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Now, the VOA |
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Special English program |
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WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. |
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I think people everywhere |
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dream about having lots of money. |
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I know I do. |
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I would give anything |
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to make money hand over fist. |
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I would like to earn |
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large amounts of money. |
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You could win a large amount |
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of money in the United States |
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through lotteries. |
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People pay money for tickets |
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with numbers. |
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If your combination |
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of numbers is chosen, |
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you win a huge amount of money |
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– often in the millions. |
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Winning the lottery is a windfall. |
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A few years ago, |
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my friend Al won the lottery. |
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It changed his life. |
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He did not have a rich family. |
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He was not born |
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with a silver spoon |
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in his mouth. |
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Instead, my friend was |
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always hard up for cash. |
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He did not have much money. |
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And the money he did earn |
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was chicken feed – very little. |
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Sometimes Al even had |
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to accept hand-outs, gifts |
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from his family and friends. |
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But do not get me wrong. |
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My friend was not a deadbeat. |
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He was not the kind of person |
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who never paid the money he owed. |
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He simply pinched pennies. |
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He was always very careful |
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with the money he spent. |
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In fact, he was often |
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a cheapskate. |
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He did not like to spend money. |
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The worst times were |
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when he was flat broke |
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and had no money at all. |
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One day, Al scraped together |
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a few dollars for a lottery ticket. |
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He thought he would never |
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strike it rich or gain lots |
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of money unexpectedly. |
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But his combination of numbers |
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was chosen and he won the lottery. |
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He hit the jackpot. |
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He won a great deal of money. |
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Al was so excited. |
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The first thing he did |
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was buy a costly new car. |
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He splurged on the one thing |
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that he normally would not buy. |
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Then he started spending money |
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on unnecessary things. |
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He started to waste it. |
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It was like he had money to burn. |
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He had more money than he needed |
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and it was burning a hole |
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in his pocket so he spent it quickly. |
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When we got together for a meal |
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at a restaurant, Al paid every time. |
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He would always foot the bill, |
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and pick up the tab. |
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He told me the money made him |
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feel like a million dollars. |
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He was very happy. |
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But, Al spent too much money. |
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Soon my friend was down and out again. |
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He had no money left. |
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He was back to being |
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strapped for cash. |
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He had spent his bottom dollar, |
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his very last amount. |
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He did not even build up a nest egg. |
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He had not saved any of the money. |
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I admit I do feel sorry |
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for my friend. |
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He had enough money to live like a king. |
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Instead, he is back to living |
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on a shoestring -- a very low budget. |
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Some might say he is penny wise |
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and pound foolish. |
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He was wise about small things, |
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but not about important things. |
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(MUSIC) |
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WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, |
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in VOA Special English, |
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was written by Jill Moss. |
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I'm Faith Lapidus. |
