VOA词汇掌故2024--Ways to 'Divide and Conquer'

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

On today's show, we talk about a strategy for winning or for completing a big task. That strategy is called dividing and conquering.

With this strategy, you gain an advantage by creating divisions within a group. You might try to turn your enemies against each other. You try to keep control over a group of people by creating problems among them. You could also make a group of people disagree and fight with one another. When you do this, they will likely be too busy fighting each other to think about fighting you.

For example, the police detectives tried to divide and conquer warring drug dealers¹. The drug dealers were so busy fighting each other, they made mistakes and got arrested by police.

However, you must be careful when trying to divide and conquer. The people you are trying to divide may band together. This means they form an alliance². They overcome their differences, work together, and turn against you.

Now, this expression is not just used when talking about defeating people. We can also divide and conquer when trying to complete a difficult task.

If you want to complete a complex task, it is helpful to have several people working on it at the same time. You would divide the tasks and delegate³ them to others. That way, you can conquer - or complete - the task.

Here's an example. Let's say you are working on a big project with some co-workers. The project is complex and has many moving parts. So, instead of everyone working on the same things at once, you decide to divide and conquer. You assign each person a different task. In the end, the project gets done smoothly⁴ and on time.

Now, let's hear some friends use this expression this way. They are preparing for a surprise birthday party and have lots to do.

A: Okay, change of plans. Samantha just texted. She canceled her work meeting and will be here in two hours, not four.

B: Two hours?! That's not enough time! We'll never be ready for her surprise party. You need to stall⁵ her. But don't make her suspicious⁶.

A: If I try to keep her away, she'll know something's up. She knows us too well.

B: You're right. What are we going to do??

A: First, calm down. What still needs to be done?

B: The food needs to be cooked, the cake and drinks need to be picked up, the living room needs to be decorated, and the gift needs to be wrapped. We'll never finish in time!

A: We will! We just need to divide and conquer! You keep cooking. I'll text Claudia and ask her to pick up the cake on the way over. Then I'll text Gwen. She can pick up the drinks. When Steve gets here, he can wrap the gift and decorate. He's good at those things.

B: Ok, sounds like a plan! Wait a minute. What will you be doing?

A: I'm busy! Dividing and conquering doesn't happen by itself.

And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories.

If you have a big goal, maybe it's time you divide and conquer it. Break it down into small tasks and get them done.

Words in This Story

conquer -v. to get or gain by force of arms : to defeat by force of arms : to be victorious⁷

advantage -n. the fact of being in a better position or condition : something that helps the one it belongs to

band together -phrasal verb to form a group in order to do or achieve something

delegate -v. to assign a task or responsibility : to entrust⁸ to another

stall -v. to distract attention or make excuses to gain time

something's up -set phrase indicates that a situation is or seems suspicious, peculiar, or out of the ordinary

 

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1 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

2 alliance   

n.同盟，同盟国，结盟，联姻

参考例句：

• China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
• The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。

3 delegate   

n.代表，会议代表；vt.委派...为代表，授权

参考例句：

• They drafted her to serve as their delegate.他们选她当代表。
• The Chinese people delegate their power to the People's Congress.中国人民授权人民代表大会。

4 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

5 stall   

n.摊位，铺子，售货亭

参考例句：

• She sells fruits at a market stall.她在市场的货摊上卖水果。
• He has a stall that sells designer ripoffs.他开了个铺子卖仿冒设计师品牌衣服。

6 suspicious   

adj.可疑的，容易引起怀疑的，猜疑的，疑心的

参考例句：

• A man was hanging about the house in a suspicious manner.一个男人在房子周围可疑地荡来荡去。
• He's so suspicious he would distrust his own mother.他这个人疑心太重，连自己的母亲也不相信。

7 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

8 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。