阅读文章都围绕四个基本概念展开：第一，有些事物并非如其看起来的那样；第二，人们对事物的看法因时间不同而产生变化；第三，不同群体会以不同方式看待同一想法或主意；第四，相似的事物在世界各地以不同的速度发生着变化。书中的阅读文章均采用围绕反映这些概念的大量不同学科的材料编写，涉及历史、艺术、生物学、经济学、地球科学、空间学、政治学、工程学、人类学以及地理等学科。这样编写的目的是保证学习者对不同学科的兴趣都胡得到满足。同时书中还收录了若干民间文学故事或传说。每篇阅读文章中的较难词汇及其解释以及部分专有名词按文章顺序列在本书第6-12页。每篇阅读文章后都配有精心设计的阅读理解练习，供读者检查阅读效果用。

出版说明
To the Teacher
Seps for the Reader
Vocabulary Words and Definitions
Concept I:Nature or People Limit Things That Can Be Done
Nothing Can Move That Fast
New Tools for an Old Science
One-Eyed People and Terrible Monsters
They Were Not Free
The Escape of the Sea Otters
Too Many Lemmings
Favorite Foods from Far Away
Sources of Power
They Were Not Allowed to Fight
A Dangerous Land
Hot Rivers or Cool Rivers
Land of the Tsetse Fly
Diving into Danger
Evil Spirits Lived There
A Passport to Travel
Traveling Animals
Walls of Concrete
Buildings Full of Light
The Curious Brother
Concept II:The Use of Earth,Space and Materials Depends on the Needs of the Users
A Rock with Three Names
Danger in the Sky
Looking for Stars
The Library at Alexandria
A Bathtub Made of Clay
All Roads Lead to Rome
A Seashell Is Its House
Farmers of the Ant World
Artists of the Bird World
The Water Road
Above the Frozen Layer
A New Tree for Ghana
The Wonderful Gift
From Needles to Leather
Tools of Stone
A Village of Coppersmiths
They Gave Their Country New Life
A Desert to Conquer
Windows in the Earth
Written in the Trees
Clues to the Past
A New Treaty
The Road across the Mountains
New Schools for New Lands
Artists Without Brushes
Some Work with Metal
Away to Decorate a Building
Concept III:The Success of a Community Depends on Cooperation Among Its Members