读者文摘:美国历史上最大的彩票骗局(6)

The night before the first lottery¹ he rigged, a $4.8 million jackpot in Colorado, Eddie stayed late in his messy, computer-filled office.

艾迪第一次操纵的彩票是科罗拉多州的480万美元的头奖，在前一天晚上，他在脏乱的、满是电脑的办公室呆到很晚。

He set a test computer to run the program over and over again and wrote down all the potential winning numbers on a yellow legal pad.

他设置了一台测试计算机来反复测试那个程序，把所有潜在的中奖号码都记在了一个标准拍纸簿上面。

The next day, November 23, 2005, he handed the pad to his brother, who was headed to Colorado on a trip.

第二天，2005年11月23日，他把拍纸簿传给了他的弟弟，后者正要去科罗拉多州旅行。

"These numbers have a good chance of winning based on my analysis," he said. "Play them. Play them all."

他说，“基于我的分析，这些号码有很大的中奖概率，把所有的号码都买了。”

On a clear summer day in Des Moines last year, Eddie Tipton, who was then 54, trudged² up the stairs of the Polk County Courthouse.

去年，在得梅因一个晴朗的夏日，当时54岁的艾迪·蒂普顿步履艰难地走上波尔克县法院的楼梯。

His hands were shoved in his pockets, his head down.

他双手插在口袋里，低着头。

He had accepted a plea deal for masterminding the massive lottery scam—one count of ongoing³ criminal conduct,

他接受了一项策划大规模彩票诈骗的认罪协议-一个持续进行的犯罪行为的指控，

part of a package deal that gave his brother only 75 days. Eddie was here for his sentencing.

这是只判了他弟弟75天监禁的一揽子交易的一部分。艾迪在这里接受宣判。

In statements to prosecutors⁵, he painted himself as a kind of coding Robin⁶ Hood⁷, stealing from the lottery and helping⁸ people in need:

在对检察官的声明中，他把自己描绘成某种编码罗宾汉，从彩票中偷钱，帮助有需要的人:

his brother, who had five daughters; his friend who'd just gotten engaged. "I didn't really need the money," Eddie said.

他弟弟有五个女儿；他刚订婚的朋友。艾迪说，“我并不真的需要钱。”

The judge noted⁹ that Eddie seemed to rationalize his actions—that he didn't think it was necessarily illegal,

法官注意到艾迪似乎在为自己的行为辩解——他不认为这一定是违法的，

just taking advantage of a hole in the system, sort of like counting cards at a casino.

只是利用了系统中的漏洞，有点像在赌场里数牌。

The judge sentenced Eddie to a maximum of 25 years in prison.

法官判处埃迪最多25年监禁。

The brothers' restitution¹⁰ to the various state lotteries¹¹ came to $2.2 million, even though,

兄弟俩对各州彩票的赔偿总计达220万美元，尽管如此，

according to his attorney, Eddie himself pocketed only around $350,000.

据艾迪的律师称，艾迪只拿了大约35万美元的奖金。

Sand expects Eddie to be released on parole within seven years.

桑德认为艾迪能在七年内假释出狱。

Reflecting on the case, the prosecutor⁴ says he felt a deep intellectual satisfaction in solving the puzzle:

在对此案的回顾中，这位检察官表示，在解开这个谜题时，他感到一种深深的智力上的满足:

"The justice system at its best is really about a search for truth."

“司法系统最好的情况就是寻求真相。”

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 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

7 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 restitution   

n.赔偿；恢复原状

参考例句：

• It's only fair that those who do the damage should make restitution.损坏东西的人应负责赔偿，这是再公平不过的了。
• The victims are demanding full restitution.受害人要求全额赔偿。

11 lotteries   

n.抽彩给奖法( lottery的名词复数 )；碰运气的事；彩票；彩券

参考例句：

• 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