The hunter shot down the eagle that was trying to attack the poultry with his rifle.

shot down 是由动词 shoot（射击）和副词 down（向下）组成的短语动词。shoot 表示"射击、发射"，down 在这里表示"击落、使下降"。 shot down 作为短语动词，意思是"击落"，特指用武器将飞行中的目标打下来。