A nymph is a minor female deity（神） typically associated with a particular location or landform（地形）. It is a concept originated from Greek and Roman mythology. Therefore the word is a bit archaic（古代的） now.
宁芙是一种地位稍低的小女神，通常和某种位置或地形相关联，宁芙的概念源自希腊罗马神话，因此这个词现在略显古旧。
The word fairy has its origin in the Latin word fata, or “the Fates”, the three goddesses who preside（主持） over the birth and life of humans. Therefore, a fairy, though also a human-like creature, seems to have the potential or inclination（倾向） to do good for people.
“仙女（fairy）”这个词最早起源于拉丁语中的fata，也就是掌管人类生死的“命运三女神”。因此，尽管仙女也是人形生物，但她们似乎更倾向于为人类做好事。
Fairies are often portrayed（扮演） in literature as “testing” humans to see their worthiness（价值） and then meting out either punishment or reward accordingly.
在文学作品中，我们经常看到仙女们“检验”人类的品格，然后根据检验结果，来决定是该奖赏还是惩罚人类。
There are two other words that are about creatures similar to a fairy. Like an elf, a pixie is also small and humanlike being with pointed（尖尖的） ears, yet it is typically known to be more mischievous（调皮） than a fairy.
另外还有两个和仙女相类似的词汇。如同精灵，皮克希也是一种有尖尖耳朵的人形小生物，但是他们通常要比仙女们更加调皮捣蛋。
Pixies are said to delight in deliberately misleading people. Being the only kind of fairy that has wings to fly, sprites are dazzling（眼花缭乱） in color and about the size of large insects.They are playful and at times obnoxious（讨厌的）.
据说他们以故意误导人类为乐。而作为唯一一种带翅膀的小精灵，斯波莱特的大小与巨大的昆虫差不多，他们闪闪发光、淘气顽皮，偶尔惹人讨厌。
One of their favorite pastimes is pestering（纠缠） butterflies. The word sprite comes from the Latin word spiritus or spirit, meaning “soul”or “ghost”. The capitalized（大写的） word is now known as a soft drink by the Coca-Cola Company.
他们最大的消遣就是追逐蝴蝶。sprite这个词的出处是拉丁语的spiritus或者spirit，意思就是“灵魂”或“鬼魂”。如今，如果大写的话，斯波莱特（Sprite）就是可口可乐公司的著名饮料“雪碧”。
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