VOA慢速英语2013 棒球的表达：我们试着打了一个本垒打（在线收听）

Baseball Expressions: We try to hit a home run 棒球的表达：我们试着打了一个本垒打

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

现在为您播出的是VOA慢速英语词汇掌故节目。

Baseball is America’s national sport, so it is not unusual that many popular expressions come from baseball. But first, let me explain a little about the game...

棒球是美国的国家运动（国球），所以许多来自于棒球的表达方式十分普及。但首先，还是让我简单介绍一下比赛…

Each baseball team has nine players. The pitcher of one team throws the ball to a batter from the other team. The batter attempts to hit the ball. If he misses, it is called a strike. If a batter gets three strikes, he loses his turn at bat and is called “out.” The batter also is out if he hits the ball in the air and an opposing player catches it. But if the batter hits the ball and it is not caught, the batter tries to run to one or more of the four bases on the field. The batter can run to all four bases if he hits the ball over the fence or out of the ballpark. Such a hit is called “a home run.”

每支棒球队有九名球员。一队的投手把球扔给另一队的击球手。击球手试图击球。如果他失败了，它被称为好球。如果击球手得到三个好球，他没能够回去击球，被称为“出局”。击球手如果击中在空中的球，对方球员接住它也会出局。但是如果击球手击出的球并没有接到，击球手会尝试跑向比赛场地上四个垒位中的一个或多个。如果击球手击球越过栅栏或超出外场规定界限时，他可以跑垒并触踏全部四垒。这种打法被称为“本垒打”。

Now, here are some common expressions from baseball:

现在，这里有一些来自棒球中的常见表达：

Someone who is “on the ball” is intelligent and able to do a good job.

“on the ball”意思是形容人很聪明，能够很好的完成任务。

But a person who threw a “curve ball” did something unexpected.

但一个人"curve ball（扔曲线球）"是指他做了一件意想不到的事。

Someone who “steps up to the plate” is ready to do his or her job.

“steps up to the plate”的意思是准备去做他的工作。

A pinch-hitter takes the place of someone else at a job or activity.

pinch-hitter（投手）的意思在工作或活动中是代替别人。

A person who “strikes out” or “goes down swinging” attempted something but failed.

“strikes out（好球出局）”或“goes down swinging（下去摆动）”的意思是形容人已经进行尝试，但最终失败。

We also might tell the person that “three strikes and you are out.” But someone who “hit a home run” or “hit it out of the park” did something extremely well.

我们也可能会说这个人“three strikes and you are out（三个好球，你就出局了）。”但“hit a home run（打了一个本垒打）”或“hit it out of the park（超出外场规定界限）”形容人做的非常好。

Sometimes I have to give information quickly, without time to think it over. Then I would say something “right off the bat.”

有时我会迅速的给出信息，没有时间去思考。然后我会说“right off the bat（马上）”。

If someone is doing an extremely good job and is very successful, you might say he or she is “batting one thousand.”

如果一个人正在做一个非常好的工作，并且做得非常成功，你可能会说他或她是“batting one thousand（打一千）”。

If I say “I want to touch base with you,” I will talk to you from time to time about something we plan to do.

如果我说：“I want to touch base with you（我想跟你跑垒）”指的是我会和你一直计划我们要做的事。

I might say “I touched all the bases” if I did what is necessary to complete a job or activity. And if I “covered my bases,” I was well prepared. However, someone who is “way off base” did something wrong or maybe even dishonest or immoral.

我会说“I touched all the bases（我跑了全垒）”指的是我做了必须完成的工作或活动。如果我“ covered my bases（覆盖我的垒位），”是指我准备好了。然而，“way off base（跑出垒位，即大错特错）”是指人做错了什么事，甚至是不诚实和不道德的（行为）。

A person with strange ideas might be described as “out in left field.”

有奇怪的想法的人被称为“out in left field（疯了）”。

Let us say I want to sell my car but I do not know exactly how much it is worth. If someone asks me the price, I might give “a ballpark figure” or “a ballpark estimate.”

如果我们想说，我想卖掉我的车，但我不知道到底值多少钱。如果有人问我价格，我可能会给“a ballpark figure（一个大概的数字）”或“a ballpark estimate（一个粗略的估计）。”

If someone offers me an amount that is close to my selling price, I might say the amount is “in the ballpark.” However, if I say “we are not in the same ballpark,” I mean we cannot agree because my ideas are too different from yours.

如果有人给我的价格，接近我的销售价格，我可能会说价格是“in the ballpark”。然而，如果我说：“we are not in the same ballpark（我们不在同一个球场），”我的意思是，我们不可能同意（交易成交），因为我的价格与你的报价差距太大。

Finally, when a situation changes completely, we say “that is a whole new ballgame.”

最后，当情况发生巨大变化时，我们说“that is a whole new ballgame（这是一个全新的球赛）。”

This VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories was written by Shelley Gollust. I’m Faith Lapidus.

这就是今天的美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目，本期节目是由Shelley Gollust撰写的。我是Faith Lapidus。