The Wild Within
The crime① took place② in a seaside③ suburb④ of Cape Town.[1]Spotting⑤ the car with its window left open, the greedy⑥ thief⑦ didn't hesitate.Within seconds⑧, he had reached inside and run away with a bag of shopping.[2]No matter how many crimes he committed⑨, the police were powerless to arrest him.You see, this was no ordinary criminal⑩:it was a chacma baboon?.Once almost unheard of, scenes like this one in Cape Town are now common all over the world.With foxes? in London, mountain lions in San Francisco and wild pigs in Hong Kong, it is almost [3]as if our cities are being taken over? by wild animals.
[1]现在分词短语作时间状语。
[2]No matter how引导让步状语从句。
[3]as if引导表语从句,as if意为“似乎,好像”。
People often wonder about the reasons behind this mass urban? migration.Most of us would assume? that urban development and climate change are responsible for? pushing the animals out of their natural habitats.[4]However true this is, we also need to consider that some of these socalled “urban animals” have never moved at all — [5]it's we humans who have moved into their territory?.[6]Wherever they go, animals find towns and cities in their way.With nowhere else to make their homes, they have no choice but to? move in with us.
[4]However引导让步状语从句。
[5]本句为强调句型,强调主语we humans。
[6]Wherever引导让步状语从句。
Yet, for its newest and wildest inhabitants?, a city can offer many benefits.[7]As our cities become greener, they offer increasingly appealing? spaces to animals [8]looking for new habitats.Out of reach from many of their natural predators, these newcomers often flourish in their new city lives.Today, foxes can be seen all over London — one even being found living on the 72nd floor of the Shard building when it was under construction! What's more, hungry animals are finding plenty to eat in our gardens and in the leftovers [9]we throw away.
[7]As引导时间状语从句,as意为“随着”。
[8]现在分词短语作后置定语,修饰名词animals。
[9]we throw away为定语从句,修饰名词leftovers,从句省略关系代词that/which。
One thing crucial to the increasing number of “urban animals” is their ability to adapt.There is evidence [10]that urban racoons are more intelligent than their wild cousins, [11]as they frequently have to figure out difficult problems such as how to open rubbish bins and other containers which they would not find in the wild.Some animals have even changed their living habits to fit in with their new homes.Although naturally active at night, urban foxes come out in daylight if the reward is good enough.Their city location also means that they are getting a taste for the multicultural cuisine on offer from the garbage, such as hamburgers, lamb kebabs and even garlic bread!
[10]that引导同位语从句,作名词evidence的同位语。
[11]as引导原因状语从句;which引导定语从句,修饰other containers。