乔布斯传 第1期:前言(1)

 　　Introduction: How This Book Came to Be

　　前言:本书是如何诞生的

　　In the early summer of 2004, I got a phone call from Steve Jobs.

　　2004年的初夏，我接到史蒂夫·乔布斯（Steve Jobs)打来的电话。

　　He had been scattershot friendly to me over the years, with occasional bursts of intensity¹,

　　多年来，他对我还算友好，偶尔还会感情骤增一下，

　　especially when he was launching a new product that he wanted on the cover of Time or featured on CNN, places where I’d worked.

　　特别是当他希望即将推出的新产品能上《时代》杂志封面或者CNN(美国有线电视新闻网)专题报道的时候，而这两处恰好都是我曾工作过的地方。

　　But now that I was no longer at either of those places, I hadn’t heard from him much.

　　在我离开这两家媒体之后，就没有太多他的消息了。

　　We talked a bit about the Aspen Institute, which I had recently joined, and I invited him to speak at our summer campus in Colorado.

　　电话里我们谈论了一些关于我刚刚加入的阿斯彭研究所（AspenInstitute)的情况，我遨请他来科罗拉多的校园演讲。

　　He’d be happy to come, he said, but not to be onstage. He wanted instead to take a walk so that we could talk.

　　他说他很乐意，但不想登台讲话，而是想和我散散步、聊聊天。

　　That seemed a bit odd. I didn’t yet know that taking a long walk was his preferred way to have a serious conversation.

　　这番话听上去有点奇怪，因为当时我还不知道他喜欢在散步的过程中进行严肃的对话。

　　It turned out that he wanted me to write a biography of him.

　　后来我才知道，他是想让我写一本关于他的传记。

　　I had recently published one on Benjamin Franklin and was writing one about Albert Einstein,

　　我刚刚出版了本杰明·富兰克林（BenjaminFranMin)的传记,正在着手完成阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦(AlbertEinstein)的传记。

　　and my initial reaction was to wonder, half jokingly, whether he saw himself as the natural successor in that sequence.

　　因此我最初的反应是，他是不是把自己看做这些伟人的继承人了。

　　Because I assumed that he was still in the middle of an oscillating career that had many more ups and downs left, I demurred².

　　当然这是半开玩笑的。我认为他还处在事业的波动期，等待他的还有诸多跌宕起伏，所以我拒绝了他的请求。

　　Not now, I said. Maybe in a decade or two, when you retire.

　　现在还不是时候，我说，再等个十年二十年，等你退休了。

　　I had known him since 1984, when he came to Manhattan to have lunch with Time’s editors and extol³ his new Macintosh.

　　我认识他是在1984年，当时他来曼哈顿的时代-生活大厦（Time-LifeBuilding)与编辑们共进午餐，顺带夸耀他的麦金塔电脑（Macintosh)。

　　He was petulant⁴ even then, attacking a Time correspondent for having wounded him with a story that was too revealing.

　　那个时候他的脾气就不太好，他攻击《时代》杂志的一名记者，因为对方报道的一个故事暴露了太多事实而让他觉得受到了伤害。

　　But talking to him afterward⁵, I found myself rather captivated, as so many others have been over the years, by his engaging intensity.

　　但后来，通过与他的对话，我发现自己被他的强烈情感所吸引，就如同其他很多人多年来受到的吸引一样。

　　We stayed in touch, even after he was ousted⁶ from Apple.

　　自那以后，我们就一直保持联系，即便在他被迫离开苹果公司时也未中断。

　　When he had something to pitch, such as a NeXT computer or Pixar movie, the beam of his charm would suddenly refocus on me,

　　当他需要推销某样产品时，比如一台NeXT电脑或者一部皮克斯（Pixar)出品的电影，他的个人魅力就会突然间再次聚焦到我的身上，

　　and he would take me to a sushi restaurant in Lower Manhattan to tell me that whatever he was touting⁷ was the best thing he had ever produced.

　　他会带我去曼哈顿下城的一家寿司餐厅，告诉我他正在兜售的东西是他制造出的最棒的产品。

　　I liked him.

　　我喜欢这个家伙。

1 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

2 demurred   

v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• At first she demurred, but then finally agreed. 她开始表示反对，但最终还是同意了。
• They demurred at working on Sundays. 他们反对星期日工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 extol   

v.赞美，颂扬

参考例句：

• We of the younger generation extol the wisdom of the great leader and educator.我们年轻一代崇拜那位伟大的引路人和教育家的智慧。
• Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. 我要天天称颂你，也要永永远远赞美你的名。

4 petulant   

adj.性急的，暴躁的

参考例句：

• He picked the pen up with a petulant gesture.他生气地拿起那支钢笔。
• The thing had been remarked with petulant jealousy by his wife.

5 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

6 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

7 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网