【PTE词汇】口语，写作，日常生活都必备！sound相关词汇

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sonic   声音的；音速的

英文释义：relating to audible sound

e.g.Instead,he lets his ears guide him on an adventure to track down quirky, extreme and historically venerated phenomena of our sonic universe. – New York Times(Apr 23, 2014)

sonare (to sound) + ic (suffix formingadjectives)

The phrase “sonic universe” echoes “cosmic universe” but its focus is on sounds on earth that are audible to human ears. The cosmic universeis also very noisy, but the sounds in space need more sensitive instruments todetect.

 

infrasonic   次声的

英文释义：having frequencies belowthose of audible sound

e.g.These infrasonic sounds can rattle and paralyze prey. – Scientific American (Apr 10,2013)

infra (below) + sonare (to sound) + ic(suffix forming adjectives)

The prefix “sub” also means “below” so subsonic sounds are the same as infrasonic sounds. But infrared light consists of wave lengths greater than those that can be seen by human eyes.

 

supersonic    超音速的

英文释义：greater than the speed ofsound in a given medium

e.g.Federal authorities prohibit supersonic flight over the U.S.,because sonic booms are annoying. – Business Week (Jul 15, 2013)

super (above) + sonare (to sound) + ic(suffix forming adjectives)

In describing the speed of sound, “supersonic” and “subsonic”are antonyms. As suggested by the previous example sentence, subsonic or infrasonic sounds can rattle small creatures. A sonic boom created by a supersonic jet is more explosive and can rattle windows and buildings.

 

sonorous   响亮的

英文释义：full and loud and deep

e.g.Hisis not a voice that begins at the ankles the way Mr. Sheppard’s seemed to, butit is deep and sonorousenough. – New York Times (May 5, 2013)

sonare (to sound) + ous (suffix formingadjectives)

The sound of the word contributes to its use in mostly pleasant ways. A more annoying adjective that also means loud comes from the name of a Greek heraldin Homer’s “Iliad”: stentorian.

 

assonance    谐音

英文释义：the repetition of similarvowels in successive words

e.g.The splendid onomatopoeia of “hoary roaring sea” reminds us how well assonanceand alliteration work throughout the poem. – The Guardian (Jun 25, 2012)

ad (to) + sonare (to sound) + ance(suffix forming abstract nouns)

Alliterationuses the same consonant at the beginning of each word to create a sound effect that might help with memory or emphasis. Onomatopoeia uses words that imitate the sounds they describe. According to these definitions, the phrase”hoary roaring sea” has onomatopoeia and assonance, but notalliteration. But alliteration can also connect consonants that are close by.

 

consonance    一致

英文释义：the property of soundingharmonious

e.g.There is a consonanceof all things, a blending of all that we knowabout the material world and the spiritual. – Keller, Helen

com (with) + sonare (to sound) + ance(suffix forming abstract nouns)

The example sentence uses “consonance” as an antonym of”dissonance” but it also has a poetic meaning that’s connected to”assonance” and “alliteration”: the repetition of similarconsonant sounds, especially at the ends of words.

 

dissonance    不和谐音

英文释义：disagreeable sounds

e.g.The paintings teeter between order and chaos, harmony and dissonance,beauty and ugliness. – New York Times (Apr 3, 2014)

dis (apart) + sonare (to sound) + ance(suffix forming abstract nouns)

In the example sentence, “dissonance” can be replaced with”cacophony” to create more of a contrast with “harmony” andto connect sonically to “chaos” in the first pair of antonyms.

 

resonance    共鸣

英文释义：a relationship of mutual understanding between people

e.g.“Welisten for emotional resonance. We don’tlisten for money in our melodies.” – Forbes (May 23, 2014)

re (again) + sonare (to sound) + ance(suffix forming abstract nouns)

Because the example sentences are focused on music, “resonance” suggests the physical property of sound that can be intensified and prolonged by vibration.But the word is used to emphasize that the musicians’ focus is not on physicalsound or financial gain, but on the emotional impact on people’s heartstrings.

 

sonata    奏鸣曲

英文释义：a musical composition ofmovements of contrasting forms

e.g.Many young virtuoso pianists perform the Beethoven sonatas as a demonstration of their musical depth. – New York Times (Mar 20, 2014)

“Sonata”is the Italian feminine past participle of the Latin verb “sonare.” Asonatina is a shorter and simpler sonata.

 

unison     同音

英文释义：the act of occurringtogether or simultaneously

e.g.“Tellus about it,” said 20 hockey teams in unison. – Seattle Times(May 17, 2014)

uni (one) + sonus (sound)

This word usually has a positive tone, because the oneness of the sound is created by many voices coming together in peaceful agreement. Compare this with a word that has a more negative tone but similar Greek roots: mono (one) + tonos(tone).

 

sonogram    声波图

英文释义：image produced by reflections of high-frequency sound waves

e.g.Women will be offered the option of hearing the heartbeat and seeing the sonogram image, which they may decline. – Reuters (May 19, 2011)

sonare (to sound) + gram (suffix formingnouns about instruments for recording or something written)

Comparewith “ultrasound”–although the break downs of the two words show that”sonogram” would be a better noun to refer to the image produced by ultrasound technology, both words are now used interchangeably by excited prospective parents.

 

sounding   （测量水深或检测水底的）探通术

英文释义：a measure of the depth ofwater taken with a sounding line

e.g.We must frequently throw out the sounding line into the shifting sea of possibility in order to find secure anchorage. – Cumont, Franz

sonare (to sound) + ing (suffix forminggerunds, which are nouns from the present participle of verbs)

The sounding line here is figurative–it compares a world of possibilities to ashifting sea, whose depths must often be tested to find safe places that would not result in being stuck in the shallows, drowned by the waves, or crushed bythe pressure. A literal sounding line is also called a plumb line–from which aweight, often made of lead, is suspended to plumb the watery depth.

 

soundproof   隔音

英文释义：insulate against noise

e.g.The company converted two closets into quiet rooms with soundproofing material on the walls and shower doors. – BusinessWeek (Mar 13, 2014)

sonare (to sound) + proof (suffix formingadjectives meaning able to withstand)

As the breakdown of the word suggests, it originated as an adjective, similar to”bulletproof” and “foolproof.” Hyphenated, the compound word would emphasize the action of proofing, but the word is more often used without the hyphen to function as either a verb or adjective. The examplesentence uses the present participle of the verb to function as an adjective.

 

resound   回响

英文释义：ring or echo with sound

e.g.Thehills resound with the need to be heard. – New York Times(Feb 14, 2014)

re (back) + sonare (to sound)

Compare with “resonance”–although the example sentence focuses on the physicalre sounding of sound, it also creates emotional resonance by alluding to lyrics from a scene in “The Sound of Music.”

 

ultrasound   超声波

英文释义：very high frequency sound;used in ultrasonography

e.g.These katydids communicate in ultrasound, a range toohigh for most ears in the animal world—and therefore most potential predators.- Scientific American (Nov 19, 2012)

ultra (beyond) + sonare (to sound)

Comparewith “infrasonic”–both describe sounds that humans cannot hear, but”infrasonic” covers a range below 20 hertz while”ultrasound” covers a range above 20,000 hertz.

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