There is no doubt that man is a member of the animal kingdom. Anyone who has thought about this fact seriously must have wondered how it has come about that man has achieved a position so supreme（最高的） among the myriad kinds of animal life. Two characteristics of man, in comparison with all other animals, that stand out above all others are the creation and use of tools and the development and use of language. Since no other animals have achieved these abilities, it must be assumed that man's evolutionary development led to his capacity to create and use tools and to devise and use language.
Once these abilities and practices evolved, they probably became driving forces in the further evolution of man. Those members of the species who become most proficient(精通的) in the fabrication of tools and in the command of language and thought would tend to survive and maintain their kind for good, at the expense of those of lesser ability.
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