VOA慢速英语2021 美国一女子百万美元彩票失而复得

People play the lottery¹ with the hopes of winning money, sometimes a lot of money.

人们购买彩票是希望能中奖，有时还会赢得大奖。

Your chances of winning are small, but the payoffs can be big. It takes a lot of luck to win.

虽然中奖的几率很小，但回报却很诱人。要想中奖需要大量的运气。

But for a woman in Massachusetts winning the lottery involved more than luck. It involved extreme honesty and kindness.

但对马萨诸塞州的一名妇女来说，中彩票可不仅仅凭运气。还需要绝对的诚实和善良。

Lea Rose Fiega accidentally² threw out a $1 million lottery ticket.

利娅·罗丝·菲加（Lea Rose Fiega）不小心扔了一张100万美元的彩票。

But thanks to the kindness and honesty of the owners of the store where she bought it, she eventually collected her winnings.

但多亏了商店老板的善良和诚实，她最终赢得了奖金。

Fiega bought the $30 Diamond Millions scratch-off ticket in March at a convenience store in Southwick, Massachusetts.

今年3月，菲加在马萨诸塞州Southwick的一家便利店购买了一张价值30美元的钻石百万刮奖券。

The store is near her workplace. And it is named the Lucky Stop.

这家商店离她工作的地方很近。这家店被命名为“好运站”。

She told the Associated Press on Monday, "I was in a hurry, on lunch break, and just scratched it real quick ... and it didn't look like a winner ..."

她在周一接受美联社采访时表示:“当时我很着急，正好在午休时间，所以就匆忙地刮了一下……看起来不像是中奖的号码……”

So, she handed it to the store owners to throw away. The ticket lay in the store for 10 days.

所以，她把彩票交给店主扔掉。这张彩票在店里放了10天。

"One evening, I was going through the tickets from the trash and found out that she didn't scratch the number,"

“一天晚上，我在垃圾桶里翻彩票，发现她没有完全刮掉彩票的号码，”

Abhi Shah, the son of the store's owners, told a local television station.

店主的儿子阿比·沙阿(Abhi Shah)对当地电视台说道。

So, he scratched off the number. It was $1 million ticket.

所以，他把彩票号码刮了出来。这张彩票价值100万美元。

Fiega is a regular customer. So, the family knew immediately who had thrown it away.

菲加是我们的常客。所以，这家人立刻就知道是谁扔掉的彩票。

Shah went to see her at work. Fiega said, "He came to my office and said, ‘My Mom and Dad would like to see you.'"

沙阿到菲加工作的地方找她。菲加说：“他到我的办公室说，‘我爸妈想见你。’”

She told the young man that she was busy working. But he said, "No, you have to come over."

她告诉那个年轻人说她工作很忙。但他说，“不，你必须得来一趟。”

So, Fiega went to the store and that is when the family told her the news.

于是，菲加去了那家店，这时，她才得知这一喜讯。

"I was in total disbelief," Fiega said. "I cried. I hugged them."

菲加说，“我完全不敢相信”。“我喜极而泣。并拥抱了他们。”

In January, Fiega nearly died from COVID-19. She said recovering from that was like "winning the lottery."

今年1月，菲加差点因新冠肺炎死亡。她说，康复后就像“中了彩票”一样。

In American English, we also say we "hit the lottery" to mean we have had some good luck, any type of good luck.

在美式英语中，“hit the lottery”可以用来表示运气爆棚，可以指任何形式的运气。

Now after winning $1 million, Fiega says she feels doubly lucky.

在赢得了100万美元后，菲加称自己感到加倍幸运。

Speaking of the family, she is still in disbelief. "I mean, who does that? They're great people. I am beyond blessed," she said.

说到店主一家，她还是不敢相信。“我的意思是，这年头谁还会这么做？他们是很了不起的人。我简直太幸福了，”她说道。

The store gets $10,000 from the state lottery company for selling the winning ticket.

这家店因售出中奖彩票获得州彩票公司奖励的1万美元。

Fiega said she gave the family some money to thank them. She is saving³ the rest for retirement⁴.

菲加说，她分了这家人部分奖金以示感谢。她把剩下的奖金存起来以备退休之用。

I'm Anna Matteo.

安娜·马特奥为您播报。

1 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。

2 accidentally   

adv.偶然地；意外地

参考例句：

• Mary accidentally let out that her mother had telephoned.玛丽无意中说出她的母亲来过电话。
• As I turned around,I accidentally hit him in the face.我转身时不经意撞了他的脸。

3 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。