rap·id /ˈræpəd/
  (a.)迅速的,飛快的,急促的,嶮峻的急流
  rapid
  快速
  Rap·id a.
  1. Very swift or quick; moving with celerity; fast; as, a rapid stream; a rapid flight; a rapid motion.
     Ascend my chariot; guide the rapid wheels.   --Milton.
  2. Advancing with haste or speed; speedy in progression; in quick sequence; as, rapid growth; rapid improvement; rapid recurrence; rapid succession.
  3. Quick in execution; as, a rapid penman.
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  Rap·id, Rap·ids , n.  The part of a river where the current moves with great swiftness, but without actual waterfall or cascade; sometimes called whitewater; -- usually used in the plural; as, the Lachine rapids in the St. Lawrence.  For boaters on the river, it is a place that can be hazardous, with danger of capsizing or crashing into large rocks.
  Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast,
  The rapids are near, and the daylight's past.   --Moore.
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  rapid
       adj 1: done or occurring in a brief period of time; "a rapid rise
              through the ranks"
       2: characterized by speed; moving with or capable of moving
          with high speed; "a rapid movment"; "a speedy car"; "a
          speedy errand boy" [syn: speedy]
       n : a part of a river where the current is very fast