這套讀本的英文原版共分七級(jí)，包括啟蒙讀本和第1-6級(jí)。考慮到啟蒙讀本與第一級(jí)篇幅都較少，難易程度也很接近，于是將之合并為第1冊(cè)，其余2-6級(jí)與英文原版相同。這樣國(guó)內(nèi)出版的這套讀本共包括6冊(cè)。
　　 　　《美國(guó)語(yǔ)文讀本3(美國(guó)原版經(jīng)典語(yǔ)文課本)》也是較正式的課文。每一課包括詞匯和課文，以及對(duì)一些生詞的英文解釋?zhuān)寣W(xué)生學(xué)會(huì)通過(guò)簡(jiǎn)單英文理解生詞，養(yǎng)成用英語(yǔ)理解和思維的習(xí)慣。

　　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 30000 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.
　　 　　The third reader was much more formal. It contained rules for oral reading of its fifty-seven lessons. This book contained only three pictures and was designed for a more mature mind of junior high standing today.
　　  

　　威廉·H·麥加菲，美國(guó)著名教育家。1800年出生于賓夕法尼亞州，1826年畢業(yè)于華盛頓大學(xué)杰斐遜學(xué)院。在數(shù)十年教育生涯中，他曾擔(dān)任過(guò)邁阿密大學(xué)語(yǔ)言學(xué)教授，俄亥俄大學(xué)校長(zhǎng)。自1845年開(kāi)始任弗吉尼亞大學(xué)道德哲學(xué)教授。他還幫助組建了俄亥俄州公立學(xué)校體系。
　　早在19世紀(jì)初期，麥加菲就意識(shí)到，應(yīng)該給那些孤獨(dú)的墾荒者和歐洲移民的后代提供普遍的教育，于是他利用自己作為演講家與教育工作者的天賦，開(kāi)始為孩子們編寫(xiě)系列教材。這套教材共7冊(cè)，從學(xué)齡前至第6年級(jí)。他前后花費(fèi)了20多年的時(shí)間才完成全套教材的編寫(xiě)。這套教材面世后就被美國(guó)很多學(xué)校選為課本。在75年間銷(xiāo)量高達(dá)1.22億，直到今天仍以各種版本流行于西方，被美國(guó)《出版周刊》評(píng)為“人類(lèi)出版史上第三大暢銷(xiāo)書(shū)”，對(duì)美國(guó)青年的心靈塑造與道德培養(yǎng)產(chǎn)生了史無(wú)前例的影響。

　　William Holmes McGuffey (September 23, 1800 – May 4, 1873) was an American professor and college president who is best known for writing the McGuffey Readers, one of the nation's first and most widely used series of textbooks. It is estimated that at least 122 million copies of McGuffey Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary.
　　He was born the son of Alexander and Anna (Holmes) McGuffey near Claysville in Washington County, Pennsylvania, which is 45 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. In 1802 the McGuffey family moved further out into the frontier at Tuscarawas County, Ohio. He attended country school, and after receiving special instruction at Youngstown, he attended Greersburg Academy in Darlington, Pennsylvania. Afterwards, he attended and graduated from Pennsylvania's Washington College, where he became an instructor.
　　He was close friends with Washington College's President Andrew Wylie and lived in Wylie's house for a time; they often would walk the 3 miles to Washington College together.
　　McGuffey's house in OxfordMcGuffey left Washington College in 1826 to become a professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. A year later in 1827, he was married to Harriet Spinning of Dayton, Ohio, with whom he had five children. In 1829, he was ordained at Bethel Chapel as a minister in the Presbyterian Church. It was in Oxford that he created the most important contribution of his life: The McGuffey Readers. His books sold over 122 million copies. He was very fond of teaching and children as he geared the books toward a younger audience.
　　In 1836, he left Miami to become president of Cincinnati College, where he also served as a distinguished teacher and lecturer. He left Cincinnati in 1839 to become the 4th president of Ohio University, which he left in 1843 to become president of Woodward College (really a secondary school) in Cincinnati.
　　In 1845, McGuffey moved to Charlottesville, Virginia where he became Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia. A year after his first wife Harriet died in 1850, he married Miss Laura Howard, daughter of Dean Howard of the University of Virginia, in 1851. McGuffey is buried in the university burial ground, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The School of Education at Miami University is housed in McGuffey Hall which is named for him and his home in Oxford is a National Historic Landmark offering tours on weekdays.

LESSON 1 THE SHEPHERD BOY
LESSON 2 JOHNNY’S FIRST SNOWSTORM
LESSON 3 LET IT RAIN
LESSON 4 CASTLE-BUILDING
LESSON 5 CASTLE-BUILDING (CONCLUDED)
LESSON 6 LEND A HAND
LESSON 7 THE TRUANT
LESSON 8 THE WHITE KITTEN
LESSON 9 THE BEAVER
LESSON 10 THE YOUNG TEACHER
LESSON 11 THE BLACKSMITH 24
LESSON 12 A WALK IN THE GARDEN
LESSON 13 THE WOLF
LESSON 14 THE LITTLE BIRD’S SONG
LESSON 15 HARRY AND ANNIE
LESSON 16 BIRD FRIENDS
LESSON 17 WHAT THE MINUTES SAY
LESSON 18 THE WIDOW AND THE
LESSON 19 THE BIRDS SET FREE
LESSON 20 A MOMENT TOO LATE
LESSON 21 HUMMING BIRDS
LESSON 22 THE WIND AND THE SUN
LESSON 23 SUNSET
LESSON 24 BEAUTIFUL HANDS
LESSON 25 THINGS TO REMEMBER
LESSON 26 THREE LITTLE MICE
LESSON 27 THE NEW YEAR
LESSON 28 THE CLOCK AND THE SUNDIAL
LESSON 29 REMEMBER
LESSON 30 COURAGE AND COWARDICE
LESSON 31 WEIGHING AN ELEPHANT
LESSON 32 THE SOLDIER
LESSON 33 THE ECHO
LESSON 34 GEORGE’S FEAST
LESSON 35 THE LORD’S PRAYER
LESSON 36 FINDING THE OWNER
LESSON 37 BATS
LESSON 38 A SUMMER DAY
LESSON 39 I WILL THINK OF IT
LESSON 40 CHARLIE AND ROB
LESSON 41 RAY AND HIS KITE
LESSON 42 BEWARE OF THE FIRST DRINK
LESSON 43 SPEAK GENTLY
LESSON 44 THE SEVEN STICKS
LESSON 45 THE MOUNTAIN SISTER
LESSON 46 HARRY AND THE GUIDEPOST
LESSON 47 THE MONEY AMY DID N’T EARN
LESSON 48 WHO MADE THE STARS?
LESSON 49 DEEDS OF KINDNESS
LESSON 50 THE ALARM CLOCK
LESSON 51 SPRING
LESSON 52 TRUE COURAGE
LESSON 53 THE OLD CLOCK
LESSON 54 THE WAVES
LESSON 55 DON’T KILL THE BIRDS
LESSON 56 WHEN TO SAY NO
LESSON 57 WHICH LOVED BEST?
LESSON 58 JOHN CARPENTER
LESSON 59 PERSEVERE
LESSON 60 THE CONTENTED BOY
LESSON 61 LITTLE GUSTAVA
LESSON 62 THE INSOLENT BOY
LESSON 63 WE ARE SEVEN
LESSON 64 MARY’S DIME
LESSON 65 MARY DOW
LESSON 66 THE LITTLE LOAF
LESSON 67 SUSIE AND ROVER
LESSON 68 THE VIOLET
LESSON 69 NO CROWN FOR ME
LESSON 70 YOUNG SOLDIERS
LESSON 71 HOW WILLIE GOT OUT OF THE SHAFT
LESSON 72 THE PERT CHICKEN
LESSON 73 INDIAN CORN
LESSON 74 THE SNOWBIRD’S SONG
LESSON 75 MOUNTAINS
LESSON 76 A CHILD’S HYMN
LESSON 77 HOLDING THE FORT
LESSON 78 THE LITTLE PEOPLE
LESSON 79 GOOD NIGHT