And until just recently, most of us thought the sand had come from an ancient mountain range fairly close by that flattened out over time.
close by为习语,意为位于很近的地方。其中close为副词,修饰by。by可以是副词,也可以是介词,如果by是介词,则后接名词,表示离...很近的意思。本句中close by中的by是副词,close by是一个副词短语作后置定语修饰名词an ancient mountain range。fairly为程度副词,修饰close by。
牛津对close by的释义和例句如下:
close by (somebody/something):
at a short distance (from somebody/something)
Our friends live close by.
The route passes close by the town.
如果觉得我的回答对您有用,请随意打赏。你的支持将鼓励我继续创作!