在英语越来越普及的21世纪，学好英语成了大学生最重要的目标。为帮助大学生更好地学好英语，特提供以下文章：
The Influence of Life
In the early times when human beings hunted and gathered food, they were not in control of their environment. They could only interact with their surroundings as the other lower animals did.
When they learned to make fire, however, they became capable of altering their environment. To provide themselves with fuel, they cut down trees. They also burned clearings in forests to increase the growth of grass and to provide a greater grazing area for the wild animals that human beings fed upon. This development led to farming and the domestication of animals. Fire provided the means for cooking plants which had previously been inedible. Only when the process of meeting the basic need for food reached a certain level was it possible for humans to follow other pursuits such as setting up families, forming societies and founding cities.
Useful words and Expressions:
interact with 与……组合
clearing 空空位
grazing 放牧，牧草
domestication 驯养，顺服
previously 先前，以前
inedible 不能吃的，不适于食用的
pursuit 追击
set up 设立
Gardening in America
Believe or not, 43,000,000 Americans are gardening. That is about one in six. Gardeners, of course, come in many varieties. Not surprisingly, most of them are people who live in the suburbs, and enjoy planting flowers, or maybe a small vegetables garden.
The average age of gardeners in America is about 45 years old; they usually fall somewhere in the middle class. But the fastest growing groups are city dwellers. Urban residents are finding ways of gardening even in their crowded areas. Many go to large public gardens, as a place designed by the city for garden, and you can actually ranch your own plot.
Still other people use their balconies or roof tops, wherever they can find the space to plant small patches of green.
Useful Words and Expressions:
suburb 郊区
dweller 居平易近
ranch 经营牧场
balcony 阳台
patch小块地