VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: Money, Part 1

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.
我想应该到处都有梦想发财的人，我自己亦然。如果能不费吹灰地赚大钱，我愿意做任何事情。我想要赚很多很多的钱。在美国你可以通过购买彩票，赢取一大笔奖金。人们花钱购买一组数字，如果你的组合号码被抽中，你就赚翻了—通常会赢取上百万的奖金。中彩票是天上掉馅饼的事情。

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.
几年前，我的一个朋友AI买彩票中了奖，这改变了他的整个生活。他家庭本来并不富裕，并不是衔着银汤匙出生的人。相反，以前我的这位朋友经常捉襟见肘，没什么钱。他挣的钱上的太少了— 有些少的可怜。

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.
有时候，AI甚至需要接受家人和朋友的施舍和礼物度日。不过，可别误解我的意思，我的朋友并不是一个游手好闲，只依赖别人的钱财过日子的人。他过的十分节俭，经常精打细算花的每一分钱。事实上，他过去是个吝啬鬼，不喜欢花钱。最困难的时候他曾经破产，身无分文。

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.
有一天，艾尔东拼西凑了几美元买了一张彩票。他从没有想过他会突然走运，一夜暴富，或者意外获得横财。但是，他选的数字组合中了彩。他赢得了头奖，获得了一笔巨额奖金。

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.
艾尔非常兴奋。他做的第一件是就是买了一辆昂贵的新车，那是他正常情况下不可能买的奢侈品。然后他开始将钱花费在不需要的东西上。他开始浪费，就好像他的钱多的可以用来烧一样。他拥有的钱超过了他的实际需要，于是他的口袋好像正在烧出一个洞，他迅速地把钱挥霍掉了。

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.
当我们在餐厅聚餐时，他每次都要付款。他总是要买单，替人付账。他告诉我说，钱让他感觉如同一个百万富翁。他非常开心。

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.
然而，艾尔花了太多的钱。很快，我这位朋友就又变得穷困潦倒。他没有留下一点钱。他回到了身无分文的状态。他花了最后一美元，那是他最后最后的一点钱。他甚至没有建立一个储蓄账户。他没有攒下一分钱。

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.
我承认我确实为我的朋友感到惋惜。他本有足够的钱使他生活地如国王一般。相反，他却回到了从前生活拮据的日子—一个不能满足温饱的生活。有的人或许会说他是因小失大。他在小事上聪明有余，可在重要的事情上却智慧不足。

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