He Hit the Jackpot
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| Money: He Hit the Jackpot | |
| What does it take to have a rich life? Transcript of radio broadcast: 01 December 2007 |
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Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
(MUSIC)
I think people everywhere dream about having lots of money. I know I do. I would give anything to make money hand over fist. I would like to earn large amounts of money. You could win a large amount of money in the United States through lotteries. People pay money for tickets with numbers. If your combination of numbers is chosen, you win a huge amount of money – often in the millions. Winning the lottery is a windfall.
A few years ago, my friend Al won the lottery. It changed his life. He did not have a rich family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Instead, my friend was always hard up for cash. He did not have much money. And the money he did earn was chicken feed – very little.
Sometimes Al even had to accept hand-outs, gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me wrong. My friend was not a deadbeat. He was not the kind of person who never paid the money he owed. He simply pinched pennies. He was always very careful with the money he spent. In fact, he was often a cheapskate. He did not like to spend money. The worst times were when he was flat broke and had no money at all.
One day, Al scraped together a few dollars for a lottery ticket. He thought he would never strike it rich or gain lots of money unexpectedly. But his combination of numbers was chosen and he won the lottery. He hit the jackpot. He won a great deal of money.
Al was so excited. The first thing he did was buy a costly new car. He splurged on the one thing that he normally would not buy. Then he started spending money on unnecessary things. He started to waste it. It was like he had money to burn. He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket so he spent it quickly.
When we got together for a meal at a restaurant, Al paid every time. He would always foot the bill, and pick up the tab. He told me the money made him feel like a million dollars. He was very happy.
But, Al spent too much money. Soon my friend was down and out again. He had no money left. He was back to being strapped for cash. He had spent his bottom dollar, his very last amount. He did not even build up a nest egg. He had not saved any of the money.
I admit I do feel sorry for my friend. He had enough money to live like a king. Instead, he is back to living on a shoestring -- a very low budget. Some might say he is penny wise and pound foolish. He was wise about small things, but not about important things.
(MUSIC)
WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss. I’m Faith Lapidus.
hand over fist (informal) if you gain or lose something hand over fist, you gain or lose it very quickly: 
Five years ago, the company was losing money hand over fist.wind‧fall [countable]
his £2 million windfall in the lotteryhard up
I'm a bit hard up at the moment.'How about a date with Tom?' 'No, thanks, I'm not that hard up.'The bank offered to lend us £1,000 but that's chicken feed compared to what we need.people who have to live on handouts from the statea cash handoutPlease read the handout.pinch pennies
지출을 극도로 줄이다penny-pinching : unwilling to spend or give money [=mean]:
penny-pinching governmentsThe cheapskate didn't even pay for the cab.flat broke
무일푼의
If you scrape together an amount of money or a number of things, you succeed in obtaining it with difficulty.
*They only just managed to scrape the money together.
*It's possible the Congress Party will scrape together a majority.
strike it rich
: 돈벼락을 맞다
to suddenly make a lot of money
Within a couple of months I'd splurged about £2,500 on clothes.have money to burn 《구어》 돈이 주체못할 만큼 많다/돈이 썩을만큼[얼마든지] 있다
to have more money than you need, so that you spend it on unnecessary things:
Unless you've got money to burn, these expensive guitars are probably not for you.burn a hole in your pocket :
if money burns a hole in your pocket, you want to spend it as soon as you can
<돈이> 몸에 붙지 않다
to pay for something, especially something expensive that you do not want to pay for:
He ordered drinks and then left me to foot the bill!pick up the tab:셈을 치르다, 값을 지불하다
to pay for something, especially when it is not your responsibility to pay:
Taxpayers will pick up the tab for the stadium.feel like a million dollars:
to look very attractive or feel very happy and healthy
매우 기분이 좋다, 기분 최고다., 날아 갈것 같다.
a down-and-out actor[ informal] having little or no money at the moment:
Can you lend me ten dollars? I'm a little strapped for cash.bottom dollar 최후의[남은] 돈
They had to use part of their retirement nest egg to pay for their son's college fees.on a shoestring [informal]: 얼마 안되는 돈으로
if you do something on a shoestring, you do it without spending much money
The program was run on a shoestring.
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