名校励志英语演讲 41:我人生中的三个故事

 　　I learned about serif and san-serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically¹ subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.

　　我学习写带短截线和不带短截线的字体，根据不同字母组合调整其间距，并学习怎样把版式调整得更好。这门课太棒了，既有历史价值，又有艺术造诣，这一点科学就做不到，我觉得它妙不可言。当时我并不指望书法在我以后的生活中能有什么使用价值。但是，十年之后，我们在设计第一台Macintosh计算机时，它一下子浮现在我眼前。于是，我们把这些东西全都设计进了Macintosh计算机中。这是第一台有这么漂亮的文字版式的计算机。要不是我当初在大学里偶然选了这门课，Macintosh计算机绝不会有那么多种印刷字体或间距安排合理的字号。

　　And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on that calligraphy² class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards³ 10 years later.

　　要不是 Windows 照搬了 Macintosh, 个人电脑可能不会有这些字体和字号。要是我当初没有退学，我绝不会碰巧选了这门书法课。个人电脑也可能不会有现在这些漂亮的版式了。当然，我在大学里不可能从这些点滴上看到它与将来的关系，十年之后再回头看，两者之间的关系就非常、非常清楚了。

　　Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something—your gut⁴, destiny, life, karma, whatever—because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.

　　你们同样不可能从现在这个点上看到将来；只有回头看时，才会发现它们之间的关系。所以，你们要相信这些点滴迟早会连接在一起。你们必须相信某些东西——勇气、命运、生命、以及因果报应，等等。要相信，这些点会为你铺平前进的道路，会给与你听从自己的心声的自信，会引导你走自己的路，然后取得成就。

　　serif

　　n. [印]衬线（指字母主线外起装饰作用的细线）

　　eg. Serif fonts look cool but create a lot of eye fatigue⁵ in large blocks of text.

　　衬线字体虽然很棒，但如果是大块文本会造成眼睛疲劳。

　　typeface

　　n. 印刷字体

　　eg. Which typeface is perfect for this design?

　　哪个字体最适合这个设计？

　　subtle

　　adj. 微妙的；精细的

　　eg. The faint smile that just played across the lips was far too subtle to be really sweet.

　　她那撇着嘴的淡淡的微笑太不可捉摸，不见得真甜。

　　capture

　　vt. 夺得

　　eg. They captured more than ten thousand prisoners and large quantities of arms in that campaign.

　　他们在那次战役中俘获了一万多战俘和大量武器。

　　proportionally

　　adv. 相称地；适当地

　　eg. It also has proportionally more citizens in jail than any other state.

　　此外，按比例计算，美国监狱在押人数超过所有其它国家。

　　font

　　n. 字体；字形

　　eg. This font displays correctly only when the viewer has this font installed

　　仅当查看器安装了这种字体时，此字体才能正确显示。

1 artistically   

adv.艺术性地

参考例句：

• The book is beautifully printed and artistically bound. 这本书印刷精美，装帧高雅。
• The room is artistically decorated. 房间布置得很美观。

2 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

3 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

4 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

5 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。