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13 The Lottery Ticket

Warm Up

● Have you ever won a lucky draw or a lottery prize? Where?

● What prize did you win?

Reading skills

Ivan Dmitritch, a middle-class man who earned very little lived with his family but he was
contented with his lot. As usual he sat down on the sofa after supper and began reading the

newspaper.

“I forgot to look at the newspaper today,” his wife
said to him as she cleared the table. “Look and see
whether the list of lottery winners is there.”

“Yes, it is,” said Ivan Dmitritch; “but hasn’t your

ticket lapsed?”
“No; I took it only on Tuesday.”

“What is the number?”

“Series 9, 499, number 26.”

“All right… we will look… 9,499 and 26.”

Ivan Dmitritch had no faith in lottery luck, and would not have consented to look at the list
of winning numbers, but now as he had nothing to do and as the newspaper was before his

eyes, he passed his finger downwards along the column of numbers. And immediately, as
though in mockery of his skepticism, no further than the second line from the top, his eye
was caught by the figure 9,499! Unable to believe his eyes, he hurriedly dropped the paper on

his knees without looking to see the number of the ticket, and just as though someone had
given him a douche of water, he felt an agreeable chill in the pit of the stomach; tingling and
terrible and sweet! “Masha, 9,499 is there!” he said in a hollow voice. His wife looked at his

astonished and panic-stricken face, and realized that he was not joking.

“9,499?” she asked, turning pale and dropping the folded tablecloth on the table. “Yes, yes…
it really is there!”

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