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a cicada has [body part]
用 a cicada 泛指蝉这一类昆虫时，谓语动词用第三人称单数形式。
A cicada has large membranous wings.
蝉有大而膜质的翅膀。
蝉
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
蝉
a stout-bodied insect with large membranous wings; the male produces a high-pitched drone using drum-like organs
A cicada has large membranous wings.
蝉有大而膜质的翅膀。
Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings.
体型粗壮的昆虫,具有大型膜状翅膀；雄性有鼓状器官发出高音嗡嗡声
stout-bodied insect with large membranous wings; male has drum-like organs for producing a high-pitched drone
After the rain, a cicada crept out of the ground and climbed up the tree.
雨后，一只蝉从地里钻出来，爬上了树。
In this region, cicadas emerge every summer and fill the air with their buzzing.
在这个地区，蝉每年夏天都会出现，让空气充满它们的嗡嗡声。
The little girl picked up a cicada wing from the garden path.
小女孩从花园小路上捡起了一只蝉翅。
用 a cicada 泛指蝉这一类昆虫时，谓语动词用第三人称单数形式。
A cicada has large membranous wings.
蝉有大而膜质的翅膀。
复数形式 cicadas 可用来泛指整个类别，常与一般现在时连用。
Cicadas produce a high-pitched drone.
蝉发出高音调的嗡嗡声。
所有格 's 用来表示蝉的某个部位或它发出的声音。
The cicada's wings are membranous.
蝉的翅膀是膜质的。
Not this
There are many cicada in the park.
Use this
There are many cicadas in the park.
英语中 cicada 是可数名词，复数形式为 cicadas；汉语名词没有复数变化，学习者容易漏掉 -s。表示“许多蝉”时应用 many 加复数 cicadas。
Not this
I heard cicada outside my window.
Use this
I heard a cicada outside my window.
cicada 是单数可数名词，在句中首次提到时前面需要加冠词 a（或 the/an 等限定词）。句子主语是 I，后面应用 a cicada 来指一只蝉。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
蝉蜕
We found a cicada shell stuck to the tree trunk.
我们发现了一只粘在树干上的蝉蜕。
蝉鸣
The cicada song was loud throughout the hot afternoon.
整个炎热的下午蝉鸣声不绝于耳。
蝉翼
Cicada wings look delicate but are quite strong.
蝉翼看起来脆弱，但其实很结实。
蝉鸣时节
Cicada season begins in early summer.
蝉鸣时节从初夏开始。
周期蝉
A periodical cicada may spend 17 years underground.
周期蝉可能在地下度过17年。
当蝉鸣之时
The literal English title of the Japanese horror anime series 'Higurashi: When They Cry.' In Japan, cicadas' cries are a familiar summer sound and are often used to create a tense or sorrowful mood in stories.
这是日本恐怖动漫《寒蝉鸣泣之时》的英文标题直译。在日本，蝉鸣是夏季常见的声音，常被用来营造紧张或悲伤的氛围。
Use cicada naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
蝉鸣声像 'see-kay-da'：前面的 'see' 是‘看见’，想象你看见树上的蝉在高唱 'kay-da'。
语域：neutral 常见场景：日常讨论、自然观察、科普文章 该词是“蝉”的常用中性说法，通常用于一般描述，口语和书面语中都比较多见，没有明显的正式或非正式偏向。
No common English word rhymes exactly with /səˈkeɪdə/. Soda shares the unstressed final /də/ but has a different stressed vowel. The -ada spelling can be misleading: armada is often /ɑːrˈmɑːdə/ and Nevada is commonly /nəˈvædə/. Arcade, parade, and decade end in /eɪd/ (or /keɪd/) but lack the final /ə/.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.