After 1996 it was an uphill battle for Under Armour against athletic wear giants Adidas and Nike. But little by little the company gained ground. In 2015, Under Armour proudly announced that its sales were second only to Nike, beating out Adidas. It is now the second largest sportswear company in the U.S. It hopes to continue to build on that success. And judging by the number of people wearing Under Armour clothing, it appears to be succeeding.
Like every company, Under Armour has a mission statement. It wants to help all athletes be better through passion, design and innovation.
Design is important because Under Armour wants athletes to feel comfortable in their clothes. The company also wants athletes to be confident in their skills and performance. It continues with innovation because it wants to provide the very best for its customers.
"To inspire you with performance solutions you never knew you needed and can't imagine living without." That is Under Armour's vision statement. That's the Under Armour way.
Info Cloud
Gaining traction 打鐵趁熱
Hello, friends. Welcome to Info Cloud. Anne Marie, I notice that you've started bringing a reusable cup to work.
I have. A friend told me that one-use plastics are bad for the environment. I didn't want to be the only one with the reusable cup. But when I saw the idea gaining traction with so many people, I made the switch.
Gaining traction. Let's explain to our viewers what that means.
Traction is the grip of something on a surface, like a tire on the road. If a tire has good traction, it means that it is propelling the car to move forward quickly without slipping.
Gaining traction means that something is moving forward faster and faster at an increased rate. When we say this about things other than tires, it means that something is becoming more popular or accepted.
Businesses, products or a political candidate's popularity are all things that can gain traction.
Ideas and concepts can gain traction, too.
If an idea is gaining traction, it means it is becoming widely accepted, people are starting to agree with it.
For example, at first, Justin's idea about casual Fridays was seen as a joke. But it's finally starting to gain traction with management.
Casual Friday seems like a great idea to me. I wonder if we could get that idea to gain traction here.
中文有一句成語「打鐵趁熱」，英文也有類似的用語 gain traction。traction 原本是輪胎或鞋子底部的摩擦力或是抓地力，但也有牽引力或是動能的涵義。如果我們說一件事情正在 gain traction，那就代表那件事情發展的很順利，獲得越來越多人的認同和參與，或是開始發酵了。
The candidate’s policies are gaining traction with young voters. 那位候選人的政見越來越受到年輕選民的歡迎了。gain traction 可以用來形容企業、產品或是某個人的名聲，但也可以用來形容一種觀念。Justin’s idea is gaining traction in the company. Justin的創意在公司裡，越來越受到大家的認可。
Language Lab
uphill battle n. 很辛苦的奮鬥 (uphill 上坡的； battle 作戰、戰鬥)
a long struggle to succeed or survive during a difficult situation
- It has been an uphill battle for Brady to complete his studies while working a full-time job.
對 Brady 而言，在全職的工作狀態下，把書唸完是一個非常艱辛的奮鬥。
uphill struggle n. 很辛苦的奮鬥
always used before a noun : not easy : difficult to do, deal with, etc.
- Carol had thought working overseas for a year would be easy, but then she discovered it was an uphill struggle just to be able to save some money.
Carol 以為在國外工作一年會很輕鬆，但後來發覺要能夠存一點錢是很辛苦的奮鬥。
uphill task n. 一件非常辛苦的事
- Making sure supplies get distributed evenly in the refugee camp has been an uphill task for the workers.
對工作人員來講，要把補給品公平地分發給難民營的每個人，是非常艱難的事情。
to gain ground ph v. 有進展、變得越來越成功 (gain 得到、獲得；ground 地、地面)
to move faster so that you come closer to someone or something that is in front of you
[=becoming more popular or successful]
- The eastern provinces have traditionally been more conservative, but the liberal party is slowly gaining ground.
東部的省分傳統上都比較保守，但是自由派漸漸地在發展。
- Several years ago, the professor’s views were laughed at by many in the academic world, but now his views are gaining ground.
幾年前那位教授的論點被學術界很多人取笑，但是現在他的論點逐漸被接受。
- The idea of fixing stray cats and returning them to the community is slowly gaining ground in different parts of the city.
結紮流浪貓再放他們回社區的點子，逐漸在城市裡的不同區域被接受。
mission statement n. 使命宣言 (mission 使命；statement 正式的聲明/說明)
something that states the purpose or goal of a business or organization
- The new CEO announced at the company meeting that there will be a new mission statement.
新的執行長在會議中宣布公司會有新的使命宣言。
- The proposal was rejected by the company because it did not match the company’s mission statement.
這個提案被公司拒絕，因為它不符合公司的使命宣言。
- I looked at the company’s website for information about employment, but it only has its mission statement and a contact phone number.
我去那家公司的網站上找求職資訊，但是上面就只有它們的使命宣言，還有一個聯絡電話。
confident adj. 有信心的
having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something : having confidence
- Roger is very confident in his team’s ability to get the job done.
Roger 對他的團隊有能力完成任務感到非常有信心。
confident adj. 自信的
showing that you have confidence
- Nick has practiced his speech so many times, and he is feeling very confident now.
Nick 已經為他的演說練習了好多次，現在他感到非常自信。
confident adj. 確信的、有把握的
certain that something will happen or that something is true
- I am confident Paul will be out of the hospital before this weekend.
我很確信Paul 這個周末前就可以出院。
confidence n. 信心、自信
a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something
- Arrogance can sometimes be mistaken as confidence.
傲慢有時候會被誤以為是自信。
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