什么是“幸运小姐”（Lady Luck）？_其他

什么是“幸运小姐”（Lady Luck）？

Okay, so maybe one hundred per cent is an overstatement—natural intelligence and professorial whims should be taken into account—and perhaps it isn’t much of an investment if you don’t get any returns—the house, after all, sets the odds, and the house wants to win. Still, he has a point, and his point takes much of the pleasure out of the thing. Part of the titillating fear of betting is giving yourself over to chance, to lady luck (or, if you prefer, fate, the thrill of the three sisters). Betting on your grades ignores your own role in getting them. If you do it right, the game is rigged. But if you’re smart, you also know that no money-making venture would allow you that liberty.

- Earning an A the Gambler’s Way, NewYorker.com, August 27, 2010.

2. An ancient Roman dramatist notably said: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

Well, Ford Motor Co. could be really lucky this summer.

First, Ford’s Asian competitors are likely to see vehicle inventories tighten this summer from the supply chain problems stemming from the March earthquake in Japan.

Now, factor in rapidly rising U.S. gasoline prices that are pumping up demand for small, fuel-efficient cars -- again, cars that Asian automakers are likely to have in short supply.

And Ford is prepared. It redesigned the Focus compact and launched it this spring. The Focus comes on the heels of the all-new Fiesta subcompact, which Ford launched last summer. Both cars can earn up to 40 mpg highway.