Unit 13 Lottery Fever

text Have you ever dreamed of becoming instantly rich? This dream of easy money attracted many different kinds of people to Taiwan’s Big Lotto. These people were not just buying lottery tickets; they were also buying hope. Although the odds of hitting the jackpot were very slim, people always like to take a chance. As lottery fever swept the island, many types of people stood in line at lottery stalls to buy tickets. Big Lotto players included housewives, businessmen, professional gamblers, and even

very poor people. They used many different methods to pick what they hoped were lucky numbers. While traditional people prayed at temples, some modern types let a computer pick numbers at random. What all these people had in common was the hope of striking it rich. The weak economy made this dream especially appealing. Even though Big Lotto players knew their chances of winning were small, the size of their dream was very large.

vocabulary easy money 得來容易的錢 Everyone dreams of getting easy money without working for it. 每個人都夢想贏得來容易的錢，卻不想努力賺取。 Big Lotto 大樂透 Taiwan’s Big Lotto always gives away a fortune to people in need. 台灣大樂透總是捐出錢來給需要的人。 lottery tickets 彩券 Some people borrowed money to buy lottery tickets. 有些人借錢買彩券。 odds are slim 贏的機率很小 Even though people know the odds are slim, they still hope to be the winner. 即使人們知道中獎機率不高，他們還是希望自己會成贏家。

hit the jackpot 中頭獎 If you choose the winning number, you will hit the jackpot. 如果你下注下對了，就會中頭獎。 take a chance 試試手氣、冒險 Gamblers love to take a chance. 賭徒都愛冒險。 lottery fever 彩券熱 People referred to the excitement about Big Lotto as lottery fever. 人們指稱，這種對大樂透的興奮的現象叫做「彩券熱」。 sweep 橫掃 (sweep, swept, swept) Whenever a lottery offers a large prize, interest will sweep the country. 每回彩券提供大獎時，人們對彩券的興趣會遍掃全國。 stood in line 排隊 Because he hoped to win the lottery, he was willing to stand in line to buy a ticket. 他因為想贏樂透，所以甘願排長隊買一張彩券。

lottery stall 投注站 Most people bought their tickets at lottery stalls. 大多數的人在投注站買彩券。 lucky numbers 幸運號碼 (明牌) Everyone hoped that their lottery ticket would be the lucky numbers. 每個人都希望他們買的彩券會有幸運號碼。 pray 祈禱 Some people prayed for good luck. 人們祈求好運。 temple 廟宇 Many people in Taipei went to Long Shan temple to pray that they would win. 許多在台北的人到龍山寺去祈求贏 (大獎)。 pick numbers 選號 Using a computer to pick numbers is a modern idea. 用電腦選號是現代的觀念。

- from 《用英文說台灣》 at random 隨意的 (=randomly) If you don’t want to choose your own numbers, a computer program can choose them at random. 如果你不想自己選號的話，電腦可以幫你任意選號。 strike it rich 一夜致富 (strike, struck, struck) My brother bought five lottery tickets because he is dreaming of striking it rich. 我的哥哥買了五張彩券，他夢想一夜致富。 appealing 吸引人 The cold drinks were especially appealing on a hot day. 冷飲在大熱天特別吸引人。 - from 《用英文說台灣》