Winning the lottery

Now, the VOA

Special English program

WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

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.