这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目。
Each week we explore the meaning of words and expressions used in everyday American English.
每周我们都会探讨日常美语中的一些词汇和表达。
People all over the world love sports. Some of us play a sport for fun; some to stay in shape; a few, for the love of the game; and even more play to win.
世界各地的人们都爱运动。我们有些人以此为乐，有些人为了保持身材，还有一些人是对比赛的热爱，甚至是为胜利而战。
If you play to win, you had better have a game plan. A game plan is just like it sounds – a plan to win the game.
如果你为胜利而战，最好有个比赛计划。比赛计划就是它听上去的那个意思，即为赢得比赛制定的计划。
But we use this expression for just about anything!
但是我们把这个表达用于任何事物。
If a friend says "Hey, let's take a trip this weekend," you could answer, "Sure! What's the game plan?" If your business is facing competition from another company, you might need to change your game plan to beat them in sales.
如果有朋友说，“嘿，周末旅游去啊。”你可以回答，“没问题，有什么计划？”如果你的企业面临来自其它公司的竞争，你可能需要改变你的策略以便在销售中击败他们。
But, now let's go back to the world of sports.
但是现在让我们回到体育界。
Many English expressions come from how we play sports. For example, we play some sports – such as baseball and football – on a field. We play basketball on a court. And that leads to our next expression: a full-court press.
很多英语表达来自于我们如何进行体育运动。例如，我们在运动场上进行一些运动，例如棒球和橄榄球。我们在球场上打篮球。这就引出了下一个表达：全场紧逼（full-court press）。
"Court," in this case, has nothing to do with trials and judges. It is a basketball court. And "press" does not mean newspapers or the news. In basketball, it means a very forceful effort by one team to take control of the game.
在这个例子中，court跟审判以及法官毫无关系。它是指篮球场。而press也不是指报纸或新闻。在篮球中，这是指一支球队压迫性地去控制比赛。
In everyday life, "press" means to put pressure on someone to do something. Of course, this does not work with everyone. With some people, the more you press them, the more they will NOT do what you ask.
在日常生活中，press是指向某人或某物体施加压力。当然，这不适用于所有人。有些人你越给他压力，他们越不会照你说的做。
For those who do not watch the sport, a basketball team scores by putting the ball through the basket at the opponent's end of the court. Then the team usually runs quickly back to its own end of the court to defend its basket. The players try to keep the other team from scoring.
对于那些不看这种比赛的人来说，篮球队是通过把球投到对方半场的篮筐里得分。然后球队通常会尽快回到自己的半场来防守，球员们试图去阻止对方得分。
However, in a "full-court press," a team does not retreat after it scores. Instead, it attacks or pressures its opponent with a very aggressive defense.
然而，在全场紧逼中，球队在得分后不退防。相反，他们以非常积极的防守来攻击或压迫对手。
So, when someone decides to make an extra strong effort to get something done, that person is making a full-court press. You could say a full-court press is an all-out effort.
所以，当有人决定做出更大努力来完成某件事情时，这个人就是在全场紧逼。你可以称全场紧逼就是全力以赴。
So, do not save "full-court press" for a basketball game. You can use this expression anywhere! Use it in any situation where you want to meet a goal or solve a problem.
所以，不要把”全场紧逼“仅用在篮球比赛中。你可以把它用在任何地方。任何你想要实现目标或解决问题的场合都能使用它。
For example, we can use it in politics.
例如我们可以在政治上用到它。
"The supporters of the safe cosmetics bill launched a full-court press to help it pass. Activists, consumer watchdog groups and women's health organizations used all of their resources to achieve this goal."
”安全化妆品法案的支持者发起了全面攻势来帮助它通过。活动家、消费者监督组织以及妇女健康组织利用他们所有资源来实现这个目标。“
We can use it when talking about business.
我们在谈到企业时也可以用它。
"The clothing company planned a full-court press to beat its competitors during the profitable Christmas buying season. They cut prices, planned special in-store events and gave away prizes to attract more customers."
”这家服装公司计划在圣诞购物季全面出击来打败它的竞争对手。他们降低价格、策划店内特价活动以及赠送奖品来吸引更多顾客。
We also can use it in our personal lives.
我们还能在个人生活中用到它。
"When Sally ran into health problems, her friends used a full-court press to help her out. Until she felt better, they cooked her meals, cleaned her house and walked her dogs."
“当萨丽遇到健康问题时，她的朋友们全力以赴帮助她。他们给她做饭、打扫屋子和遛狗，直到她感到身体好转。
So, if you have a really important problem to solve or project to do, make sure that your game plan involves a full-court press. Be aggressive and attack it from all sides.
因此，如果你有非常重要的问题要解决或是非常重要的项目要做，确保你的方案包括全面出击，也就是从各个方面积极进攻。
And that's Words and Their Stories.
以上就是词汇掌故节目的全部内容。
I'm Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)