MACQUARIE ISLAND:from Chaos① to Conservation②
I am standing on Macquarie Island, in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, halfway③ between Australia and Antarctica.Strong winds and stormy seas have helped sculpt④ its long, thin shape.The green grass and bare⑤ rock of its landscape contrast⑥ dramatically⑦, [1]giving it a wild and natural beauty.[2]No visitor would think it surprising that the island is a UNESCO World Heritage⑧ Site. [3]Nor would they fail to imagine how its native inhabitants⑨, including royal penguins⑩, king penguins, and elephant seals, existed in perfect harmony with? their natural habitat? for thousands of years.
[1]现在分词短语作结果状语。
[2]本句为主从复合句。其中it作形式宾语,that引导宾语从句。
[3]本句为nor置于句首引起的部分倒装句。其中how引导宾语从句。
But the island's more recent history tells a different story.[4]It's a tragic? story that began in 1810 when humans arrived on the island. In their ships they unknowingly? brought rats? and mice.These small animals quickly took over? the island, [5]eating the birds' eggs and attacking baby birds.Cats were brought to the island [6]to control the rats and mice.Unfortunately, the cats subsequently? developed an appetite? for the birds, too.
[4]本句为主从复合句。其中that引导定语从句,修饰名词story;when引导定语从句,修饰1810。
[5]现在分词短语作伴随状语。
[6]动词不定式短语作目的状语。
Meanwhile, rabbits were introduced to the island as a source of food for humans.Loose? on the island, they did [7]what rabbits do best — they multiplied? rapidly and began eating the native vegetation and digging holes, [8]which caused soil erosion.The exploding rabbit population provided plentiful food for the cats, meaning that the number of cats also increased.This in turn led to more cats hunting the birds.The end result was that parakeets, once large in number and native to the island, died out in 1891.
[7]what引导宾语从句;破折号后解释的是what rabbits do best的内容。
[8]which引导非限制性定语从句,修饰整个主句。
Even after Macquarie Island became an official nature reserve in the 1970s, the rabbits remained out of control.[9]Experts felt it necessary to come up with a plan to remove all the rabbits from the island. With this goal in mind, a virus was released onto the island.But although the virus caused the rabbit population to decrease from 130,000 to around 10,000, it also meant less food for the cats.The cats in consequence turned their attention — and their stomachs — back to the native birds, [10]killing up to 60,000 each year.In the 1980s, traps and dogs were used to catch the cats.The last Macquarie Island cat was caught in 2000.
[9]it作形式宾语,动词不定式短语to come up with a plan作真正的宾语;动词不定式短语to remove all the rabbits from the island作目的状语。
[10]现在分词短语作结果状语。