One of the most popular sports in the United States is American football.
美式橄榄球是美国最受欢迎的运动之一。
In the U.S., "football" is a sport that involves a lot of contact.
在美国，“橄榄球”是一项涉及大量接触的运动。
What people around the world call "football," Americans call soccer.
世界各地人们所说的“football”，美国人称之为“soccer”。
For today's show, we talk about some idioms and expressions that come from American football.
今天的节目，我们来谈谈一些来自美式橄榄球的习语和表达。
The American sport mainly involves carrying or throwing the ball.
美国的运动主要涉及持球或投球。
But there are times when a player must use their feet to kick the ball.
但有时球员必须用脚踢球。
The kicker can kick field goals to get points.
踢球者可以射门得分。
In addition to that, the game starts with a kickoff and, after scoring points, a team will kick off to the other side, beginning their turn on offense.
除此之外，比赛以开球开始，得分后，一支球队将开球到另一边，开始他们的进攻。
The term kickoff is commonly used to describe the start of an event or project.
“开球”一词通常用于描述活动或项目的开始。
For example, we could say experts from all over the world attended the kickoff of the new language museum.
例如，我们可以说来自世界各地的专家参加了新语言博物馆的启动仪式。
You can use it as a phrasal verb, as well.
你也可以将其用作短语动词。
For example, people often like to "kick off" the new year with a resolution, or promise to yourself, to reach a goal or to do something.
例如，人们通常喜欢用一个决议来“开始”新的一年，或者对自己承诺，达到一个目标或做某事。
Football also has the term "punt." Punting is another sort of kick a team uses when they cannot score.
足球也有“punt”（踢高空球）这个词。踢高空球是球队无法得分时使用的另一种踢法。
The punter kicks a ball with the top of his foot.
弃踢手用脚背踢球。
"Punt," like "kick," can be both a noun and a verb.
“Punt”，就像“kick”一样，可以既是名词，也可以是动词。
When you punt the ball, you put it in play for the other team.
当你用脚踢球时，你就把球踢给了对方。
The same can be said for punting in life.
生活中的“踢球”也是如此。
When we punt something, we give our task, job, or responsibility to someone else.
当我们把某事抛给别人时，我们把我们的任务、工作或责任交给别人。
For example, if I'm not good at a certain task or I just don't want to do it, I can punt it to someone else.
例如，如果我不擅长某项任务或者我只是不想做，我可以把它交给其他人。
It can also mean to delay a decision.
这也可能意味着推迟决定。
If I'm not sure about taking a trip, for example, I can punt the decision until later.
例如，如果我不确定是否要去旅行，我可以稍后再做出决定。
Another way to say this in American English is to table it.
美式英语的另一种说法是table it（搁置）。
If you are not ready to think about something, it can or must wait until later.
如果你还没有准备好去思考某件事，你可以或者必须等到以后再去思考。
In football, the kicker not only starts the game with a kickoff but also kicks field goals.
在橄榄球比赛中，踢球者不仅以开球开始比赛，而且还射门得分。
To do this, the kicker must kick the football between the goalposts at either end of the football field.
为此，踢球者必须把球踢到场两端的门柱之间。
If he succeeds, his team gets three points.
如果他成功了，他的球队就能得到三分。
Kicking a field goal can be difficult if the kicker is far from the goalposts or if the weather in an outdoor stadium is windy, rainy or snowy.
如果踢球者离门柱很远，或者室外体育场刮风、下雨或下雪，踢球就会很困难。
But imagine if the goalposts were moving?
但想象一下，如果球门柱在移动呢？
That would make kicking the ball between them much more difficult.
这将使他们之间踢球变得更加困难。
We can face this problem in everyday life.
我们可以在日常生活中面对这个问题。
Imagine if you are given a task at work with specific goals to reach.
想象一下，如果你在工作中被分配了一项有特定目标的任务。
For example, if you are a social media manager you could be asked to increase followers by 10,000 by the end of the month.
例如，如果你是一名社交媒体经理，您可能会被要求在月底之前增加10000名粉丝。
But when the end of the month comes, your boss tells you that now you need to add 20,000 followers, not 10,000.
但当月底到来时，你的老板告诉你，现在你需要增加20000名粉丝，而不是10000名粉丝。
In this case, your boss has moved the goalpost.
在这种情况下，你的老板已经改变了规则。
Sometime a person moves the goalposts on purpose.
有时一个人故意改变规则。
They have a reason for doing so.
他们这样做是有原因的。
If the goalposts keep moving, it is difficult or even impossible to reach the goal.
如果规则不断改变，就很难甚至不可能到达目标。
So, if you say that someone has "moved the goalposts,"
所以，如果你说有人“移动了球门柱”，
you are accusing them of changing the rules or end goals to make it difficult for you to succeed.
你指责他们改变规则或最终目标，使你难以成功。
We can also say to move the target to mean the same thing.
我们也可以说“move the target”（移动目标），也是同样的意思。
A moving target is a changing goal or result.
移动目标是不断变化的目标或结果。
A desired goal, end, or objective that changes all the time is difficult or perhaps even impossible to reach.
一个一直在变化的理想目标、终点或 目的是很难达到的，甚至是不可能达到的。
Both expressions – to move the goalposts and to move the target – can be used in the same way and in similar situations.
这两个表达——“to move the goalposts”和“to move the target”——都可以在相同的方式和类似的情况下使用。
However, moving the goalposts is a classic football expression.
然而，“moving the goalposts”是经典的橄榄球表达。
While moving the target can refer to several sports.
/1 
