有声双语阅读 | Nice并不总是意味着美好
evolve: to change over time 演变
drastic: very noticeable; extreme 猛烈的
appealing: likeable 吸引人的
satisfactory: acceptable 令人满意的
sarcastic: not sincere; opposite of one’s true feelings 讽刺的
tasteful: having an appropriate sense of style or fashion 有品位的
cliché: too expected or common; lacking in originality 陈词滥调
“Nice” Hasn’t Always Been Nice
Nice 并不总是意味着美好
The meaning of a word often evolves over time. Some word meanings change more drastically than others. The word “nice” has a number of meanings, including appealing, kind, or satisfactory. The same word is used sarcastically to mean just the opposite. For example, you will often hear someone exclaim, “Nice!” when their true reaction is that something is rude, bad, or gross.
一个词的意思通常会随着时间的推移而演变。有些词的意思变化比其他词更剧烈。nice这个词有很多意思，包括appealing(吸引人的)、kind(善良的)或satisfactory(令人满意的)。这个词也可以用来讽刺地表示相反的意思。例如，你会经常听到有人感叹，nice!但其实他们的真实反应是某事是粗鲁的、糟糕的或恶心的。
This sarcastic use of the word “nice” is similar to its Latin origin. The Latin word “nescius” means unaware. By the thirteenth century people were using the word “nice” to mean foolish, senseless, or clumsy. Its meaning then evolved to mean shy and later tasteful. By the late 1800s, expressions with “nice” in a positive sense became common. Today the word “nice” is so common that it is often considered cliché.
Nice这个词的讽刺用法与它的拉丁语起源相似。拉丁词nescius的意思是“不知道”。到了十三世纪，人们用nice这个词来表示愚蠢的、愚蠢的或笨拙的。它的意思后来演变为害羞，后来又有品味的意思。到了19世纪后期，带有积极意义的nice表达变得普遍起来。今天，nice这个词非常常见，以至于人们常常把它当作陈词滥调。
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