老外总把nice挂嘴边 这词咋就这么万能？

 　　How often do you use the word "nice"? I have no idea how many times I physically¹ utter the word "nice" in a single day, but I'd guess it's a lot.

　　你有多经常用到“nice”这个词呢?我不知道我每天具体要说多少次“nice”，但我觉得次数一定少不了。

　　So: How can one word serve as the appropriate response to both impending² doom³ and caffeine breaks?

　　那么，这个词怎么能既适用于大难临头的场合，又适用于茶歇时间呢?

　　According to lexicon⁴ history, "nice" has led an erratic⁵ existence. Over the years, "nice" has meant everything from "lewd⁶" to "coy" to "kind." Oxford⁷ Dictionaries cruises through the meandering⁸ history of the word on its blog.

　　根据词汇历史学，“nice”是一个捉摸不定的词。若干年来，它曾具备各种各样的含义，从“下流的”到“腼腆的”到“和善的”，牛津词典就在博客上回顾了这个词曲折的历史。

　　The word "nice," Oxford claims, has pretty negative roots in the Latin "nescius," meaning "ignorant." But it really took off in the 14th century as a term for something foolish or silly. The negative connotations ballooned from there. "Nice" was used to refer to a variety of less-than-great sentiments including wantonness, extravagance, ostentation⁹, lasciviousness¹⁰, cowardice¹¹ and sloth¹². Like, "Teobaldus, your fear of the Black Plague is nice."

　　牛津词典称“nice”一词源自拉丁语里的贬义词“nescius”，意思是“无知的”。但它实际上是从14世纪开始作为表示愚蠢或傻的词汇，而其贬义的内涵也是从那时候开始越来越浓重的。“nice”一词携带了各种不太好的感情色彩，包括“淫乱”、“放纵”、“卖弄”、“好色”、“懦弱”、“懒惰”等含义。举个毛栗子：“提奥巴杜斯，你害怕黑死病这种事儿是很nice的。”

　　Dive deeper into the Middle Ages, and the meaning deflated¹³. The word started to hint not at ostentation or cowardice but shyness and reserve; not in a negative way, but certainly not yet positively¹⁴. Let's call it neutral. Like, "Baignard's goat is nice."

　　对中世纪挖掘得再深一点，会发现这个词的意义缩水了。它不再有“卖弄”或“懦弱”的意思，而开始表示“羞怯”或“保守”;不算是贬义，但也绝对还没变成褒义词。我们就说它是个中性词吧，例如：“柏格纳德的山羊很nice。”

　　Folks in the 17th and 18th centuries, though, they loved modesty¹⁵. (Just consider the clothes.) And as a result, "nice" began to take on a more positive tone. As Oxford points out, "nice" started to connote respectability and virtue¹⁶, refined taste and polite mannerisms. Like, "Cornelia's lofty neckline and bulbous skirt are nice."

　　然而，17世纪和18世纪的人喜欢低调(想想他们的衣服就秒懂了)。因此，“nice”这个词开始出现了更为褒义的调调。正如牛津词典指出的，“nice”开始意指“高尚”和“美德”、“雅致的品味”及“礼貌的举止”。例如：“科妮莉娅的高领装和蓬蓬裙很nice。”

　　By the 19th century, use of the word "nice" was not only loaded with a history of confusing meanings, it was also so ubiquitously tossed about Jane Austen had to pen a quippy bit of dialogue about it. In 1817's Northanger Abbey, character Henry Tilney gently chastises¹⁷ Catherine Morland for her overuse of the word:

　　到19世纪，“nice”一词不仅因为历史原因具备了诸多令人迷惑的含义，而且它无所不在，随处可用，以至于简·奥斯汀也不得不为此写了一段俏皮的对话。在1817年的《诺桑觉寺》中，亨利·提尔尼就温和地批评了凯瑟琳·莫兰对这个词的滥用：

　　"And this is a very nice day; and we are taking a very nice walk; and you are two very nice young ladies," he jests. "Oh, it is a very nice word, indeed! It does for everything."

　　他戏谑道：“今天是个很nice的日子，我们正在很nice地散步，你们是两位很nice的女士。哦，那真的是一个很nice的词!它哪里都能用!”

　　Fast forward to today, and "nice" is still everywhere. Sure, "nice" tends to mean kind, pleasing, polite and friendly, but it can also still mean something along the lines of "socially acceptable" or even "harmless." Toss a "too" in front of it, and "nice" resembles its earlier definitions: ostentatious or extravagant¹⁸. Pop an "I guess" after it, and "nice" sounds like a full-fledged neg. Elongate¹⁹ the "I" in it, and "niiice" becomes a knee-jerk response of an adverb like OK.

　　快进到今天，“nice”依然随处可见。当然，“nice”可以表示“善良的”、“令人愉悦的”、“礼貌的”、“友好的”，但它也还是保留着“社会上普遍接受的”甚至是“无害的”的内涵。在前面加个“too”，它就有了先前的定义：“卖弄的”或“放纵的”。在后面加个“I guess”，“nice”这个词听起来就完全是贬义的了。把中间“i”的音拖长变成“niiice”呢，它就成了一声随口应答，就像“OK”那样。

　　Basically, the meaninglessness of "nice" is just as confusing as ever. We seem to use the word whenever we don't know what else to say. Because, well, it works.

　　基本上，“nice”这个词没有什么确定的意义，像从前一样令人迷惑。我们好像只要不知道还能再说什么，就用上这个词——因为，嗯，它就是这么好用。

　　所以，nice真的是hin万能!哪哪都能用!

1 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

3 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

4 lexicon   

n.字典，专门词汇

参考例句：

• Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
• Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。

5 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

6 lewd   

adj.淫荡的

参考例句：

• Drew spends all day eyeing up the women and making lewd comments.德鲁整天就盯着女人看，说些下流话。
• I'm not that mean,despicable,cowardly,lewd creature that horrible little man sees. 我可不是那个令人恶心的小人所见到的下流、可耻、懦弱、淫秽的家伙。

7 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

8 meandering   

蜿蜒的河流，漫步，聊天

参考例句：

• The village seemed deserted except for small boys and a meandering donkey. 整个村子的人都像是逃光了，只留下了几个小男孩和一头正在游游荡荡的小毛驴。 来自教父部分
• We often took a walk along the meandering river after supper. 晚饭后我们常沿着那条弯弯曲曲的小河散步。

9 ostentation   

n.夸耀，卖弄

参考例句：

• Choose a life of action,not one of ostentation.要选择行动的一生，而不是炫耀的一生。
• I don't like the ostentation of their expensive life - style.他们生活奢侈，爱摆阔，我不敢恭维。

10 lasciviousness   

参考例句：

11 cowardice   

n.胆小，怯懦

参考例句：

• His cowardice reflects on his character.他的胆怯对他的性格带来不良影响。
• His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice.他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。

12 sloth   

n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散

参考例句：

• Absence of competition makes for sloth.没有竞争会导致懒惰。
• The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。

13 deflated   

adj. 灰心丧气的

参考例句：

• I was quite deflated by her lack of interest in my suggestions.他对我的建议兴趣不大，令我感到十分气馁。
• He was deflated by the news.这消息令他泄气。

14 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

15 modesty   

n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素

参考例句：

• Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。

16 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

17 chastises   

v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It is by way of admonition that he chastises those who are close to him. 上主也这样鞭责我们，并不是为惩罚，乃是为警戒与他亲近的人。 来自互联网

18 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

19 elongate   

v.拉长，伸长，延长

参考例句：

• We plan to elongate the cooperation with that company in Australia.我们打算延长与澳洲那家公司的合作关系。
• Corn is treated when the stalk starts to elongate.在玉米秆开始拔节时，给玉米打药。