每天读一篇英语小故事：Better To Be Unlucky

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　　Sam, an unemployed piano tuner, said it was only the second thing he had
ever won in his life. The first thing was an Afghan blanket at a church raffle
when he was 25 years old. But this was much bigger: it was $120,000! He had won
the Big Cube, a state lottery game. To win, a contestant must first guess which
number a spinning cube will stop on. The cube has six numbers on it: 1X, 10X,
50X, 100X, 500X, and 1000X. If he is correct, the contestant must then guess
which of two selected variables is going to be greater. So, just guessing which
number appears on the cube does not guarantee that you will win any money.
        　　Sam correctly guessed 1000X, but he still had to choose between two
variables. One variable was the number of cars that would run the stop sign at
Hill Street and Lake Avenue in six hours. The other variable was the number of
times that a teenage boy would change TV channels in a three-hour period. This
was a tough decision.
        　　Finally, Sam flipped a coin. It came up heads, so Sam picked the teenager.
He picked right. The stop sign was run only 76 times, but the teen clicked 120
times. Sixty-year-old Sam jumped for joy, for he had just won 1000 times 120, or
$120,000. Sam dreamily left the lottery studio. Talking excitedly on his cell
phone while crossing the street, he got hit by a little sports car.
        　　Sam is slowly getting better. He was in the hospital for a month. His
hospital bill was $110,000. And the insurance company for the little sports
car’s owner sued Sam for $9,000 worth of repairs. Also, Sam still has to pay
federal taxes on his winnings. Sam doesn’t play the state lottery any more. He
says it’s better to be unlucky.