人与自然
As society develops, man tends to become less dependent on nature directly, while indirectly his dependence grows. Our distant ancestors lived in fear of nature’s destructive forces. Very often they were unable to obtain the merest daily necessities. However, despite their imperfect tools, they worked together stubbornly, collectively, and were able to attain results.
随着社会的发展，人类对自然的直接依赖减少，而对自然的间接依赖增加。我们远古的祖先生活在对大自然的破坏性力量的恐惧之中。他们常常无法获得最简单的日常必需品。然而，尽管他们的工具不完美，他们却同心协力，顽强工作，并总是有所收获。
Nature was also changed through interaction with man. Forests were destroyed and the area of farmland increased. Nature with its elemental forces was regarded as something hostile to man. The forest, for example, was something wild and frightening and people tried to force it to retreat. This was all done in the name of civilization, which means the places where man had made his home, where the earth was cultivated, where the forest had been cut down.
自然也通过与人的互动而被改变了。森林被摧毁，农田面积增加了。自然及其威力被认为是对人类的敌意。例如，森林被认为是野性的和可怕，因此人类便想办法使其面积缩小。这一切都是以“文明”的名义完成的，所谓“文明”，就意味着人类在那些地方安家了，那些地方的土地得以耕耘，那里的森林已被砍伐。
重点词汇：
dependence：依赖，依靠
live in fear of：生活在对......的恐惧之中
imperfect：不完美；有缺点
stubbornly：固执地，倔强地
hostile：（常与to 连用）怀有敌意的，不友好的
retreat：撤退，退却
in the name of：以......名义
cut down：砍倒
