Preface

“Selected readings of British and American prose”is listed as one of the courses in “English Teaching Syllabus for College English Majors”formulated by the Ministry of Education．The idea of writing this textbook sprang from my years of teaching this course for the junior English majors at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou．When I first taught this course，I had some difficulties in assigning a textbook for my students．It is true that there are some textbooks to the effect in my own book collection and the university library，but they fail to meet our needs in one way or another．Two years ago，it occurred to me that I might compile a textbook based on my hand⁃on experience．Coincidentally，South China University of Technology launched a project to compile and publish series of textbooks of excellence for undergraduate students．I was fortunate enough to be included in this project．

This textbook is designed for the junior English majors．There are sixteen units with one classic prose piece in each unit．Each unit is composed of “Life and Works of the Author”，“Selected Reading ”，“Notes to the Text ”，“Appreciation Remarks ”，“Questions”，and “Further Readings”．All the selected pieces were written by famous British and American writers such as Francis Bacon，Charles Lamb，Bertrand Russell，William Somerset Maugham，Ralph Waldo Emerson，and Henry David Thoreau．They are meant to stimulate student’s interest in reading prose and literary works as a whole．

I wish to thank all those who have given me consistent help，encouragement and advice．In particular，I am especially indebted to MS．Zhou Xiaoqun，President of Foreign Languages Branch of Chongqing University Press Co．Ltd．，for all she has done to ensure the publication of the book．

I would like to thank Mr．Gao Xiaoping of Chongqing University Press．He has read the final draft carefully and meticulously and has made valuable suggestions，comments and numerous corrections，without which many of the pitfalls would have still remained．

Last but not least，I must thank the Registrar’s Office of South China University of Technology for its unstinting financial support，without which this textbook would have never come to fruition．

Liu Jianbo
May 2021