VOA标准英语--Emma Stone Used Dance to Prepare for Role as Billie Jean King

 

American actress Emma Stone admits she has never played tennis.

So to play the role of tennis champion Billie Jean King in the new film Battle of the Sexes, she prepared her body using a different exercise: dance.

Battle of the Sexes tells the story of King’s 1973 exhibition match against former men’s champion Bobby Riggs, played in the film by Steve Carell. It also tells the story of King fighting for equal pay and against sexism in sports.

Stone, who is 28, and King, the 73-year-old tennis great, became good friends while making the movie.

King said, “I tried to put myself in Emma’s shoes. That’s really taking a risk portraying² someone who is still alive. I‘m like, ‘God, that’s a little pressure.”

Stone won an Oscar earlier this year for her work in the musical movie La La Land. In that film, she had to sing and dance. So she practiced her footwork and body movements to play King.

“I danced, so footwork was good. (And) I had been on stage before and when Billie Jean went out onto the tennis court it felt like her stage, so she really keyed in on that,” Stone said.

Stone also practiced basic tennis moves like serves and cross-court backhands. But even after weeks of work, she still struggled with the simple things related to the sport.

Stone said, ”We went to the U.S. Open ... and I was sitting next to Billie Jean, and Sloane Stephens was catching³ balls and tucking⁵ them in her skirt and bouncing them with the racquet.

“It’s just little in-between stuff but that took me months to learn!”

King herself worked with the film’s screenwriter. She recalled her experiences in the sport in the early 1970s. At the time, she was trying to establish a professional tour for women. There was also her match against Riggs.

King beat Bobby Riggs in that famous Battle of the Sexes tennis match. More than 50 million people watched it on television.

King says she is not surprised that women are still fighting for equal pay.

She said, ”If you read history, you realize how slow progress is and that it’s each generation’s job to try and move the ball forward."

“We’ve come further, but we’ve a lot further to go,” King said.

Battle of the Sexes opens on Friday, September 22, in theaters across the United States.

I’m Caty Weaver⁶.

Words in This Story

exhibition - n. a public display of athletic⁷ skill

portray¹ - v. to play a character in a film, play, or television show

tuck⁴ - v. to put something in a particular place to hold it

bounce - v. to hit (a tennis ball) against the court and catch its return

1 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

2 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

3 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

4 tuck   

n.缝摺，船尾突出部下方，食品，鼓声；vt.打摺，卷起，挤进，畅饮；vi.缝褶裥，缩拢，畅饮

参考例句：

• It was nip and tuck as to which boat would reach port first.两条船中哪一条先进港都很难说。
• Tuck your shirt into your trousers.把你的衬衫下摆掖进裤腰里。

5 tucking   

手压实（砂型）

参考例句：

• He crouched, tucking his knees under his chin. 他蜷曲着，把两个膝盖缩拢在颚下。
• I can assure you that we have every chance of tucking his ass into jail. 我敢向你担保，我们完全有把握将这头蠢驴塞进监狱。

6 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

7 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。