[ti:Has Fate Brought Us Together] [ar:Anna Matteo] [al:Words and Their Stories] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Is it fate that brings us together today? [00:03.47]No, not fate. [00:05.87]It is simply time for Words and Their Stories. [00:10.17]Or maybe it is fate. [00:14.42]Maybe just this morning you said to someone, [00:18.62]"You know, I really wish VOA Learning English [00:22.51]would do a show on the word ¡®fate.'" [00:24.96]And here we are. Now, that would be fate. [00:28.86]Fate is a word that can be hard to understand. [00:35.82]Fate, to describe it simply, [00:39.16]means that something is meant to be. [00:42.37]Fate is a word that has weight. [00:45.63]It has power. [00:47.42]When we say sealed one's fate [00:50.47]we mean a person has done something [00:53.57]that has guaranteed a certain end result -- [00:56.82]usually a bad one. [00:59.22]Sometimes the result is even a fate worse than death, [01:04.63]such as in this example: [01:07.07]A: He totally destroyed his business [01:09.82]and now he's going to jail. [01:11.97]And for him, prison is a fate worse than death. [01:17.06]B: Well, if he would rather die than go to prison, [01:20.56]he should not have stolen that money from his investors. [01:24.05]When he did that, he sealed his own fate. [01:27.84]The Merriam-Webster dictionary [01:30.34]says fate is a "power that is believed to control [01:34.49]what happens in the future. [01:35.98]" In fact, fate is so powerful [01:39.24]that people are warned not to tempt fate. [01:43.69]To tempt fate means to do something that involves a risk. [01:49.07]Or, it means to be too sure about something. [01:53.18]That extreme confidence may cause something unpleasant to happen. [01:58.43]Here is a true story. [02:01.12]While on vacation in Thailand I met a woman [02:05.53]who tempted fate by swimming around a rocky coastline at night. [02:10.92]We warned her that she would not make it. [02:15.20]And she didn't. She floated in the ocean all night. [02:20.28]A fishing boat rescued her the next morning. [02:23.92]She was lucky. [02:26.12]Her fate could have been much different. [02:30.11]Fate can also change quickly [02:33.55]and send your life in a direction you did not plan. [02:37.74]When we say something is a twist of fate, [02:41.92]we mean something strange or unexpected has happened. [02:46.72]But more than that ¨C the outcome was meant, [02:51.00]or fated, to happen. [02:53.21]When something goes wrong, we often say it was ill-fated, [02:58.93]or doomed from the very start. [03:01.32]For instance, [03:03.37]the Titanic started its ill-fated journey [03:06.85]with much celebration and excitement. [03:10.24]No one thought for a moment [03:12.64]that its fate would be to lie at the bottom of the ocean. [03:16.74]But by a terrible twist of fate, [03:20.50]the great ship hit a huge block of ice [03:23.74]in the ocean and quickly sank. [03:26.04]A twist of fate does not always mean something bad [03:31.33]is meant to happen. [03:32.67]Sometimes fate is romantic. [03:36.67]Fate and love often go hand in hand. [03:40.76]Many people trust fate [03:43.55]when looking for their life partner, [03:45.90]their soul mate. [03:47.26]Others may use online dating services. [03:51.39]This man trusted fate. [03:54.53]A: How did you meet your wife? [03:56.43]B: I met my wife completely by accident. [03:59.81]She boarded the wrong airplane and was sitting in my seat. [04:04.25]As soon as I saw her ... [04:06.05]I can't explain it ... [04:07.85]I knew we would be married one day. [04:10.69]A: Hmm. Was it an accident? [04:13.83]Or a strange twist of fate? [04:16.72]B: I've never thought about it that way. [04:19.57]Maybe I was destined to meet her all along. [04:22.90]Fate may have served that couple well. [04:26.31]But sometimes fate leaves a lover out in the cold. [04:31.25]I'm Anna Matteo. [04:32.84]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com