[ti:Baseball Expressions] [ar:Faith Lapidus] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51voa.com [00:10.33]Now, the VOA Special English program [00:14.73]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:17.48]Baseball is America's national sport. [00:21.30]So it is not unusual that many popular expressions [00:26.81]come from baseball. [00:28.72]But first, let me explain a little about the game. [00:32.98]Each baseball team has nine players. [00:37.33]The pitcher of one team throws the ball [00:41.24]to a batter from the other team. [00:44.14]The batter attempts to hit the ball. [00:47.14]If he misses, it is called a strike. [00:51.20]If a batter gets three strikes, [00:54.10]he loses his turn at bat and is called out. [00:58.81]The batter also is out if he hits the ball in the air [01:03.62]and an opposing player catches it. [01:07.24]But if the batter hits the ball and it is not caught, [01:12.26]the batter tries to run to one [01:15.31]or more of the four bases on the field. [01:19.52]The batter can run to all four bases [01:23.13]if he hits the ball over the fence or out of the ballpark. [01:28.59]Such a hit is called a home run. [01:32.09]Now, here are some common expressions from baseball. [01:38.05]Someone who is on the ball is intelligent [01:42.41]and able to do a good job. [01:45.38]But a person who threw a curve ball did something unexpected. [01:51.74]Someone who steps up to the plate is ready to do his or her job. [01:57.99]A pinch hitter takes the place of someone else at a job or activity. [02:05.01]A person who strikes out or goes down swinging [02:10.27]attempted something but failed. [02:13.17]We also might tell the person that three strikes and you are out. [02:18.98]But someone who hit a home run [02:21.99]or hit it out of the park did something extremely well. [02:27.65]Sometimes I have to give information quickly, [02:32.50]without time to think it over. [02:34.86]Then I would say something right off the bat. [02:39.86]If someone is doing an extremely good job and is very successful, [02:45.87]you might say he or she is batting one thousand. [02:50.72]If I say I want to touch base with you, [02:54.99]I will talk to you from time to time about something we plan to do. [03:00.46]I might say I touched all the bases [03:04.21]if I did what is necessary to complete a job or activity. [03:09.82]And if I covered my bases I was well prepared. [03:14.88]However, someone who is way off base did something wrong [03:20.64]or maybe even dishonest or immoral. [03:24.64]A person with strange ideas might be described as out in left field. [03:31.45]Let us say I want to sell my car [03:36.51]but I do not know exactly how much it is worth. [03:41.30]If someone asks me the price, [03:44.26]I might give a ballpark figure or a ballpark estimate. [03:50.27]If someone offers me an amount that is close to my selling price, [03:56.13]I might say the amount is in the ballpark. [04:00.38]However, if I say we are not in the same ballpark, [04:05.75]I mean we cannot agree because my ideas are too different from yours. [04:12.56]Finally, when a situation changes completely, [04:16.96]we say that is a whole new ballgame. [04:21.56][Music] [04:37.24]This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, [04:42.90]was written by Shelley Gollust. [04:45.76]I'm Faith Lapidus. [04:47.66]更多听力请访问51voa.com