[ti:'Kicking Off' a New Year]
[al:Words and Their Stories]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2025-01-05]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:08.18]And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
[00:18.10]One of the most popular sports in the United States is American football.
[00:25.57]In the U.S., "football" is a sport that involves a lot of contact. 
[00:32.99]What people around the world call "football," Americans call soccer.
[00:39.57]For today's show, we talk about some idioms and expressions that come from American football.
[00:48.21]The American sport mainly involves carrying or throwing the ball. 
[00:55.36]But there are times when a player must use their feet to kick the ball. 
[01:01.71]The kicker can kick field goals to get points. 
[01:05.86]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.
[01:20.66]The term kickoff is commonly used to describe the start of an event or project. 
[01:29.21]For example, we could say experts from all over the world attended the kickoff of the new language museum.
[01:40.36]You can use it as a phrasal verb, as well.
[01:44.59]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.
[01:58.78]Football also has the term "punt." 
[02:02.07]Punting is another sort of kick a team uses when they cannot score. 
[02:09.17]The punter kicks a ball with the top of his foot.
[02:13.91]"Punt," like "kick," can be both a noun and a verb.
[02:18.82]When you punt the ball, you put it in play for the other team. 
[02:24.96]The same can be said for punting in life. When we punt something, we give our task, job, or responsibility to someone else.
[02:37.99]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.
[02:48.02]It can also mean to delay a decision.
[02:52.94]If I'm not sure about taking a trip, for example, I can punt the decision until later. 
[03:00.22]Another way to say this in American English is to table it.
[03:06.29]If you are not ready to think about something, it can or must wait until later.
[03:13.88]In football, the kicker not only starts the game with a kickoff but also kicks field goals.
[03:23.07]To do this, the kicker must kick the football between the goalposts at either end of the football field. 
[03:31.91]If he succeeds, his team gets three points.
[03:37.42]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.
[03:51.23]But imagine if the goalposts were moving? That would make kicking the ball between them much more difficult.
[04:01.58]We can face this problem in everyday life. Imagine if you are given a task at work with specific goals to reach.
[04:12.04]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.
[04:23.79]But when the end of the month comes, your boss tells you that now you need to add 20,000 followers, not 10,000.
[04:35.13]In this case, your boss has moved the goalpost.
[04:40.36]Sometime a person moves the goalposts on purpose. 
[04:45.09]They have a reason for doing so.
[04:48.82]If the goalposts keep moving, it is difficult or even impossible to reach the goal.
[04:56.72]So, if you say that someone has "moved the goalposts," you are accusing them of changing the rules or end goals to make it difficult for you to succeed.
[05:11.32]We can also say to move the target to mean the same thing.
[05:16.33]A moving target is a changing goal or result. 
[05:20.72]A desired goal, end, or objective that changes all the time is difficult or perhaps even impossible to reach.
[05:32.91]Both expressions - to move the goalposts and to move the target - can be used in the same way and in similar situations. 
[05:43.40]However, moving the goalposts is a classic football expression. 
[05:49.09]While moving the target can refer to several sports.
[05:54.81]And that's Words and Their Stories. Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.