knock、tap、rap与pat这些动词均有“敲、击”之意。
knock : 指用拳头或其它器械猛敲或猛打；也指用手轻敲某物。
- She knocked on the window to attract his attention.
她敲敲窗想引起他的注意。 - There's someone knocking on/at the door.
有人在敲门。 - Please knock before entering.
进来前请先敲门。
tap : 多指慢慢地连续地轻击或轻拍。
- The branches tapped against the window.
树枝轻轻敲打着窗户。 - I could hear him tapping his fingers on the desk.
我能听见他用手指轻叩桌子的声音。 - I was tapping my feet (= hitting the floor gently with my feet) to the music.
我随着音乐用脚打着拍子。 - Someone tapped me on the shoulder.
有人轻轻拍我的肩膀。
rap : 指用手指或木棒等快速地轻敲或急拍。
- She rapped (on) the table to get everyone's attention.
她敲了敲桌子，让大家注意。 - The colonel rapped (out) an order to his men.
上校厉声对他的士兵下命令。
pat : 指用手轻拍以示同情、赞同或爱抚。
- He patted my head/patted me on the head affectionately.
他慈爱地拍了拍我的头。 - I bent down to pat the little puppy.
我弯下腰拍了拍那只小狗。
