词汇大师-- He Shoots, He Scores

　　AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: we answer a sports question.

　　RS: A listener from Ivory Coast, Marius Meledje, would like to learn more about the language of basketball. This is a good week to answer that question. It's the start of what Americans call "March Madness" -- top college basketball teams compete for the national championship.
AA: Like any sport, basketball has its own lingo¹. Some phrases have entered popular speech. One of them is the term "slam dunk."
In basketball, a slam-dunk is when a player jumps up really high and essentially² shoves the ball right down through the hoop³, instead of throwing it from the court and hoping it goes in. In popular use, a slam-dunk is a sure thing or an expectation of something that is seen as guaranteed.
RS: Another term is "full-court press." We found this definition on an NBA, National Basketball Association, Web page: "When the defensive⁴ team defends the offensive team in the backcourt. Full-court presses often have the defensive team double-teaming the ball in an attempt to force a turnover⁵."
AA: Just picture an aggressive effort by one group of people to succeed against another, and you can see why "full-court press" also makes a good metaphor⁶. It can be used, for instance, to describe an intensive legislative-lobbying effort or an aggressive strategy in business or law.
RS: Another term that's crossed over from basketball, especially pickup⁷ basketball, is "my bad." "My bad" is what a player might say after making a mistake like a bad pass to a teammate, or throwing the ball "out of bounds" -- another sports term from basketball as well as other sports. "Out of bounds" refers to any behavior that violates accepted rules.
Pickup basketball is the name for a casual -- or maybe not-so-casual -- game played by whoever wants to "shoot some hoops⁸."
AA: As for March Madness, it starts out with more than five dozen teams. If you hear the term "brackets," that refers to the schematic diagram of the National Collegiate Athletic⁹ Association Division I tournament. The games are listed in a series of brackets for each round.
The term "Final Four" refers to the four teams that emerge as regional champions. They will play in the national semifinals in Atlanta on March thirty-first. The two winners will then play for the national championship on April second.
RS: Fans of women's college hoops have their own set of brackets to follow. The first round of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship is set for this Saturday and Sunday. The women's Final Four will play in Cleveland on April first, followed by the national championship game two days later.
So with all these games to be played in the coming days, you can see why people call it March Madness.
AA: And that's Wordmaster for this week. Our e-mail address is [email protected]. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti. We leave you with a song by Chris Rock and the late great singer Barry White, called "Basketball Jones."
(MUSIC)

1 lingo   

n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语

参考例句：

• If you live abroad it helps to know the local lingo.住在国外，学一点当地的语言自有好处。
• Don't use all that technical lingo try and explain in plain English.别尽用那种专门术语，用普通的词语解释吧。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

4 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

5 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

6 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

7 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

8 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

9 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。