《21世纪大学英语》在选材上注重内容的趣味性、信息性、可思性和前瞻性，语言的规范性、致用性和文体的多样性。课文绝大多数选自20世纪80、90年代出版的英美报刊书籍，为适合教学目的对部分内容做了一些删改。
本书为《21世纪大学英语读写教程》第一册。全书共十个单元，供一学期使用。每一单元由同一题材的三篇文章组成。课文A为精读材料，配有阅读词汇、结构、翻译、写作等多种练习，课文B、C不泛读材料，课文B前系统介绍各种基本阅读技能，课文后配有阅读理解练习题。
    Unit One
Text A Winston Churchill-His Other Life
Text B Little Sister of the Poor
Text C Diana,Princess of Wales:1961-1997
Unit Two
Text A Why They Excel
Text B Methods of Education :East and West
Text C Cheating as Culture:Insights for Foreign Teachers
Unit Three
Text A The Tale of Cultural Traslator
Text B A Multicultural Person
Text C A Lifeetime of Learning to Manage Effetively
Unit Four
Text A Turing Failure into Success
Text B Failure?No!Just Temporary Setbacks
Text C Heart of a Champion
Unit Five
Text A Holding Onto a Dream
Text B The Soft Sell
Text C Workin'for A Livin'
Unit Six
Text A A Brief History of Stephen Hawking
Text B Inventor of the Future
Text C The New Frontier of Beauty
Unit Seven
Text A Thanking: A Neglected Art
Text B How to Teach Your Child to Think
Text C Developing Your Thinking
Unit Eight
Text A Unwrite Rules
Text B A Traffic Light Is a Brainless Machine
Text C In Ourselves We Trust
Unit Nine
Text A Get Ready for Some Wild Weather
Text B Study Finds Good Effects of El Nino
Text C What's Wrong with Our Weather
Unit Ten
Text A The Next 30 Years
Text B Our Forecasts 30 Years Later
Text C The 21st Century:Information and Man
Glossary