新东方在线专四专八频道给大家整理的大学英语专业四级听力短篇练习：5,希望能够对大家的专四专八考试备考有所帮助，更多有关专四专八的备考内容，欢迎随时关注新东方在线专四专八频道。
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. (139 words)
Useful Words and Expressions:
interact with与……相合
cut down v. 砍倒
cut down a tree with an axe用斧头把树砍倒
cut down on smoking减少抽烟
clearing n.空旷地
grazing n.放牧，牧草
domestication n.驯养，驯服
previously adv.先前，以前
inedible adj，不适于食用的，不能吃的
pursuit n.追击
scholastic pursuit学术探讨「研究」;做学问
pursut of profit追逐利润
In one’s pursut of happiness 追求幸福
Hell-fo-rleather pursuit全力追击，拼命追赶
set up v.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
vegetable 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. (126 words)
Useful Words and Expressions:
suburb n..市郊，郊区
Living in the suburbs you may suffer a little discomfort.住在乡下，你会感到不
方便。
dweller n.居住者，居民
dwell in the country住在乡下
dwell in sb.’s mind 留在某人脑海里
She dwells too much upon her past.她过于详细地叙述她的过去。
urban 城市的，市内的
urban districts市区
urban telephone城市电话
the urban population城市人口
ranch v.经营牧场
plot n.小块土地
a garden plot一小块花园
balcony n.阳台
patch n.小块地
以上就是新东方在线专四专八频道给大家整理的大学英语专业四级听力短篇练习：5希望对大家有所帮助，更多备考内容，欢迎随时关注新东方在线专四专八频道。