Thursday
The fifth day of the week
n.星期四

词源小故事

Thor索尔是北欧神话中掌管战争与农业的“雷神”，相传每当“雷雨”交加时，就是索尔乘坐马车出来巡视。而索尔的武器是一把锤子（叫做雷神之锤），据说只要索尔把锤子冲着敌人扔过去，锤子就会在空中向 “打雷”一样摧毁一切目标，因此在古代北欧人眼里，索尔神的地位非常高。当德国瑞典丹麦挪威冰岛这些北欧国家也接受基督教后，对“雷神”索尔的崇拜也日渐式微，但仍然保留在对于北欧民族来说非常重要的一天即每个周四的名字上，也就是说，Thursday实际就是“Thor's day”，即索尔的日子。

thunder
The crashing or booming sound produced by rapidly expanding air along the path of the electrical discharge of lightning.
A sound that resembles or suggests thunder.
To produce thunder.
To produce sounds like thunder.
To utter loud, vociferous remarks or threats.
To express violently, commandingly, or angrily; roar.
n. 雷；轰隆声；恐吓
vi. 打雷；怒喝
vt. 轰隆地发出；大声喊出

例句：
Trucks thundered down the highway.
大卡车从公路上轰隆隆地开过去。
The boss thundered out his orders at me.
老板对我吼叫着发号施令。

astound as=to thun-tun-toun
overwhelmed with astonishment or amazement
to fill with bewilderment or wonder
vt. 使惊骇；使震惊

例句:
I was astounded that the mayor had taken bribes.
市长接受贿赂,这使我大吃一惊。

stun 这个单词实际是前一个单词astound的缩略式
To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow.
To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise.
To stupefy, as with the emotional impact of an experience; astound.
A blow or shock that stupefies.
vt. 使震惊；打昏；给以深刻的印象
n. 昏迷；打昏；惊倒；令人惊叹的事物

例句：
We were all stunned by the news.
这个消息使我们都大为震惊。

astonish
To fill with sudden wonder or amazement
vt. 使惊讶

例句：
We were astonished at the news of her sudden death.
她突然去世的消息使我们震惊。

tornado tun-torn
A rotating column of air ranging in width from a few yards to more than a mile and whirling at destructively high speeds, usually accompanied by a funnel-shaped downward extension of a cumulonimbus cloud.
A violent thunderstorm in western Africa or nearby Atlantic waters.
A whirlwind or hurricane.
n. [气象] 龙卷风；旋风；暴风；大雷飑：西非或其附近大西洋水域上的猛烈雷雨风暴