乔布斯传 第259期:卢卡斯影业的电脑部门(5)

 　　Initially¹ the revenue was supposed to come from the hardware side.

　　最初，皮克斯公司希望硬件能带来收入。

　　The Pixar Image Computer sold for $125,000.

　　皮克斯图像电脑售价12.5万美元，

　　The primary customers were animators and graphic² designers,

　　主要购买者是动画师和平面设计师，

　　but the machine also soon found specialized³ markets in the medical industry

　　不过这款电脑也在医疗行业和情报领域找到了特殊市场。

　　(CAT scan data could be rendered in three-dimensional graphics)

　　医疗CAT扫描数据能够被转换成三维图形

　　and intelligence fields (for rendering⁴ information from reconnaissance flights and satellites).

　　来自侦察飞机和卫星的信息也能通过该款电脑进行转换。

　　Because of the sales to the National Security Agency, Jobs had to get a security clearance⁵,

　　由于要销售给美国国家安全局，乔布斯必须接受安全调查，

　　which must have been fun for the FBI agent assigned to vet⁶ him.

　　对于被指派来调查他的FBI特工来说一定感觉有趣极了。

　　双语有声读物 乔布斯传

　　At one point, a Pixar executive recalled,

　　据一位皮克斯髙管讲述，有一次，

　　Jobs was called by the investigator⁷ to go over the drug use questions, which he answered unabashedly.

　　调查员打来电话询问毒品使用问题，乔布斯如实回答，丝毫不加掩饰。

　　"The last time I used that...," he would say,

　　他会说“我上回用这种毒品是在……”，

　　or on occasion he would answer that no, he had actually never tried that particular drug.

　　偶尔他也会回答不，他从未用过那种毒品。

　　Jobs pushed Pixar to build a lower-cost version of the computer that would sell for around $30,000.

　　乔布斯要求皮克斯开发一款成本更低的图像电脑，售价在3万美元左右。

　　He insisted that Hartmut Esslinger design it, despite protests by Catmull and Smith about his fees.

　　他坚持由哈特穆特·艾斯林格进行设计，尽管卡特穆尔和史密斯对其收费价格表示反对。

　　It ended up looking like the original Pixar Image Computer,

　　最后，这款新电脑跟皮克斯图像电脑很相似，

　　which was a cube with a round dimple in the middle, but it had Esslinger's signature thin grooves⁸.

　　是一个立方体，中间有一处圆形凹陷，但带有艾斯林格招牌式的纤细纹路。

1 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

2 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

3 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

4 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

5 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

6 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

7 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

8 grooves   

n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏

参考例句：

• Wheels leave grooves in a dirt road. 车轮在泥路上留下了凹痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sliding doors move in grooves. 滑动门在槽沟中移动。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》