时代周刊:驱动力（1）

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Driving Force

驱动力

In King Richad, the new biopic chronicling the rise of the superstar tennis sisters each now known by one name—Venus and Serena—the protagonist¹ Richard Williams, played with standout moxie by Will Smith, acts on a familiar parental² impulse.

在《国王理查德》中，这部新的传记电影记录了网球巨星姐妹的崛起，她们的名字分别是维纳斯和塞丽娜，主角理查德·威廉姆斯由威尔·史密斯饰演，表现出非凡的勇气，行事风格体现了父亲的本能。

Who among us hasn’t spouted³ of about the talents of our dear children to anyone within earshot?

我们当中有谁没有向周围的人谈论过我们亲爱的孩子们的才能呢?

Richard, however, always possessed⁴ a supernatural level of confidence in the athletic⁵ abilities of his two youngest daughters.

然而，理查德总是对他两个小女儿的运动能力有着超乎寻常的信心。

Parenting handbooks would tell you to set reasonable expectations for your children.

育儿手册会告诉你要给孩子设定合理的期望。

Richard literally⁶ wrote his own plan: a 78-page blueprint⁷ for turning Venus and Serena into legends.

理查德写下了他自己的计划:一份78页的蓝图——将维纳斯和塞丽娜打造传奇。

“I’m in the champion-raising business,” Richard says at one point in the film.

“我从事的是培养冠军的事业，”理查德在影片中说。

Early on, in the movie as in real life, the lily-white tennis establishment resisted Richard’s conviction that these young Black girls, who learned the game on the cracked, weedy courts of Compton, Calif., would redefine the game.

和现实生活中一样，在电影刚开始的时候，理查德确信这些在加州康普顿破旧、杂草丛生的球场上学会了网球的年轻黑人女孩将重新定义这项运动，但正规的网球俱乐部挫败了理查德的信念。

One racist⁸ onscreen coach asks Richard if he’s considered basketball for his daughters.

电影中，一个种族主义教练问理查德，是否考虑让女儿们打篮球。

Richard sends tennis footage of the girls, shot on an ’80s-era camcorder, to noted⁹ instructor¹⁰ Vic Braden (Kevin Dunn).

理查德把女孩们用80年代的摄像机拍摄的网球镜头发给了著名教练维克·布雷登(凯文·邓恩饰)。

In a meeting with Richard, Braden, though impressed, explains why he can’t take on Venus and Serena as pupils.

在与理查德的会面中，虽然维纳斯和塞蕾娜给布雷登留下了深刻的印象，但他解释了为什么不能让她们成为自己学生。

“It’s like asking somebody to believe that you have the next two Mozarts living in your house,” he tells their unrelenting dad.

“这就像让别人相信，你家里住着两个未来的莫扎特一样，”他对她们这位执着的父亲说。

Once it’s apparent that the sisters are the real deal, another coach tells Richard he might have the next Michael Jordan on his hands. He doubles down, naturally.

很明显，这对姐妹真的做到了，另一个教练告诉理查德，他可能培养出下一个迈克尔乔丹。他当然下了双倍注。

Richard tells him he has “the next two.”

理查德告诉他，他可能培养出两个”。

Smith’s performance has earned him early Oscar buzz.

史密斯的表演为他赢得了奥斯卡提名。

When King Richard, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and out in theaters and streaming on HBO Max on Nov.19, premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September, the crowd cheered during the closing credits.

当由雷纳尔多·马库斯·格林执导、11月19日在影院上映、HBO Max在线播放的《国王理查德》在9月特鲁莱德电影节上首映时，观众在观影结束时欢呼雀跃。

And although audiences know the ultimate ending—Richard’s plan worked just fine; the Williams sisters own 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them—the movie manages to hook viewers as though the outcome were a mystery, especially during the climactic tennis sequence.

虽然观众知道最终的结局——理查德的计划很成功; 威廉姆斯姐妹总共拥有30个大满贯单打冠军——电影还是设法吸引了观众，就好像结局是一个谜一样，尤其是网球比赛的高潮部分。

Even close Williams watchers might not recall whether or not Venus, at just 14, upset then world No. 2 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in 1994 (and I won’t spoil it here).

即使是密切关注威廉姆斯的人可能也记不起1994年，年仅14岁的维纳斯是否击败了当时世界排名第二的阿兰特查·桑切斯·维卡里奥（Arantxa Sánchez Vicario）(我不会在这里剧透的)。

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, families are sure to take in King Richard together over popcorn¹¹ or leftover¹² stuffing.

在感恩节假期，家人肯定会吃着爆米花或剩菜馅一起看《国王理查德》。

Venus and Serena, played charmingly by Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, respectively, offer plenty of inspiration for the kids.

维纳斯和塞蕾娜分别由萨尼亚·西德尼和黛米·辛格尔顿扮演，她们给孩子们带来了很多灵感。

For dads and moms—of athletes, piano players, premed students and more—both the movie and the improbable real-life saga¹³ provide a chance to forget those guidebooks and “rules” for a few hours and take stock.

对于运动员、钢琴演奏家、医学院预科生等的爸爸妈妈们来说，这部电影和不太可能的现实生活传奇让他们有机会在几个小时的时间里忘掉那些指南和“规则”，好好评估一番。

What kind of parents are we? And what kind of parents do we want to be?

我们是什么样的父母? 我们想成为什么样的父母?

1 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

2 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

3 spouted   

adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• The broken pipe spouted water all over the room. 破裂的水管喷了一屋子的水。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lecturer spouted for hours. 讲师滔滔不绝地讲了几个小时。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

5 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。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

8 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

11 popcorn   

n.爆米花

参考例句：

• I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。
• He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

12 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

13 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。