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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight1. I'm Robin2 Basselin.
Voice 2
And I'm Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
William Post did not have an easy life. His mother died when he was young. After that, his father sent him away. When he grew up, he worked any job he could find. One day, William had only forty dollars. He decided3 to spend all forty dollars on a chance to win a lot of money in the lottery4.
Voice 2
William Post's life changed that day. He won 16 million dollars! He thought his life would now be perfect. But later he described his win this way,
Voice 3
"Every person dreams of winning money. But no one understands the problems. They come from places you cannot even see."
Voice 1
William's life did change after winning, but in a bad way. He spent a lot of money on things he did not need. He bought houses, cars, and televisions. Everyone began to ask him for money. People even took him to court to get it. William lost all his money. Today, he lives alone. He says that the money did not make his life better or easier.
Voice 3
"I was much happier when I did not have any money."
Voice 2
Today's Spotlight is on the lottery. Lotteries5 are a popular kind of gaming. There are different ways to decide the winner of a lottery, but the basic rules are the same. People buy a ticket or piece of paper with numbers on it. Then the winning numbers are chosen by chance. If your numbers are the same as the winning numbers, you receive the prize money.
Voice 1
There are lotteries all around the world. Many lotteries are managed by the government. Most of these lotteries give some of the money raised by ticket sales for education, roads, or other government programs. In large lotteries, this can be millions of dollars.
Voice 2
However, some people argue that these lotteries do not actually help a country. These people admit that lotteries provide money for social programs. But a government may not give as much tax money to social programs because of the lottery money. Then, if the lottery stops, or if people play less, the programs will not survive.
Voice 1
But government lotteries are not the only kind of lottery. There are also illegal lotteries. People print pieces of paper that look like real lottery tickets. But they never declare a winner. They keep the money. Other illegal lotteries may declare a winner, but only award a small amount of the money collected. Because illegal lotteries are not managed by the government, the people running them can do whatever they want.
Voice 2
More and more, illegal lotteries are using the internet. A person may get an e-mail inviting6 them into a world-wide lottery. Some times the e-mail says that the person has already won! They only need to go to a website and buy a chance to win. But like the lottery with false tickets, this illegal lottery will not give anyone prize money.
Voice 1
Imagine you had an extra ten dollars each week. You are thinking about playing a lottery. The idea of winning millions of dollars is tempting7. You could do a lot of things if you won. You could help a lot of people. And it would be nice not to have to worry about earning money. So, is it a good idea for you to play that lottery?
Voice 2
It is important to understand the chances of winning. The reason that most lotteries can offer so much money is because the chance of winning is so small. One of the largest lotteries in the world is called Mega Millions. It only costs one dollar to play. And it offers very large prizes. However, the chance of winning the highest prize is one in 175 million. To win a smaller prize, like 150 dollars, the chances are a little better: one in 14,000.
Voice 1
Here is a comparison8. A person is more likely to be hit by lightening9, or killed by a dog than to win the lottery. For every kilometre a person drives in a car, they are six times more likely to be killed than to win a lottery like Mega Millions.
Voice 2
If there is so little chance of winning, why do people continue to play? One reason is that many lottery games have additional10 prizes of one or two dollars. When people play the lottery these small wins make them feel good. They remember the wins and forget the losses.
Voice 1
Also, studies show that poor people buy more lottery tickets than rich people. Many poor people do not understand how unlikely11 it is they will win. Even if they do, they may play the lottery anyway. It may be that poor people do not have the resources to help themselves. They may play the lottery for an emotional12 reason. They may see the lottery as their only hope for a better future.
Voice 2
But the lottery is not the only thing people can do with money. Over a long time, saving13 money can add up. If a person took the ten dollars they spend on lottery tickets and saved it, after twenty years they would have over 10,000 dollars. If that 10,000 dollars was invested14 wisely, it could increase to 30,000 dollars. This is not millions of dollars, but it is real money! And it could help pay for a home or an education.
Voice 1
Everyone wonders what will happen in the future. We think that by winning the lottery, we will know that our future will be great. But money cannot prevent accidents from happening. It cannot stop people from getting sick. The story of William Post shows that money can solve some problems, but it causes other problems. What can we do when we worry about the future?
Voice 2
Money does have a place in our life. But it should not be the centre. Many Christians15 believe that their future is in the hands of God. Bad things will still happen. But God will walk with us in our struggles. This offers more than winning any lottery.
Voice 1
The writer and producer of this program was Adam Navis. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users16 can hear our programs, read our scripts17, and see our word list on our website at http://www.Radio.English.net. This program is called "The Lottery: Big Money or Big Problem?"
Voice 2
If you have a comment or question for Spotlight you can email us. Our email address is radio @ english . net. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Thank you for listening. Goodbye!
收听单词发音 |
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spotlight
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| n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目 | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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lottery
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| n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事 | |
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lotteries
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| n.抽彩给奖法( lottery的名词复数 )；碰运气的事；彩票；彩券 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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comparison
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| n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻 | |
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lightening
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| n.发光v.使（某物）更明亮( lighten的现在分词 )；变得更光明 | |
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additional
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| adj.添加的，额外的，另外的 | |
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unlikely
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| adj.未必的，多半不可能的；不大可能发生的 | |
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emotional
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| adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的 | |
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saving
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| n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款 | |
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invested
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| v.投资，花费( invest的过去式和过去分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等） | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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users
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| 用户，使用者( user的名词复数 ) | |
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scripts
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| 剧本( script的名词复数 )； 文字； 笔迹； （一种语言的）字母系统 | |
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