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Rats are ravaging 380,000 hectares of grasslands in northwest China&`&s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The plagued meadows are located in Ili prefecture, where the rodents have been destroying the grass.
The disaster was caused by a persistent drought in the Ili River valley last year, the worst in the past 50 years, as rats are more adaptable to dry weather.
In a worst-hit county, 1,100 rat burrows have been found in every one hectare of grassland.
Local people are working to eliminate rats, with rodenticide. They are also relying on eagles to help hunt the rats.
ravage vt. 毁坏，蹂躏
这个词的程度比damage深，跟ruin、destroy差不多在同一个档次。
例句：
For decades, the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign invasion. （几十年来，这个国家一直被内战外侵蹂躏着。）
Ili prefecture n. 伊犁州
Ili prefecture的全称是Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture，即伊犁哈萨克自治州，简称伊犁州、伊犁，地处新疆维吾尔自治区西部天山北部的伊犁河谷（Ili River valley）内。伊犁是全国唯一的既辖地级行政区、又辖县级行政区的自治州，也是全国唯一的副省级自治州。全州总面积35万平方公里，因雨量较充沛被称为“中亚湿岛”或“塞外江南”。
rodent n. 啮齿动物
adaptable to … 对…适应的
该用法源自动词短语adapt to…，意思不变。简言之，如果某人可以adapt to something，那就表示他/她adaptable to something。
例句：
Despite having lived in Beijing for two years, she is still not adaptable to the terrible smog here. If not for her career advancement, she would move back to her hometown in a heartbeat. （尽管已经在北京住了两年，她仍旧无法适应这里糟糕的雾霾。要不是出于职业发展的考虑，她早就搬回老家了。）
burrow n. 地洞
rodenticide n. 灭鼠剂，杀鼠药