365个英语简短小故事-72. Betting Big in Vegas

Jasper's parents were going to Las Vegas for a week. The last time they were there was 10 years ago. The city had changed greatly in those 10 years. For one thing, the all you can eat buffets¹ were $15, instead of $3. And traffic was much worse, of course. But now Las Vegas had a monorail that stopped at all the major hotels. No more walking in the hot sun (or the bitterly² cold wind, if you visited Las Vegas in the winter). Jasper's dad loved the buffets. "Even at $15, he'll still eat $20 or $30 worth," Jasper's mom said.

Jasper asked his dad what games he was going to play. Blackjack, he replied, if he could find a $2 table. Jasper told him that he might have to go downtown to a real old casino. Most casinos, he said, require a $5 minimum³ nowadays. That didn't surprise his dad. After he lost a hundred dollars, he was finished anyway, he said. He was never one to throw good money after bad.

Jasper's mom had no use for anything except slot⁴ machines. She loved the slots, as long as she could find nickel⁵ machines and dime⁶ machines. "Are any of those left?" she asked Jasper. He said he wasn't sure, but there had to be some, somewhere. She said she was going to play differently on this visit: she would wait till someone used a machine for at least 15 minutes. Then she would play that machine when that person got up and left. Maybe, she hoped, the jackpot would hit on the first nickel that she put in. That's a good idea, Jasper thought. Unfortunately, it's the same trick that everyone who plays the slot machines does. And almost everyone goes home broke.

 

1 buffets   

（火车站的）饮食柜台( buffet的名词复数 )； （火车的）餐车； 自助餐

参考例句：

• All life's buffets should be met with dignity and good sense. 所有人生之打击都应以尊严和理智对付之。
• In addition to buffets, American families enjoy picnics and barbeques. 除自助餐外，美国家庭还喜欢野餐和户外烧烤餐。

2 bitterly   

adv.苦涩地；痛苦地；不痛快地；残酷地

参考例句：

• The development was bitterly opposed by the local community. 这一开发项目遭到了当地社区的愤怒抵制。
• They were bitterly disappointed at the result of the game. 他们对比赛结果极为失望。

3 minimum   

adj.最低的，最小的；n.最小量，最低限度

参考例句：

• What is the minimum price?最低价是多少？
• Today's minimum temperature is 10℃.今天的最低气温是10℃。

4 slot   

n.（口）位置，职位，狭长孔，狭槽

参考例句：

• Put a coin in the slot.将硬币放入投币口。
• He's been given a regular ten-minute slot on the radio.电台定期给他十分钟的节目广播时间。

5 nickel   

n.镍，（美国和加拿大的）五分钱

参考例句：

• Nickel can be used for making coins.镍可做成钱币。
• May I have a nickel?能给我五分钱吗？

6 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。