《美國語文(英漢雙語全譯版)(套裝共6冊)》從19世紀中期至20世紀中葉，一直被廣泛用作美國學校的語文教材，據稱有10000多所美國學校拿它當作教材。到了21世紀，西方一些私立學校（Private School)和家庭學校（Homeschool）仍用它作爲教材，足見這套書的價值與影響力。據估計，這套書從問世至1960年，至少發行了1.22億冊；1961年後，在西方每年銷量仍達30000冊以上。應該說，沒有哪一套個人主編的教材能超過此發行量了！此套讀本的英文原版共分七級，包括啓蒙讀本和第1-6級。考慮到啓蒙讀本與第一級篇幅都較少，難易程度也很接近，於是我們將之合併爲第1冊，其餘2-6級與英文原版相同。這樣國內出版的這套讀本共包括6冊。第1冊從字母表開始，主要側重於字母的發音與書寫、簡單的單詞與句型，同時強調英文書寫，課文後面附有不少書法練習，讓孩子們不僅將英語說得像外國人，而且寫得也跟外文書法一樣，這是國內英語教學所缺少的一個環節。從第2冊開始，均是比較正式的課文，每一課包括詞彙和課文，對一些生詞有英文解釋，讓學生學會通過簡單英文理解生詞，養成用英語理解和思維的習慣。第5冊和第6冊的課文前增加了作者簡介與相關背景知識，內容豐富而有一定深度。此套書爲在原版本基礎上重新修訂精裝版，後兩冊字號較之前有所放大，並且修正了原有的錯誤之處，以方便學生閱讀。

This series of schoolbooks teaching reading and moral precepts, originally prepared by William Holmes who was a professor at Miami University McGuffey, had a profound influence on public education in the United States. The eclectic readers, meaning that the selections were chosen from a number of sources, were considered remarkably literary works and probably exerted a greater influence upon literary tastes in the United States more than any other book, excluding the Bible.

It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary. Since 1961 they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. No other textbook bearing a single person's name has come close to that mark. McGuffey's Readers are still in use today in some school systems, and by parents for home schooling purposes.

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