Passage 6
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
I was bringing my manuscripts to the publishing house on a train to Chicago.All I carried with me was an old suitcase,and a blank lottery ticket I bought on a station before boarding the train一not that I believed in luck.It was a momentary(临时的)intention.
I looked at myself in the window glass,a middle-aged white man seeking for a new life and new opportunities.I was in deep thought when a stranger opened my compartment door.His appearance reminded me of gangster movies of the early 1940s.
“May I take a seat?'he asked.
“Yes,sure,"I answered.
“Going to Chicago?he asked me.
“Yes,I've got relatives there,"I lied.I don't know why I did that.
We sat silent for a bit.Apparently,he must have noticed the lottery ticket stub(票根)sticking out of my shirt pocket.
“You believe in luck?"he asked me while pointing his finger at the ticket.
“Not really.I don't know why I bought this ticket,I laughed.
“Well,luck is all about that:you can never know when you run into milk and honey,and when life gives you a kick in the ass,"he said.
Did I meet him somewhere?In a cafe?I liked his manner of speech.It reminded me of some characters in my novels:confident,ironic,and sensible.Sometimes I tried to speak in that manner myself.
“I would advise you to bet on numbers 6， 29， 11， 7， 81， 77， and 10，” he said.
“Why?Is it some kind of a system?"I asked him.
“No,I just have a feeling that they'll win.”
Then he left with a smile.
When I got off the train in Chicago,I filled the ticket exactly with the numbers dictated to me by the stranger.Then I did my business at the publishing house,received the payment for my last novet and retumed home.
In a week,I checked the lottery ticket.Numbers 6,29,11,7,81,77,and 10 were a complete match.I won the lottery:$150,000.
I never told anyone about the stranger in that train.In a month or so,I suddenly remembered where I met that guy:in one of my novels.
Why did the author buy the lottery ticket?