一个巨难解释的英语句子-----------不是高手勿进OneofthefeaturesofJurassicoceanswasanabundanceoflargesharksandcrocodiles,bothofwhichwerefondofichthyosaurlunches.Triassicoceans,bycontrast,weremercifullyshark-

Question

一个巨难解释的英语句子-----------不是高手勿进
One of the features of Jurassic oceans was an abundance of large sharks and crocodiles,both of which were fond of ichthyosaur lunches.Triassic oceans,by contrast,were 【mercifully shark- and crocodile-free】.In the Triassic,then,ichthyosaurs were top of the food chain.In the Jurassic and Cretaceous,they were prey（猎物）as well as predator—and often had to make a speedy exit as a result.
请结合文章解释一下【】里的部分,是一个短语吗?中间的“-”是连字符,还是破折号?
shark- and crocodile-free这是一个短语吗?还是怎么回事?总之相当于乱.这是2013年江苏高考的阅读理解C篇.能让我明白就行.

Answer 1

意思就是“仁慈的鲨鱼和鳄鱼不以龙鱼为食”
中间的破折号其实就是shark-free and crocodile-free
这个词是作者自己创造出来的,但是作为读者我们根据上下文就是知道这个短语的意思了.其实就是龙鱼站在了食物链的顶端了,所以作者拟人的描述了仁慈的鳄鱼和鲨鱼不再去捕食龙鱼了.