A vandal is someone who breaks or damages things on purpose, for no good reason — smashing bus-stop glass, keying a car, spraying paint on a wall, tearing up seats in a train.

A vandal這個字講的是 is someone一個人 who breaks or damages things on purpose故意破壞東西, for no good reason而且沒有正當理由 — smashing bus-stop glass像是砸破公車站的玻璃, keying a car刮花別人的車, spraying paint on a wall在牆上亂噴漆, tearing up seats in a train或撕爛火車的座椅。

The key idea is ‘on purpose and pointless’: a person who breaks a window by accident is not a vandal, and a thief who breaks a window to steal something is a thief.

The key idea is關鍵在於 'on purpose and pointless'『故意而且沒意義』：a person who breaks a window by accident不小心打破窗戶的人 is not a vandal不算 vandal, and a thief而小偷 who breaks a window to steal something為了偷東西打破窗戶 is a thief那就只是小偷。

It is a countable noun, usually plural in news writing (‘vandals attacked the park last night’), often left vague because nobody knows who did it. The word is always negative.

It is它是 a countable noun可數名詞, usually plural in news writing在新聞寫作裡通常用複數 ('vandals attacked the park last night'像『vandals attacked the park last night』這樣), often left vague而且常常講得很模糊 because nobody knows who did it因為沒人知道是誰做的. The word is always negative這個字永遠是負面的。

Where the line falls is argued about — some people call a graffiti artist a vandal, others call the same person an artist, and that argument is really about whether the damage means anything.

Where the line falls界線該畫在哪裡 is argued about是有爭議的 — some people有些人 call a graffiti artist a vandal把塗鴉客叫做 vandal, others call the same person an artist另一些人則把同一個人叫做藝術家, and that argument is really about而這個爭論其實在於 whether the damage means anything這個破壞到底有沒有意義。

The word comes from a real people, the Vandals, who attacked Rome in the year 455; later writers blamed them for wrecking beautiful things, which historians now say was probably unfair to them.

The word comes from這個字來自 a real people一個真實的民族, the Vandals汪達爾人, who attacked Rome in the year 455他們在西元455年攻打羅馬；later writers後來的作家 blamed them for wrecking beautiful things把破壞美好事物的責任怪到他們頭上, which historians now say而現在歷史學家認為 was probably unfair to them這對他們可能不公平。