VOA慢速英語: 命運讓我們聚在一起？

Has Fate Brought Us Together?
命運讓我們聚在一起？
 Is it fate that brings us together today?
今天命運把我們聚在一起？
No, not fate. It is simply time for Words and Their Stories.
不，不是命運，只是到了詞匯掌故的時間。
Or maybe it is fate. Maybe just this morning you said to someone, “You know, I really wish VOA Learning English would do a show on the word ‘fate.’” And here we are. Now, that would be fate.
也許是命運的安排。也許早晨你對某個人說：“我真心希望美國之音慢速英語會有一個關(guān)于“fate”的一期節(jié)目。今天我們就來講講命運。”
Fate is a word that can be hard to understand. Fate, to describe it simply, means that something is meant to be.
命運是個很難理解的詞語。簡單的描述“fate”就是應該成為的那個樣子。
Fate is a word that has weight. It has power. When we say sealed one’s fate we mean a person has done something that has guaranteed a certain end result -- usually a bad one. Sometimes the result is even a fate worse than death, such as in this example:
命運是個有分量的詞匯。當我們說“sealed one’s fate”意思就是一個人做了某事，但是導致一個壞的結(jié)果。有時這種壞結(jié)果是比死亡還糟糕的命運。
A: He totally destroyed his business and now he’s going to jail. And for him, prison is a fate worse than death.
A：他毀了自己的生意，現(xiàn)在住進了監(jiān)獄。對他來說，監(jiān)獄就是比死亡還糟糕的一種命運。
B: Well, if he would rather die than go to prison, he should not have stolen that money from his investors. When he did that, he sealed his own fate.
B：如果他寧可死也不愿意住監(jiān)獄的話，他應該把投資者的錢給轉(zhuǎn)移走。如果那樣的話，他就決定了自己的命運。
The Merriam-Webster dictionary says fate is a “power that is believed to control what happens in the future.” In fact, fate is so powerful that people are warned not to tempt fate.
韋氏字典里說：“命運是一種能夠控制未來發(fā)生什么事的力量。事實上，命運很強大，人們被警告不能去挑戰(zhàn)命運。”
To tempt fate means to do something that involves a risk. Or, it means to be too sure about something. That extreme confidence may cause something unpleasant to happen.
向命運挑戰(zhàn)就意味著陷入危機?；蛘哒f一定會發(fā)生什么事。過分的自信也許會導致一些不愉快的事情發(fā)生。
Here is a true story. While on vacation in Thailand I met a woman who tempted fate by swimming around a rocky coastline at night. We warned her that she would not make it. And she didn’t. She floated in the ocean all night. A fishing boat rescued her the next morning. She was lucky. Her fate could have much different.
這是個真實的故事。在泰國度假的時候，我遇到一位女士，她在晚上一個多巖石的海岸線游泳來挑戰(zhàn)命運。我們警告她不能這樣做，但是她不聽勸告。一整晚她都漂在大海里。第二天早上，一條漁船救了他。她很幸運，她的命運可能與別人不同。
Fate can also change quickly and send your life in a direction you did not plan. When we say something is a twist of fate, we mean something strange or unexpected has happened. But more than that – the outcome was meant, or fated, to happen.
命運變化如此之快，會把你送到另一個你未曾計劃的方向。當我們講命運的扭轉(zhuǎn)，意思是一些奇怪或者意想不到的事發(fā)生了。但除此之外，結(jié)果或許是注定要發(fā)生。
When something goes wrong, we often say it was ill-fated, or doomed from the very start. For instance, the Titanic started its ill-fated journey with much celebration and excitement.
發(fā)生一些不好的事時，我們通常會說時運不濟，或者注定要倒霉。例如：泰坦尼克號在那么多的歡呼和慶祝中開始了注定悲劇的命運。
No one thought for a moment that its fate would be to lie at the bottom of the ocean. But by a terrible twist of fate, the great ship hit a huge block of ice in the ocean and quickly sank.
沒有人會想到泰坦尼克號會以沉于大海的命運而終結(jié)。但是在命運的轉(zhuǎn)折點，這艘船觸碰到海洋中的冰川，很快沉沒。
A twist of fate does not always mean something bad is meant to happen. Sometimes fate is romantic. Fate and love often go hand in hand. Many people trust fate when looking for their life partner, their soul mate. Others may use online dating services. This man trusted fate.
在命運的轉(zhuǎn)折點并不意味著總是會有壞事發(fā)生。有時候命運也很浪漫。命運與愛情是相伴而出現(xiàn)。很多人在尋找另一半、靈魂伴侶的時候會相信命運。其他人也許會使用在線約會。這類人相信命運。
A: How did you meet your wife?
A：你怎么遇見你的妻子的？
B: I met my wife completely by accident. She boarded the wrong airplane and was sitting in my seat. As soon as I saw her … I can’t explain it … I knew we would be married one day.
B：遇到我妻子純粹是意外。她登錯機了，然后坐在我的座位上。我見到她的那一刻，無法用言語解釋，我知道將來有一天我們會結(jié)婚。
A: Hmm. Was it an accident? Or a strange twist of fate?
A：嗯。只是個偶然？還是神奇命運轉(zhuǎn)折點？
B: I’ve never thought about it that way. Maybe I was destined to meet her all along.
B：我從未這樣想過，也許我注定要遇見她。
Fate may have served that couple well. But sometimes fate leaves a lover out in the cold.
命運也許很眷顧這對夫妻。但是有時候，命運也會讓愛人被冷落。
I’m Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·馬特奧。
Is there a time when the hand of fate changed the course of your life? Do share … in the comments section!
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Words in This Story
romantic – adj. relating to, or involving love between two people
destined – adj. certain to do or to be something
leave out in the cold – expression to leave someone in a bad position