'Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice'... Or Does It?

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

Lightning is one of the most powerful forces in nature. Scientists describe lightning as a huge burst of electricity between clouds, the air, or the ground.

These bolts of electricity can heat the air around them to temperatures five times higher than the surface of the sun. And that is really hot!

When you watch lighting¹, you know it's fast. That is why English speakers use the expression lightning speed to describe anything that is super-fast.

A runner can have lightning speed. An Italian restaurant can drop off a nice, warm pizza at your front door at lightning speed. And unconfirmed stories often spread online at lightning speed.

So, lightning is fast; it also can be dangerous. When a thunder and lightning storm starts, it is best to find shelter. Do not stand in an open field.

Lightning rod

Now, to protect buildings from lightning damage during a storm, you can attach a lightning rod to it. A lightning rod is a long piece of metal. This metal draws lightning away from the building.

People can also act as lightning rods ... but in a different way.

They attract attention, criticism and even anger of other people. A lightning rod is someone who becomes the target of criticism to draw attention away from more serious issues or other people.

Issues and even objects can become lightning rods, too. Anything that comes to represent something that people criticize can be called a lightning rod.

When speaking about lightning, we have another common expression:

Lightning never strikes the same place twice.

We use this expression when a very unusual event is not likely to happen again to the same person or in the same place.

It can be used when something good happens, such as winning a game of chance like the lottery². That does not happen very often.

Here is another example. Let's say your favorite sports team is having a bad year. But they were still able to defeat a much stronger team. However, the next time they face that stronger team, your team might not be so lucky. You know what they say -- lightning never strikes twice.

We also use this expression to say a bad thing won't happen again. We use this reassure³ someone, trying to make them feel better.

For example, let's say you are watching a baseball game and get hit by a baseball in your seat. Your friend might say, "Well, you're safe now. That cannot happen again! You know, lightning never strikes twice!"

That probably will not make your head feel any better. And you can tell your friend that scientists say that lightning can and will strike the same place twice.

Whether for something good or bad, the underlying⁴ truth remains⁵ the same: The chances of some unlikely thing happening twice is very small.

And that's Words and Their Stories for this week. Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo!

Whoever said lightning never strikes twice in the same place Whoever said miracles can't happen every day Never felt anything quite like The way I'm feeling every night Whoever said that Would take it all back If they ever met you

Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

The song at the end is Stephanie Beaumont singing "Whoever Said That."

Words in This Story

draw – v. to cause (attention) to be given to someone or something

reassure – v. to assure anew

underlying – adj. used to identify the idea, cause, problem, etc., that forms the basis of something

miracle – n. something (as an event or accomplishment) that is very outstanding, unusual, or wonderful

1 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

2 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

3 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

4 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。