《实用英语》系列教材是一套专科层次的公共英语教材，是教育部规划的高职高专英语教材。本套教材1995 年正式出版发行，1999 年至2000年进行了第一次修订。为了更加有利于学生英语应用能力的培养，结合这几年《实用英语》的教学使用反馈，修订组以教育部2000 年颁发的《高职高专教育英语课程教学基本要求（试行）》为依据，对《实用英语》进行了第二次修订。
本书是《实用英语泛读教程3》第三版，全书共有8 个单元，每单元分A、B、C 三篇文章。文章A 为重点泛读材料，供课堂上使用；文章B为快速限时阅读材料，既可在课堂上使用，也可在课后由学生独立完成；文章C 为课外阅读材料。
本书第二版曾获2002 年全国高等学校优秀教材一等奖。
- 前辅文
- 1
- Passage A: Passport to the Universe
- Passage B: Mahalo to Donald Kim from a Grateful Alma Mater
- Passage C: How to Talk to Anyone About Anything
- 2
- Passage A: Nuclear Energy: Pros and Cons
- Passage B: Bringing Power to the People
- Passage C: Food Resources and World Hunger
- 3
- Passage A: You Are What You Think
- Passage B: He Led a Useful Life
- Passage C: Using the Mind Against Disease
- 4
- Passage A: The Shape of Things to Come: The New Doctor
- Passage B: On the Shoulders of a Hero
- Passage C: Technology Brings Court into 21st Century
- 5
- Passage A: The Night the President Met the Burglar
- Passage B: Playing Princess Diana
- Passage C: Visit to a President
- 6
- Passage A: E-Money
- Passage B: The First Four-Minute Mile
- Passage C: What Makes Olympic Champions?
- 7
- Passage A: Will the Population Bomb Blow Up?
- Passage B: Modernization Interrupted: Unprecedented Population Problems Proliferate
- Passage C: Into the Forest: Survival of the Fitful
- 8
- Passage A: The Interview
- Passage B: If I Were a Boy Again
- Passage C: The New American Revolution
- Glossary
- Phrases and Expressions
- Key to the Exercises
