0
Stenka25 Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary
Pronoun problem and the meaning of ‘its parasites’
The passage below is from the following website.
http://www.epubbud.com/read.php?g=H8AVF5J5&tocp=7
It (=natural selection) spends more of its time keeping species the same than changing them. Only towards the edge of its range, on an isolated island, or in a remote valley or on a lonely hill top, does natural selection occasionally cause part of a species to morph into something different. That different sport sometimes then spreads to conquer a broader ecological empire, perhaps even returning to replace the ancestral species – to topple the dynasty from which it sprang. There is constant ferment of change within the species’ genes as it adapts to its parasites and they to it.
In this passage, I’m not sure what the underlined pronouns stand for. It seems to me in terms of meaning ‘it’ stands for ‘that different sport,’ and ‘they’ ‘its parasites’. (In fact at first I consider ‘it’ to represent ‘the species’ genes’ but since ‘genes’ is plural noun, I give that up.)
Do you agree with me?
If so, I still have another question. I don’t understand what ‘its parasites’ means. I know parasite means literally ‘an animal or plant that lives in a host.’ I want to know what it means in this context.
Thanks in advance.
http://www.epubbud.com/read.php?g=H8AVF5J5&tocp=7
It (=natural selection) spends more of its time keeping species the same than changing them. Only towards the edge of its range, on an isolated island, or in a remote valley or on a lonely hill top, does natural selection occasionally cause part of a species to morph into something different. That different sport sometimes then spreads to conquer a broader ecological empire, perhaps even returning to replace the ancestral species – to topple the dynasty from which it sprang. There is constant ferment of change within the species’ genes as it adapts to its parasites and they to it.
In this passage, I’m not sure what the underlined pronouns stand for. It seems to me in terms of meaning ‘it’ stands for ‘that different sport,’ and ‘they’ ‘its parasites’. (In fact at first I consider ‘it’ to represent ‘the species’ genes’ but since ‘genes’ is plural noun, I give that up.)
Do you agree with me?
If so, I still have another question. I don’t understand what ‘its parasites’ means. I know parasite means literally ‘an animal or plant that lives in a host.’ I want to know what it means in this context.
Thanks in advance.
Top answer
(1) It (=natural selection) spends more of its time keeping species ("it") the same than changing them. (2) Only towards the edge of its range, on an isolated island, or in a remote valley or on a lonely hill top, does natural selection occasionally cause part of a species to morph into something different. That different sport sometimes then spreads to conquer a broader ecological empire, perhaps even returning to replace the ancestral species – to topple the dynasty from which it sprang.
- (1) It (=natural selection) spends more of its time keeping species ("it") the same than changing them.
- (2) Only towards the edge of its range, on an isolated island, or in a remote valley or on a lonely hill top, does natural selection occasionally cause part of a species to morph into something different.
- That different sport sometimes then spreads to conquer a broader ecological empire, perhaps even returning to replace the ancestral species – to topple the dynasty from which it sprang.
- (3) There is constant ferment of change within the species’ genes as it adapts to its parasites ("they") and they to it.
- Your passage starts (1) with a comment (black), (2) then makes a side point , (3) then goes back to discussing your first comment "(1)".
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
1 Answers
0
(1) It (=natural selection) spends more of its time keeping species ("it") the same than changing them. (2) Only towards the edge of its range, on an isolated island, or in a remote valley or on a lonely hill top, does natural selection occasionally cause part of a species to morph into something different. That different spor
0
Related Questions