时间:2019-01-30 作者:英语课 分类:2006年慢速英语(九)月


英语课

WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - Money: He Hit the JackpotBy Jill Moss 1

Broadcast: Sunday, September 10, 2006

Now, the VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories.

I think people everywhere dream about having lots of money. I know I do. I would give anything to make money hand over fist. I would like to earn large amounts of money. You could win a large amount of money in the United States through lotteries 2. People pay money for tickets with numbers. If your combination 3 of numbers is chosen, you win a huge amount of money 鈥?often in the millions. Winning the lottery 4 is a windfall.

A few years ago, my friend Al won the lottery. It changed his life. He did not have a rich family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Instead, my friend was always hard up for cash. He did not have much money. And the money he did earn was chicken feed 鈥?very little.

Sometimes Al even had to accept hand-outs, gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me wrong. My friend was not a deadbeat. He was not the kind of person who never paid the money he owed. He simply pinched 5 pennies. He was always very careful with the money he spent. In fact, he was often a cheapskate. He did not like to spend money. The worst times were when he was flat broke and had no money at all.

One day, Al scraped 6 together a few dollars for a lottery ticket. He thought he would never strike it rich or gain lots of money unexpectedly 7. But his combination of numbers was chosen and he won the lottery. He hit the jackpot. He won a great deal of money.

Al was so excited. The first thing he did was buy a costly 8 new car. He splurged on the one thingthat he normally 9 would not buy. Then he started spending money on unnecessary things. He started to waste it. It was like he had money to burn. He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket so he spent it quickly.

When we got together for a meal at a restaurant, Al paid ever time. He would always foot the bill, and pick up the tab. He told me the money made him feel like a million dollars. He was very happy.

But, Al spent too much money. Soon my friend was down and out again. He had no money left. He was back to being strapped 10 for cash. He had spent his bottom dollar, his very last amount. He did not even build up a nest egg. He had not saved any of the money.

I admit I do feel sorry for my friend. He had enough money to live like a king. Instead, he is back to living on a shoestring 11 -- a very low budget. Some might say he is penny wise and pound foolish. He was wise about small things, but not about important things.

(MUSIC)

WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss. I'm Faith Lapidus.



n.苔,藓,地衣
  • Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
  • He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。
n.抽彩给奖法( lottery的名词复数 );碰运气的事;彩票;彩券
  • Next to bullfights and soccer, lotteries are Spain's biggest sport. 除了斗牛和足球以外,彩票是西班牙最热门的玩意儿。 来自辞典例句
  • Next to bullfight and soccer, lotteries are Spain's biggest sport. 发行彩票在西班牙是仅次于斗牛和足球的最大娱乐活动。 来自辞典例句
n.组合,合并,联合;
  • He carried on the business in combination with his friends.他与朋友们合伙做生意。
  • The materials can be used singly or in combination.这些材料可以单独使用也可以混合用。
n.抽彩;碰运气的事,难于算计的事
  • 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。
adj.短缺的,匮乏的v.夹痛( pinch的过去式和过去分词 );逮捕;盗窃;使入不敷出
  • He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger. 他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him. 在火车上有人捏她屁股,她打了那人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.刮掉(scrape的过去式和过去分词);擦伤
  • She scraped the mud off her boots. 她刮掉了靴子上的泥。
  • He scraped his boots clean before coming into the house. 进屋前他先把靴子擦干净。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adv.未料到地,意外地;竟;居然;骤然
  • The volcano unexpectedly blew up early in the morning. 火山一早突然爆发了。
  • I had just put the dinner on when Jim walked in unexpectedly. 我刚把晚饭摆上桌,吉姆突然走进来。
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
adv.正常地,通常地
  • I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
  • My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。
adj.用皮带捆住的,用皮带装饰的;身无分文的;缺钱;手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词);用皮带抽打;包扎;给…打绷带
  • Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.小额资本;adj.小本经营的
  • In the early years,the business was run on a shoestring.早年,这家店铺曾是小本经营。
  • How can I take the best possible digital pictures on a shoestring budget?怎样用很小投资拍摄最好的数码照片?
标签: 慢速英语 voa
学英语单词
action of mesne profits
aditorial
all-electric control
antirap
apprehensio
backin
baihu decoction
barium sulfophenylate
Brenneman syndrome
carcinophora kawakamii
cassans
chinese characters
chromosome pairing
clean bill bought
collect-'em-up
colloid goods
colour plane
confer a medal on sb
counterboring drill press
crane for placing stoplogs
Crigler-Najjarsyndrome
croppers
cross-analysis
current consuming
cytological exponent
data ready flag
declaration for importation
determination of maximal expiratory flow rate
disinhibition versus constraint (dvc)
duplicate deposit tickets
entrepreneurial experience
ethyltriphenylsilane
fibrae sanguis
financial comparison
finite splitting gield
fish-eye view
frolickers
gained work
Giemsa(s)stain
grey cast iron shielding
hard sugar
Himalayan lilac
humble pie
hygeist
i swear
imaginacin
industrial station
infunde
interface charge
invariant form
known component
La Garita
least energy principle
Louverné
lvd
melish
meyerhold
misquotes
monkey drive
multispecies
Munn
Na-K-ATPase
no e-mail
Onderdendam
parcel rates
piecemeal stock acquisition
Poisson binomial trials model
polyanionic surfactant
Profichet's
rankenangioma
red harring
releasing factor
reservation wages
rubrofusarin
same as above
Saxifraga zekoensis
scirpenediol
semicontinuous mill
sharing the total profit
shaughnessy
shostak
side boob
statoconia
stayings
stink damp
store-and-forward basis
straightforwardly
swarved
Tamera(Tāmirah)
taxonomy of blue-green algae
temperature coefficient of current
time-contrast-index curve
topology record
track occupancy light indicator
trend toward
twin beds
unpicking rate
Urucurituba
vadstenas
Xylofagou
Zarp