“Cool”的“小单词,大用途”

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岳阳的Jane问：

我常听到人们说“cool”这个词。原先我觉得它就是“酷”的意思，但渐渐我又发现这个词在很多情况下都会用到，意思和用法好像都不太一样，弄得我都糊涂了！所以我想问问Tom，“cool”这个词，究竟是什么意思啊？怎么用啊？

Tom：

“cool”这个词大概要算是现代英语社会中被用得最滥的词之一了。有人说这个词意思太模糊，基本上没什么实质意义，但我却更愿意认为它是一个用途广泛的词汇。

The Birth of Cool “COOL”的由来

The use of "cool" as a generally positive word has been in English since roughly World War II, and was first recorded in the 1930s. Jazz musicians who used the term were responsible for its popularization during the 1940s. Where "hot" jazz was fast-paced, exhilarating music you could dance to, "cool" jazz was more understated and laid-back. As a slang word expressing generally positive sentiment, it has stayed current (and fashionable) far longer than most such words - no one says "groovy" or "far out" any more unless they are joking, but "cool" has persisted for decades.

“cool”在英语中被泛用为褒义词，大约始于第二次世界大战，最早的记录出现在20世纪30年代。而它在20世纪40年代里的流行则归功于使用此词的爵士音乐家们。尽管“热（hot）”爵士是欢快活泼的音乐，你可以将其用作伴舞之用，但“冷（cool）”爵士却更为内敛和轻松。作为一个泛指好感的俚语，与大部分同类词汇相比，它使用得更久（且流行得更久）――除非是在开玩笑，不然就没人会再用“groovy”（真棒）或“far out”（时髦）了，不过“cool”却沿袭了几十年。

But What Does It Mean?

OK, so firstly there is of course the literal meaning of cool - a comfortable temperature that is the opposite of "warm". Easy enough. It can also mean "unenthusiastic", as in "the manager gave his new idea a cool reception". However, from there on out it gets a bit more difficult. So, here are several different ways you can use the word "cool".

“COOL”的含义

好了，那么首先当然就是“cool”的字面意思了――指一种与“warm”（温暖）相对、令人感到舒适的温度。够简单吧。它也可以是“缺乏热情”的意思，如“the manager gave his new idea a cool reception（经理对他的新想法反应冷淡）”。然而，接下来呢，它就有点儿不太好懂了。那么，下面就是一些你会用到“cool”的不同情况。

"He's a pretty cool guy."

Basically, the guy in question is a good person to know in some way, but this could mean a lot of different things. Usually it will mean that he is a nice person who does not get over-excited about anything and is usually pretty nonchalant. Someone who is cool is also somewhat fashionable and attractive to others. Being cool requires a certain amount of understated charisma. Remember - if you try too hard to be cool, then you're not cool.

"I think U2 are really cool."

This is basically just saying you think U2 are a good band. But the public image of the band is included as well as their music, because it's difficult to think a pop musician is cool without also thinking that their personality and attitude is good.

"So, this guy Joe, is he cool?"

This can mean exactly the same as the previous example. However, it can also be a question about whether or not someone can be trusted. If the reply is "yeah, he's cool", then the person who knows "Joe" thinks he is reliable.

"Those clothes are really cool."

Everyone's opinion of what kind of clothes are cool will vary depending on their taste, but they are expressing the same idea when they say this. Namely, that even if the clothes are not in fashion now, they look good and are very stylish. However, cool can mean fashionable, e.g. "iPods are really cool right now".

"Everybody be cool."

This is an instruction for people to stay calm and not get upset, angry or otherwise emotional. This meaning is related to the phrase "keep your cool". The opposite is to "lose your cool", meaning that you get scared or angry and act inappropriately. To "cool it" or "cool off" means to calm down.

"Are we cool now?"

This is the kind of thing you might say when trying to patch up with someone after an argument, having made your apologies. It means "is everything OK between us now?"

"Is everyone cool with the plan?"

This is asking if everybody understands the plan (whatever that may be - you'll hear this sentence in heist movies fairly often), and if everyone is satisfied with it.

"There's no problem, it's cool."

That is, everything is OK. It's the kind of answer you can give to a question like "Is something the matter?" - "No, it's cool. Don't worry."

"There's a cool half million dollars there."

Put in front of a number, "cool" means that the number is not exaggerated, and the real amount may even be more than the speaker is saying. E.g. "there's easily a cool two hundred in this job for each of you".

“他是个很酷的人。”

基本上，被谈论的这个人在某方面上是一个可交之人，但这句话也可以有许多不同的含义。通常，这句话的意思是，他是一个不错的人，凡事都不过于激动，通常是相当冷静的。“cool”的人也可以是有几分时髦或者对他人有几分吸引力的。要做到“cool”需要有一定的内敛式的魅力。记住：如果你过分强求做到“cool”，那么你就不“cool”了。

“我觉得‘U2乐队’真棒。”

这句话基本上是说你认为“U2乐队”是一支不错的乐队。不过，并非是光指其音乐，还包括这支乐队的公众形象，因为难于在否定其人品和态度也是好的前提下而认定一位流行乐手是“cool”的。

“嗯，这个男孩，乔，你觉得他酷/值得信赖吗？”

这句话可以与上面那个例子表达完全相同的意思。然而，它也可以是针对某人可信与否的一种疑问。如果回答是“yeah, he's cool”，那么，那个认识“乔”的人就会认为他是可以信赖的了。

“这些衣服真漂亮。”

对于哪类衣服是“cool”的，每个人的看法都会因各自品位的不同而有所差异，但是当他们说这句话时，他们却都是在表达相同的意思。也就是说，即使这些衣服现在不再流行，它们看起来也还是不错的，非常有型。然而，“cool”可以表示“时髦”的意思，例如“iPods are really cool right now（iPods现在特别流行）。”

“大家保持冷静。”

这句话是用来让人们保持冷静，不要急躁、生气或出现其它激动情绪的一个指示语。这里的意思与“keep your cool”（保持冷静）这个词组相通。而反义词组则是“lose your cool”（失去冷静），意思是你感到恐惧、生气而行为失当。“cool it”（沉住气）或“cool off”（别激动）意思是“冷静下来”。

“我们现在没事儿了？”

当你与某人发生争执后想要修好并已致歉时，这就是那类你可能要说的话。它的意思是“我们之间现在什么问题都没有了吧？”

“所有人都赞成这个方案吗？”

这句话是在询问是否大家都对方案了解了（不管那是什么方案――你经常能在抢劫片中听到这句话）以及大家是否都对其感到满意。

“没问题，很好。”

这句话的意思就是所有事都没问题了。对于“Is something the matter?”（有什么问题吗？）之类的问题，它就是你可以用来回复的答案――“No, it's cool. Don't worry.”（不，很好。不用担心。）

“那儿足足有50万。”

放在数字之前的“cool”表示这个数字并未被夸大，真正的数量甚至可能比讲话人说的还要大。例如“there's easily a cool two hundred in this job for each of you（这个工作你们每个人少说得挣200美元）”。

exhilarating /iG`zil9reitiM/ adj.令人愉快的

understated /`7nd9steitid/ adj.内敛的；低调的

laid-back /leidb2k/ adj.悠闲的；松驰的

current /`k7r9nt/ adj.流通的；通用的

literal meaning 字面意思

unenthusiastic /7nin,F(zi`2stik/ adj.缺乏热情的

in question正被论及的

nonchalant /`n4nH9l9nt/ adj.冷静的；冷淡的

charisma /k9`rizm9/ n.魅力

namely /`neimli/ adv.也就是说；即

patch up 修补

heist /haist/ n.抢劫

exaggerate /iG`z2_9reit/ v.夸大；夸张

Cool in the Movies

Here are a few examples of "cool" as used in famous films, in order to provide some useful examples of how to use the word.

"Everybody be cool, this is a robbery!"

Tim Roth, Pulp Fiction

"Never show surprise, never lose your cool."

Brian Brown, Cocktail

"I just think that you can be cool. Sometimes. This not being one of them."

Elijah Wood, The Faculty

"I don't know, I kind of like him. He's the exact opposite of everything I really hate. In a way, he's such a clueless dork, he's almost kind of cool."

Thora Birch, Ghost World

"It's better to be dead and cool than alive and uncool."

Mickey Rourke, Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man

电影中的“COOL”

以下是“cool”在著名影片中被使用的几个例子，为这一单词的使用提供了一些实用范例。

“大家保持冷静，这是抢劫！”

蒂姆・罗斯，《低俗小说》

“永远不要露出惊色，永远不要失去冷静。”

布赖恩・布朗，《花心情圣》

“我只是觉得你可以算作是酷。有时候是。而这次则不尽然。”

伊利亚・伍德，《夺命高校》

“我不知道，我有点儿喜欢他。他身上根本就没有什么非常令我讨厌的东西。他就是一个无可救药的怪人，在某种程度上这又使他有那么点儿酷劲儿。”

莎拉・布姬，《幽灵世界》

“与其苟且偷生还不如一死成名。”

米基・洛克，《铁汉狂奔》