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Want better odds? Some people believe that finding a heads－up penny is good luck. The odds(几率) that a found penny will be heads up are one in two.

Good－luck seekers(探求者) can also break a wishbone. Two people hold a wishbone(如愿骨), make a wish, then break it. It is said that the person who gels the bigger piece will get his or her wish. The odds of getting the bigger piece are one in two.

According to Irish tradition, finding a four－leaf clover(三叶草) will bring you good luck. But just how hard is it to find one? For every ten thousand clovers you look at, the odds are that one of them will have four leaves instead of three.

When I was a kid, I once found a four－leaf clover in our backyard. I knew that four－leaf clovers are rare(稀有的), but I didn’t know how “lucky” I was to find one until I read What Are the Odds? If I had known, I might have been more careful with it. I lost it soon afterwards—along with a lucky key chain and a lucky coin.

It’s fun to pretend(自称) that things like four－leaf clovers can bring us good luck. But I believe that we make our own good luck with hard work. Sometimes our hard work leads to success in ways we don’t expect. And often we are “lucky” when someone else takes the time to give us the help we need.

It’s fun to find a four－leaf clover and hope for good luck. But it’s more fun when we work hard and do our best－and when we lend a helping hand to others—we can make true magic.