【玳瑚師父出差錄】 «傾家蕩產的人»
The man who lost his fortune (English version below)

賭，猶如一個人從海的淺處，游到海的深處，甚少有人會"急"時往身後的海岸望，又或者游回岸上。

吾在童年的時候，就已接觸賭。比如二十一點、阿十（福建話）、麻雀。。。慶幸的是，吾"沒有資格"成為賭徒。更不用說甚麼賭神、賭聖或賭鬼。賭是很迷人。但失了神迷上或染上，你，妳永遠也不用去算命了。為何？命定了啊！甚麼意思？歹命啦！為甚麼歹命呢？賭輸了錢，賭光了錢，心有不甘，四處向人借錢，欲碰碰運氣，看是否能連本帶利的贏回來。哪知，反而"要身一變"成了賭館及賭場的"恩主公"。

一個多星期前，就有一位中年男士向吾告白。原本賣了屋子，"身輕如燕"的他，卻將屋子所得之巨款，輕而易舉的投進賭海。搞到現在債務如山，老婆要離婚，等等。他當然有向吾請教，如何快捷速地的"雨過天晴"。吾依因緣，「精神統一」的觀察其面相、氣色、身型及其他，然後指點他應速速改善的方法。事後也耐心的告訴他，為何十個九個都"淪陷"於賭海。

與此同時，也告知所有"暗藏賭性"的你，妳。誠懇的祝福你，妳，不會將原有的家庭健康、信譽、財富等幸福，埋藏賭海裡。十個九個無法"瀟灑"從賭場走出來的原因之一是;全世界的賭場，由其是亞洲的，都是有佈局的。之二;賭場內有所謂的"高人"在"操控"。之三;賭場內是有"無形"在把守。在你，妳還沒進賭場前，"無形"早已將你，妳肩上的火給拍滅了。試問如何鴻運當頭？

舉凡人難免有"夢"。但這種夢，最易讓人賠了夫人又折兵。有固定的工作，固定的收入，領回家供養父母，給老婆，定期存款以備急時之需，供孩子讀書旅行增廣見聞、回饋社會、為自己積累更厚的福報，快樂、幸福而美滿。何苦要做「傾家蕩產」的人呢？

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Gambling is akin to a person walking from the shallow waters into the deep sea. Very few would turn back and return to shore in time.

I got to know gambling when I was still a child. Black Jack, Ah Chap, mahjong and all. Fortunately, I did not qualify as a gambler, not a inveterate one and definitely not the God of Gamblers! A lot of people are mesmerized by gambling but be warned that those who became addicted will never need to have their fortunes read. Why? You are destined to lead a woeful life.

Why a woeful life? Let me explain. When a person lost all his money, he would not take it lying down and would start borrowing from everyone in a bid to try his luck again and overcome his initial losses! Who knows, in a blink of an eye, he would become the big 'benefactor' of the casinos!

A week plus ago, a middle aged man made a confession to me. He was originally in a very comfortable financial position after having sold his house. He then freely gambled away the profits, and subsequently getting into mountains of debts and now faced threats of divorce from his wife. He sought my advice to solve his problem. With total focus, I observed his facial features, aura and body physique and taught him a way to quickly get out of his troubles. I then patiently explained to him why gambling is always a losing preposition for 9 out of 10 people.

This article is also meant for the secret gambler in you. I sincerely wish that you will not lose your family, your reputation and your wealth to your gambling addictions. Here are the reasons why 9 out of 10 will never walk out from the casinos with a swagger: First these big casinos, especially those in Asia, had their strategic geomancy placements set up firm and strong. Also, there are very powerful advisers who are key in controlling the entire proceedings. Lastly, there is a shroud of invisible beings guarding the casinos. Before you even step into the casino, they will have extinguish the 'fire' on your shoulders. How would you rate your winning chance then?

Everyone has their dreams, but such worldly dreams easily lead to throwing good money after bad. With a stable job and income, one can honour our parents and support the family. One can stash aside some money periodically for rainy days, use it for the children's education or spend it on travels to widen one's horizons. One can even contribute to the society and accumulate more merits. You can have a happy and blissful life. Why would you want to be the one to lose your fortune to the casinos?

2012年TOEFL iBT 閱讀同義字真題: (2013年有機會再出現)

(1) enhance (ET$超愛考) --> improve
(2) readily --> easily (此題考生答對率低)
(3) distinctive (e.g. a distinctive pattern) --> particular
(4) virtually --> practically
(5) occasionally --> periodically (1月考題)
(6) ambiguous --> vague

Note: 其實托福閱讀的同義字題要在5秒鐘內選好 其實ET$比大家想像的善良 因為他90%考的同義字 都是拿到context外也可以選對的字 所以選完後check一下就沒問題; 一篇閱讀大致有3題同義字考題 可以用這省下的時間花在最後一題2分的配對題 enhance是ET$很常考的字

詳解

(1) enhance 是提升, 有具象的elevate (升高)意思, 也有抽象的improve (增進)的意思 大多考後者

(2) readily不容易答對的原因 是因為他可作 (1) immediately 也可作 (2) easily 要特別對照原文

(3) (4) 都是超級大常客; 實際的還有另外一個重要字pragmatic

(5) 用字根來看 是一段一段才有的 所以是"偶爾"

(6) 因為是模棱兩可 所以模糊不清楚
(GRE學生要注意: ambiguous是自然的不清楚 equivocal是人為的)