365个英语简短小故事- 64. A Tiger Change Stripes

（单词翻译）

Melissa had heard about Bill. He was a womanizer. He dated one woman after another, telling one lie after another. He was a pilot, a tiger trainer, a banker, a publisher, a tycoon¹, an investor², an adventurer, and on and on. He laughed about how easy it was to deceive women. Dress sharp and drive a luxury car, and they would follow you anywhere. Bill could get almost any woman he wanted. And then he discarded them like so many empty water bottles.

Although Bill owned a carpet-cleaning business that had five employees, he made most of his money gambling³. He went to Vegas at least six times a year, and played at a couple of casinos in the Los Angeles area regularly. Tonight he had invited himself to a monthly neighborhood poker⁴ game. For most of the evening, Bill was rather quiet. He hadn’t said one unkind word about women, and he only briefly⁵ bragged⁶ about his poker skills. Melissa wondered if Bill had finally met a woman who had put him in his place. Meanwhile, he was winning every third hand.

Melissa decided⁷ to play one last hand, and then leave. She ended up with a wonderful hand—three nines and two aces⁸. The betting was spirited, but eventually all the other players dropped out, except Bill. Bill made a final raise, and Melissa called. There was almost $200 in the pot, the biggest of the evening. Melissa was mentally shopping with the money (much of it Bill’s!). Bill, however, also had a full house—three tens and two deuces. Bill chuckled⁹, “The best female poker player in the world couldn’t beat me, honey. What on earth were you thinking?”