surprise、amaze、astonish、astound、startle与stun这些动词均含“使惊愕、使惊讶、使惊奇”之意。
surprise : 普通用词,多指因未预料或意外的事而引起的惊奇之感。
- Surprise a new neighbour with one of your favourite home-made dishes.
做一道拿手的家常小菜,给你的新邻居一个惊喜。
amaze : 语气较强,指因认为不可能或极少可能发生情况的出现而感到惊讶或迷惑不解。
- It never ceases to amaze me what some people will do for money.
有些人为了钱什么都干得出来,这一直使我惊愕不已。
astonish : 语气较强,指出乎预料,意外发生,但又无法解释而感到惊奇。
- She astonished us by saying she was leaving.
她说她要离开,令我们大为惊奇。
astound : 语气强,指由于事情令人难以置信或实在罕见而使人感到震惊。
- He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance.
过去,他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
startle : 指因突然的惊吓或意料不到的刺激等而使人惊跳或震惊。
- 我一进办公室,发现一条恶狗坐在里面,把我吓了一跳。
It startled me to find a savage dog sitting in my office. - 那个沉默寡言的女孩正在聚精会神地看书,被他刺耳的嗓音吓了一跳。
The reticent girl was concentrating on her book and his strident voice startled her.
(拓展学习:小词详解 | startle)
stun : 语气最强,指极度惊讶而目瞪口呆,不知所措。
- Many cinema-goers were stunned by the film's violent and tragic end.
许多来看电影的人都被这部影片暴力而悲惨的结局所震惊。