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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Andrew Davis and I'm Gillian Woodward.

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<v Speaker 2>Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is

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<v Speaker 2>easier for people to understand no matter where in the

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<v Speaker 2>world they live.

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<v Speaker 1>William Post did not have an easy life. His mother

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<v Speaker 1>died when he was young. After that, his father sent

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<v Speaker 1>him away. When he grew up, he worked any job

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<v Speaker 1>he could find. One day, William had only forty dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>He decided to spend all forty dollars on a chance

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<v Speaker 1>to win a lot of money in the lottery.

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<v Speaker 2>William Post's life changed that day. He won sixteen million dollars.

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<v Speaker 2>He thought his life would now be perfect, but later

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<v Speaker 2>he described his win this way.

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<v Speaker 3>Every person dreams of winning money, but no one understands

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<v Speaker 3>the problems. They come from places you cannot even see.

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<v Speaker 1>William's life did change after winning, but in a bad way.

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<v Speaker 1>He spent a lot of money on things he did

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<v Speaker 1>not need. He bought houses, cars, and televisions. Everyone began

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<v Speaker 1>to ask him for money. People even took him to

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<v Speaker 1>court to get it. William lost all his money. He

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<v Speaker 1>was one million dollars in debt by the time he died.

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<v Speaker 1>He told reporters that the money did not make his

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<v Speaker 1>life better or easier. I was much happier when I

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<v Speaker 1>did not have any money.

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<v Speaker 2>Today's spotlight is on the lottery. Lotteries are a popular

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<v Speaker 2>kind of gaming. There are different ways to decide the

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<v Speaker 2>winner of a lottery, but the basic rules are the same.

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<v Speaker 2>People buy a ticket or piece of paper with numbers

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<v Speaker 2>on it, then the winning numbers are chosen by chance.

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<v Speaker 2>If your numbers are the same as the winning numbers,

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<v Speaker 2>you receive the prize money.

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<v Speaker 1>There are lotteries all around the world. Many lotteries are

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<v Speaker 1>managed by the government. Most of these lotteries give some

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<v Speaker 1>of the money raised by ticket sales for education, roads,

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<v Speaker 1>or other government programs. In large lotteries, this can be

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<v Speaker 1>millions of dollars.

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<v Speaker 2>However, some people argue that these lotteries do not help

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<v Speaker 2>countries as much as they seem to. These people admit

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<v Speaker 2>that lotteries provide money for social programs, but a government

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<v Speaker 2>may not give as much tax money to social programs

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<v Speaker 2>because of the lottery money. Then if the lottery stops,

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<v Speaker 2>or if people play less, the programs will not survive.

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<v Speaker 2>Valerie Strauss is a reporter. She spoke to the Washington

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<v Speaker 2>Post about lottery funding. In the United States.

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<v Speaker 4>Instead of using the money as extra funding, the government

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<v Speaker 4>has used lottery money to pay for the education budget.

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<v Speaker 4>They spend the money that would have been used had

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<v Speaker 4>there been no lottery cash on other things.

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<v Speaker 1>But government lotteries are not the own only kind of lottery.

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<v Speaker 1>There are also illegal lotteries. People print pieces of paper

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<v Speaker 1>that look like real lottery tickets, but they never declare

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<v Speaker 1>a winner. They keep the money. Other illegal lotteries may

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<v Speaker 1>declare a winner, but only award a small amount of

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<v Speaker 1>the money collected. Because illegal lotteries are not managed by

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<v Speaker 1>the government, the people running them can do whatever they want.

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<v Speaker 2>More and more illegal lotteries are using the Internet. A

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<v Speaker 2>person may get an email or text message inviting them

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<v Speaker 2>into a worldwide lottery. Sometimes the email says that the

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<v Speaker 2>person has already won. They only need to go to

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<v Speaker 2>a website and buy a chance to win. But like

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<v Speaker 2>the lottery with false tickets, this illegal lottery will not

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<v Speaker 2>give anyone prize money.

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<v Speaker 1>Imagine you had an extra ten dollars each week you

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<v Speaker 1>are thinking about playing a lottery. The idea of winning

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<v Speaker 1>millions of dollars is tempting. You could do a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of things. If you won, you could help a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people, and it would be nice not to have

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<v Speaker 1>to worry about earning money. So is it a good

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<v Speaker 1>idea for you to play that lottery?

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<v Speaker 2>It is important to understand the chances of winning. The

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<v Speaker 2>reason that most lotteries can offer so much money is

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<v Speaker 2>because the chance of winning is so small. One of

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<v Speaker 2>the largest lotteries in the world is called Mega Millions.

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<v Speaker 2>It only costs one dollar to play, and it offers

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<v Speaker 2>very large prizes. However, the chance of winning the highest

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<v Speaker 2>prize is one in two hundred and ninety million. To

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<v Speaker 2>win a smaller prize like two hundred dollars, the chances

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<v Speaker 2>are a little better, one in fourteen thousand.

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<v Speaker 1>Here is a comparison. A person is more likely to

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<v Speaker 1>be hit by lightning or to be killed by a

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<v Speaker 1>dog than to win the lottery. For every kilometer a

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<v Speaker 1>person drives in a car, they are six times more

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<v Speaker 1>likely to be killed than to win a lottery like

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<v Speaker 1>Mega Millions.

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<v Speaker 2>If there is so little chance of winning, why do

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<v Speaker 2>people continue to play. One reason is that many lottery

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<v Speaker 2>games have additional prizes of one or two dollars. When

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<v Speaker 2>people play the lottery, these small wins make them feel good.

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<v Speaker 2>They remember the wins and forget the losses.

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<v Speaker 1>Also, studies show that poor people buy more lottery tickets

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<v Speaker 1>than rich people. Many poor people do not understand how

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<v Speaker 1>unlikely it is they will win. Even if they do,

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<v Speaker 1>they may play the lottery anyway. It may be that

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<v Speaker 1>poor people do not have the resources to help themselves.

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<v Speaker 1>They may play the lottery for an emotional reason. They

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<v Speaker 1>may see the lottery as their only hope for a

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<v Speaker 1>better future. David just is a teacher of economics at

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<v Speaker 1>Cornell University. He told CNN.

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<v Speaker 5>It is an investment. It may not be a good investment,

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<v Speaker 5>but to people with limited resources, this may be the

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<v Speaker 5>only way that they have to sort of dream big,

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<v Speaker 5>to think that something, something great is going to happen,

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<v Speaker 5>something that will just change everything.

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<v Speaker 2>But the lottery is not the only thing people can

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<v Speaker 2>do with money. Over a long time, saving money can

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<v Speaker 2>add up. If a person took the ten dollars they

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<v Speaker 2>spend on lottery tickets and saved it, after twenty years,

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<v Speaker 2>they would have over ten thousand dollars. If that ten

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<v Speaker 2>thousand dollars was invested wisely, it could increase to thirty

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<v Speaker 2>thousand dollars. This is not millions of but it is

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<v Speaker 2>real money and it could help pay for a home

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<v Speaker 2>or an education.

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<v Speaker 1>Everyone wonders what will happen in the future. We think

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<v Speaker 1>that by winning the lottery, we will know that our

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<v Speaker 1>future will be great. But money cannot prevent accidents from happening.

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<v Speaker 1>It cannot stop people from getting sick. The story of

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<v Speaker 1>William Post shows that money can solve some problems, but

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<v Speaker 1>it causes other problems.

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<v Speaker 2>What do you do when you worry about the future.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you think about money? What else helps assure you

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<v Speaker 2>about your future? You can leave a comment on our

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<v Speaker 2>website at www dot Spotlight English dot com. You can

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<v Speaker 2>also find us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and x You

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<v Speaker 2>can also get our programs delivered directly to your Android

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<v Speaker 2>or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.

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<v Speaker 1>The writer of this program was from the Spotlight team.

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<v Speaker 1>The producer was Michyo Ozaki. The producer was Dan Christman.

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<v Speaker 1>The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and

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<v Speaker 1>the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program

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<v Speaker 1>and voiced by Spotlight. This program is called the Lottery,

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<v Speaker 1>Big Money or Big Problem.

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<v Speaker 2>We hope you can join us again for the next

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<v Speaker 2>Spotlight program, Goodbye,