人們把1美元變成100萬美元的最快方法是什麼？：英語精讀講義

You've probably all heard of a get rich quick scheme and you've probably also heard the adage that there's no such thing as easy money. 講解

您可能都聽說過快速致富的騙局，也可能聽過「天下沒有白吃的午餐」這句俗語。

But what if you were one of the luckiest people alive? 文法

但是，如果您是世界上最幸運的人之一呢？

Maybe a gambler that started with little but made the bet of a lifetime. 片語搭配

也許是一個本金很少，卻做了一生中最賺錢賭注的賭徒。

Or a savvy investor that somehow managed to start with a buck and make it a million. 片語搭配

或者是一個精明的投資者，不知怎麼地用一美元起家，賺到了一百萬。

Or perhaps you have an eye for expensive antiques 慣用語

或者也許您對昂貴的古董慧眼獨具，

and bought something for barely anything and sold it for a fortune. 片語搭配

用極低的價格買到了某件東西，然後高價賣出。

Do these things even exist?

這些事真的存在嗎？

Have people really started with a dollar and then got rich off of it? 片語搭配

真的有人用一美元起家，然後靠它發大財嗎？

That's what we'll find out today. 表達脈絡

這就是我們今天要探討的內容。

In this episode of the Infographics Show,

在本期《資訊圖表秀》（The Infographics Show）節目中，

fastest way people turned $1 into a million.

我們來看看人們用1美元賺到100萬美元的最快方法。

Don't forget to subscribe and click the bell button so that you can be part of our notification squad.

別忘了訂閱並點擊小鈴鐺按鈕，這樣您就能加入我們的通知小分隊。

As you know,

如您所知，

one way to turn a small amount of money into a fortune is to win the lottery. 文法

把少量資金變成巨額財富的一個方法就是中樂透。

Where should you play to get the best odds and the biggest prizes? 片語搭配

去哪裡玩才能獲得最好的賠率和最大的獎金呢？

According to most media, that is the USA.

根據大多數媒體的報導，那是在美國。

Spain actually also has huge prizes.

西班牙實際上也有巨額獎金。

The biggest ever single win in the US was when a Massachusetts woman

美國歷史上最大的單注大獎得主是麻州的一名女子，

won $758.7 million in 2017.

她在2017年贏得了7.587億美元。

But because she decided to take the lump sum in one go, 講解

但因為她決定一次領完所有獎金，

not over 29 payments, and because the win is taxed,

而不是分29期領取，而且這筆獎金還需要繳稅，

she came out with a measly $336 million. 片語動詞

她最終只拿到了區區3.36億美元。

The nursing clerk obviously decided to retire soon after.

顯然，這位護理助理不久後就決定退休了。

Winning the lottery, however, isn't that easy.

然而，中樂透可沒那麼容易。

You are actually statistically more likely to die in a car crash 文法

統計數據顯示，實際上你死於車禍

or get struck by lightning than win the lottery.

或者被雷劈的機率，都比中樂透要高。

The odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery is 1 in 259 million 片語搭配

贏得「兆彩」（Mega Millions）樂透的機率是2.59億分之一，

and 1 in 292 million for Powerball.

而「威力彩」（Powerball）的機率是2.92億分之一。

Nevertheless, this is likely the best get super rich gambling bet out there.

儘管如此，這可能是讓你超級暴富的最佳賭博方式了。

Sticking with gambling, 表達脈絡

同樣是賭博，

in 2017 a woman in the UK walked into a betting shop with 1 buck 表達脈絡

2017年，英國有一名女子拿著1塊錢走進了投注站，

or in this case 1 pound and walked out with $800,000.

確切地說是1英鎊，然後拿著80萬美元走了出來。

She bet on what's called an accumulator, 文化背景

她下注的是所謂的「過關投注」（accumulator），

meaning she chose 12 English football matches

意思是她選了12場英格蘭足球比賽，

and bet which side would win in each game,

並賭每場比賽哪一方會贏，

stating home win or away win.

標明是主場贏還是客場贏。

She didn't like football, she told the press,

她告訴媒體，她並不喜歡足球，

and just chose the names she liked.

只是選了她喜歡的名字。

She got them all correct

結果她全猜對了，

and William Hill betting company said it was their biggest football payout ever.

威廉希爾（William Hill）博彩公司表示，這是他們有史以來最大的足球賠付。

The funny thing is, the woman's husband, 表達脈絡

有趣的是，該女子的丈夫，

apparently a football expert,

顯然是個足球專家，

had been betting on teams every week all of his adult life. 文法

自從成年以來，他每週都會在球隊上押注。

So there you go. 語氣意圖

就是這樣。

You might try using the force when you bet. 文化背景

您在下注時也許可以試著憑藉「原力」。

We now turn to probably the luckiest ever slot machine winner, 表達脈絡

現在我們來看看可能有史以來最幸運的吃角子老虎機中獎者，

who won big in Las Vegas not just once but twice. 文法

他在拉斯維加斯贏得了大獎，而且不只一次，是兩次。

The man called Elmer Sherwin was 76

這位名叫艾爾默·舍溫（Elmer Sherwin）的男子當時76歲，

when he won $4.6 million in the slot machine Megabucks.

他在Megabucks吃角子老虎機上贏得了460萬美元。

According to one betting site we found,

根據我們找到的一家博彩網站的說法，

you can play each spin with 1, 2, or 3 dollars,

每次旋轉你可以玩1、2或3美元，

but to get the jackpot you must play with 3 dollars.

但要獲得頭獎，你必須玩3美元。

What's amazing?

讓人驚訝的是什麼？

This old guy took a trip around the world after his win,

這個老頭子在中獎後去環遊了世界，

then went back to Vegas 14 years later at the ripe old age of 90, 慣用語

然後在14年後，也就是90歲高齡時回到了拉斯維加斯，

he then won $21 million playing the same game.

接著玩同樣的遊戲又贏了2100萬美元。

Probably too old to spend the cash,

也許是因為年紀太大，花不完這些現金了，

he donated to charity.

他把錢捐給了慈善機構。

Odds experts seem to disagree over what the odds are of winning the Megabucks jackpot.

賠率專家對於贏得Megabucks頭獎的機率似乎有分歧。

Some say as low as 1 in 17 million 片語搭配

有人說低至1700萬分之一，

while another odds expert put it closer to 1 in 49 million.

而另一位賠率專家則認為接近4900萬分之一。

You might also start with 1 cent,

您也可以從1分錢開始，

go to the casino,

去賭場，

play roulette,

玩輪盤賭，

and bet on black.

押在黑色上。

If you win,

如果贏了，

return the next day and bet on black or red.

第二天再來，押在黑色或紅色上。

Keep doing that.

一直堅持下去。

If you win every day for 27 days,

如果你連續27天每天都贏，

you'll have about $671,000.

你大概會賺到67.1萬美元。

The next day is the deal breaker. 慣用語

下一天才是成敗的關鍵。

Win that and you will get $1.3 million.

贏了那局，你就會得到130萬美元。

You could just stay there and bet on one color each time.

你大可以就待在那兒，每次都押同一種顏色。

According to casino records,

根據賭場記錄，

in 1943 red came up 32 times in a row. 講解

1943年，紅色曾連續出現了32次。

That is still a record now.

這項記錄至今仍未被打破。

The chances of that happening are over 10 billion to 1.

這種情況發生的機率超過100億分之一。

On second thought, 語氣意圖

仔細想想，

let's wait a day and come back.

我們還是等一天再回來吧。

You have a 47.4% chance of getting the color right each time.

每次你猜對顏色的機率是47.4%。

Let's move away from these insane odds and towards the Bitcoin phenomenon. 表達脈絡

讓我們把視線從這些瘋狂的賠率移開，看看比特幣現象。

Now you likely have heard of the person that bought two pizzas

如今您可能已經聽說過有人買了兩個披薩

with 10,000 units of Bitcoin.

花了1萬枚比特幣的故事。

This story was all over the media when Bitcoin was on the ascent 講解

當比特幣開始上漲時，這個故事傳遍了各大媒體，

and it was reported that the Bitcoin that person paid for those pizzas with

據報導，那個人買披薩支付的比特幣

would then be worth about $100 million.

到那時大約價值1億美元。

Fortune also wrote in 2017

《財富》（Fortune）雜誌也在2017年寫道，

that if you would have bought just $5 of Bitcoin in 2010, 文法

如果你能在2010年只花5美元買比特幣，

which would have given you 2,000 Bitcoins,

你就能得到2000枚比特幣，

when the article was written

而在那篇文章撰寫之時，

you could have sold your coins for $4.4 million.

你可以把這些幣賣出440萬美元。

So if you had bought a dollar's worth, 文法

所以，如果你當時買了價值1美元的比特幣，

that would have been around a million.

那大概就是一百萬了。

Bet you wish you would have done that, eh? 語氣意圖

我敢打賭，你肯定希望你當初也這麼做了，對吧？

Well, if you want to get rich quick,

那麼，如果您想快速致富，

perhaps you should be on the look out for the next big thing in digital or alternative currencies. 片語搭配

也許您應該留意數位貨幣或替代貨幣領域的下一個大熱門。

You could, of course,

您當然也可以

just ask for $1 from 1 million people

直接向100萬人每人要1美元，

and that won't cost you anything except maybe a little bit of time.

這除了可能會花一點時間之外，不需要任何成本。

Would people seriously do that?

人們真的會這麼做嗎？

Well, one young Englishman called Alex Tew did that in 2005

2005年，一個名叫亞歷克斯·圖（Alex Tew）的英國年輕人確實這麼做了，

to generate income for his university education.

以此來賺取他上大學的學費。

He created the Million Dollar Homepage,

他創建了「百萬美元首頁」（The Million Dollar Homepage），

which had 1 million pixels on it.

上面有100萬個像素點。

You could buy the pixel for 1 buck

你可以花1美元買下這個像素點，

and display an image on it.

並在上面展示一張圖片。

He ended up making a little over a million dollars in gross income. 講解

最終他的總收入超過了一百萬美元。

You might also just get lucky buying some old junk at a yard sale

也許您也只是運氣好，在庭院拍賣（yard sale）上買到一些舊東西，

and selling it.

然後把它賣掉。

CNN reported in 2013

CNN在2013年報導，

that someone did just that at a yard sale in New York state.

有人就在紐約州的一場庭院拍賣上正是這樣做的。

The person bought a Chinese bowl for $3

那個人花了3美元買了一個中國碗，

and it sold later at auction in London for $2,225,000. 片語搭配

後來在倫敦的拍賣會上賣出了222.5萬美元。

And if you want to hear a literal rags to riches story, 慣用語

如果你想聽一個名副其實的白手起家致富的故事，

we have one.

我們這裡就有一個。

In 2017,

在2017年，

a man called Loren Krytzer

一個名叫勞倫·克里策（Loren Krytzer）的人，

sold what he had once thought was a worthless rag 文法

把他曾經認為是一塊破布的東西，

for $1.5 million.

賣出了150萬美元。

The man had been surviving on disability checks up until then 文化背景

這名男子在此之前一直靠殘障津貼維持生活，

after losing a leg in a car accident.

他曾在一場車禍中失去了一條腿。

One day he was watching the Antiques Roadshow 文化背景

有一天，他正在看《古董巡迴秀》（Antiques Roadshow），

and realized that the dusty blanket he'd never bothered to use in the closet 片語搭配

突然意識到他扔在壁櫥裡從來懶得用的那條積滿灰塵的毯子，

looked like the one on the TV,

看起來就像電視上的那條，

a Navajo blanket from around the 1800s.

那是一條大約來自19世紀的納瓦荷族毯子。

He told the press what he thought while watching that show,

他在接受媒體採訪時講述了他在看那個節目時的想法，

"I paused it and I went and got the blanket

「我暫停了電視，去把那條毯子拿了過來，

and I'm sitting there holding it.

我坐在那裡，手裡拿著它。

I'm lining up the lines on the TV with the blanket, 片語動詞

我把毯子和電視上的線條對齊，

seeing if they match."

看看它們是否吻合。」

Indeed, they did

事實上，它們確實吻合，

and he became a millionaire.

於是他成了一名百萬富翁。

So a word to the wise, 慣用語

所以，給各位一句忠告，

why not check out what old junk you have stored somewhere in the house? 片語動詞

為什麼不去檢查一下您家裡某個地方存放的舊破爛呢？

You might just have a million bucks lying around. 片語動詞

說不定您家裡就扔著一百萬美金。

Odds are someone does. 片語搭配

這種事很可能會發生。

But even the toys you bought one day

甚至只要把某天買的玩具

could be worth a small fortune if you kept them in perfect condition. 片語搭配

保存得完好無損，也有可能價值不菲。

It's reported that the mother of

據報導，一位母親，

a boy who once asked her for one of the Transformer figures

她的兒子曾經在美國的玩具反斗城（Toys R Us）裡，

while in Toys R Us in the US,

向她索要一個變形金剛玩具，

ended up having the entire collection at one point.

結果她最終收集了全套。

Sadly, the boy died of AIDS later in life,

不幸的是，這個男孩後來死於愛滋病，

but in 2007 the mother sold the original boxed collection for $1 million.

但在2007年，這位母親將原本裝在盒子裡的全套收藏賣了100萬美元。

You could make thousands upon thousands 慣用語

你可能會賺到成千上萬塊錢，

if you have some of the old Star Wars figures still boxed.

如果你還有一些未拆封的舊《星際大戰》公仔。

So next time you go to the toy store,

所以，下次您去玩具店的時候，

why not buy two of the toy you are buying? 語氣意圖

為什麼不買兩份您要買的玩具呢？

Who knows what it'll be worth in 30, 40, or 50 years' time? 語氣意圖

誰知道它在三、四十或五十年後會值多少錢？

This might not be the fastest way to make a million, 文法

這也許不是賺一百萬最快的方法，

but it will be for your kids.

但這能為您孩子留下財富。

So,

那麼，

can you think of any illegal get rich quick schemes?

您能想到任何非法的快速致富騙局嗎？

Let us know in the comments.

請在留言區告訴我們。

Also,

另外，

be sure to check out our other video called

一定要去看看我們的另一部名為

How is life different from billionaires?

《生活與億萬富翁有什麼不同？》的影片。

Thanks for watching

感謝您的觀看，

and as always,

像往常一樣，

don't forget to like, share, and subscribe.

別忘了按讚、分享和訂閱。

See you next time.

我們下次再見。