Ornery dog leads to $1M Idaho lottery win 頑固狗帶來100萬元的愛達荷樂透彩大獎

Ornery dog leads to $1M Idaho lottery win 頑固狗帶來100萬元的愛達荷樂透彩大獎
2013-03-29◎張沛元

A group of blue collar University of Utah workers will split $1 million in lottery winnings thanks to a set of keys left in a truck and an ornery little dog named "Stella."
拜一串忘在卡車裡的鑰匙與一隻名叫「史黛拉」的頑固小狗，一群猶他大學藍領工人將分享100萬美元的樂透彩金。

Thirteen years after playing the same set of numbers every month in the Idaho lottery, the group of 33 workers who work on heating and cooling university buildings hit pay dirt when Steve Hughes left his truck running to keep his dog "Stella" warm while he went inside to a gas station near Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, on Jan. 6. Utah has no lottery.
這33名負責大學建築物冷暖氣、過去13年來每個月都簽注同一組號碼的工人，終於在史蒂芬．休斯1月6日沒關引擎下車，走進愛達荷州拉瓦溫泉附近一處加油站，好讓愛犬「史黛拉」有暖氣可吹時，獲得財神眷顧。猶他州沒有樂透。

When he returned to his truck, his miniature pinscher had locked him out by putting her paw on the manual lock. Hughes, 29, planned to buy the ticket elsewhere, but instead he had his girlfriend buy it there while he tried to open the door with a slim jim.
當他回到卡車時，卻因為他的迷你品將爪子按在手動鎖上，而將他鎖在車外。29歲的休斯原本打算去別處買彩券，但最後請女友代勞，他則是想辦法用開鎖工具打開車門。

He eventually coached Stella to put her paws on the electronic window button in the back seat, allowing Hughes to get in the car.
他最後終於引導史黛拉將腳掌放在後座的電動窗按鈕上，讓他進入車內。

What seemed like an annoying delay that day turned out to be serendipitous when the group discovered Wednesday night that they had won second prize in the Idaho Powerball. （AP）
當這群人週三晚間發現他們中了愛達荷州「威力球」二獎時，這個在當時讓人困擾的耽擱，儼然變成因禍得福。

（美聯社）

新聞辭典

hit pay dirt：慣用語，形容發現有價值之物或成功致富。例句：He finally hit pay dirt with his 10th movie and became one of the most famous movie directors in the world.（他終於在拍攝第10部電影後成功致富，躋身世界名導之林。）

lock someone out：慣用語，把某人關在外面不讓他進來。例句：I locked myself out of my apartment last night.（我昨晚把自己關在公寓外〔意指出門忘記帶鑰匙〕。）

coach：動詞，指導、訓練。