[ti:Exploring the 'Butterfly Effect']
[al:Words and Their Stories]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-10-27]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:07.74]And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
[00:18.18]Butterflies are delicate insects. Their wings are thin and can be easily damaged. 
[00:28.10]So, how can a butterfly cause major things to happen?
[00:32.82]That is the idea behind the expression butterfly effect.
[00:38.93]The theory goes like this: When a butterfly flaps its wings on one side of the planet it can make a small change that, over time, could lead to a big event, like a storm, all the way on the other side of the planet.
[00:59.06]The butterfly effect is when very small changes lead to large and unpredictable changes in the future.
[01:09.16]For example, let's say a group of television writers demand higher pay.
[01:15.45]Their employers refuse.
[01:18.21]So, the writers go on strike.
[01:21.18]Then television actors join the strike.
[01:25.99]Their action forces the television industry to stop production. 
[01:31.61]Then, other businesses that support that industry are affected and so are the towns and communities where those businesses are centered. 
[01:43.74]These changes all resulted from that first demand for higher pay.
[01:50.63]A similar expression involves the game of dominoes -- the domino effect.
[01:58.43]Dominoes are small rectangular game pieces.
[02:03.64]One way to play with dominoes is to set them up in a line or pattern. 
[02:09.90]Then you push the domino at the start of the line into the one next to it and so on and so on ... until all the dominos fall down.
[02:21.78]You started the domino effect with your single push of a single domino.
[02:29.88]The butterfly effect and domino effect are chain reactions. 
[02:36.08]One thing leads to another.
[02:40.05]We often say that something sets off a chain reaction.
[02:45.47]Here is an example:
[02:47.64]The angry argument between the two friends set off a chain reaction of events that no one could have predicted. 
[02:56.51]One thing led to another and now they are enemies.
[03:02.41]You can also call this a chain of events. 
[03:07.41]Like butterfly effect and domino effect, one event causes, or triggers, the next one to happen.
[03:15.91]Now, let's hear two friends use some of these expressions:
[03:21.55]A: Hey, I'm having the official opening for my bookstore this weekend. You should stop by.
[03:28.62]B: I will! And congratulations. You've been working on that for a while.
[03:34.49]A: Nearly a year. There are so many steps in starting a business.
[03:40.06]B: How did you begin?
[03:41.64]A: It was a domino effect. As soon as I finished the first thing, the next thing to do became clear, and the next and the next.
[03:51.18]B: Sounds like starting that chain of events was important.
[03:55.26]A: Absolutely.
[03:56.51]B: As a writer, did you always want to own a bookstore?
[04:00.50]A: It's funny you ask. When I was little, my friend's parents owned a bookstore. I'd hang out there for hours!
[04:09.03]B: It's like the butterfly effect. Something that happened a long time ago, affected your future today.
[04:17.28]A: Hmm, that sounds like a good story to write.
[04:22.07]And that's Words and Their Stories.
[04:24.40]Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.