本书所选文献是作者从大量翻译研究论文或论著中精选而成，在选编文献内容时既考虑了与所开设的其它翻译类课程内容的不重复性，又考虑了与之相辅相成、相互联系的关系，还考虑了扩大读者视野等问题，对翻译研究的诸多领域尽可能的有所涉及。由于篇幅的局限和翻译研究领域的宽泛等原因，在选材上难以面面俱到，像女性翻译、影视翻译等研究领域，在此只有割爱了。
本书选编的文献内容涉及翻译的本体理论研究、译者的任务职责、中西方思维方式对比、翻译研究中的语言学方法、语料库翻译研究和翻译文学研究等翻译研究领域。选编文献均选取于西方著名翻译理论家和翻译家的相关经典论述。为了便于读者理解文献的重点内容，在每篇选文之后，编者根据自己的理解，编写了与其内容相关的讨论题。

1. The Name and Nature of Translation Studies
2. The Nature and Role of Norms in Translation
3. Science of Translation
4. The Task of the Translator
5. Chinese and Western Thinking on Translation
6. What Distinguishes Major Types of Translation?
7. A Descriptive Framework for Compensation
8. Translation and Original: Similarities and Dissimilarities
9. Linguistic Models and Methods in the Study of Translation
10. Skopos and Commission in Translational Action
11. Translation Shifts
12. The Concept "Shift of Expression" in Translation Analysis
13. Computerized Corpora and the Future of Translation Studies
14. Corpora in Translation Studies: An Overview and Some Suggestions for Future Research
15. Polysystem Theory
16. The Position of Translated Literature within the Literary Polysystem
17. Review of Approaches to Evaluating the Quality of a Translation
18. The Measure of Translation Effects
References