乔布斯传 第457期:iMac发布会(4)

 　　Carping was heard from only one familiar corner. 一个熟悉的声音又在吹毛求疵了。

　　As the iMac garnered¹ kudos², Bill Gates assured a gathering³ of financial analysts⁴ visiting Microsoft that this would be a passing fad⁵. iMac屡获殊荣之际，比尔·盖茨明确的告诉一群拜访微软公司的财务分析师们，这只是一时的潮流而已。

　　"The one thing Apple's providing now is leadership in colors," “苹果公司现在唯一胜出的就是在颜色方面。”

　　Gates said as he pointed⁶ to a Windows- based PC that he jokingly had painted red. 盖茨指了指一台他故意漆成红色的Windows计算机，

　　"It won't take long for us to catch up with that, I don't think." “我们不用花太多时间就能做到，我认为不会很久。”

　　Jobs was furious, and he told a reporter that Gates, 乔布斯气坏了。他告诉一个记者说，盖茨，

　　the man he had publicly decried⁷ for being completely devoid⁸ of taste, 这个曾被他公开嘲笑“完全没有品位”的人，

　　was clueless about what made the iMac so much more appealing than other computers. 根本没搞清楚是什么让iMac比其他计算机更有吸引力。

　　"The thing that our competitors are missing is that they think it's about fashion, “我们的竞争对手大错特错的地方就在于，他们认为这只是时尚，

　　and they think it's about surface appearance," he said. 只是表面功夫而已。”他说，

　　"They say, We'll slap a little color on this piece of junk computer, and we'll have one, too." “他们会说，‘我们也要在这破机器上喷点儿漆，不就是这么回事儿吗。’”

　　The iMac went on sale in August 1998 for $1,299. 1998年8月，iMac正式发售，售价1299美元。

　　It sold 278,000 units in its first six weeks, and would sell 800,000 by the end of the year, 上市6个星期后就售出27.8万台，到年底售出了80万台，

　　making it the fastest-selling computer in Apple history. 成为苹果公司历史上销售速度最快的计算机。

　　Most notably⁹, 32% of the sales went to people who were buying a computer for the first time, 最值得注意的是，32%的购买者是首次购买计算机，

　　and another 12% to people who had been using Windows machines. 12%的购买者曾经使用的是Windows计算机。

1 garnered   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句

2 kudos   

n.荣誉，名声

参考例句：

• He received kudos from everyone on his performance.他的表演受到大家的称赞。
• It will acquire no kudos for translating its inner doubts into hesitation.如果由于内心疑虑不安而在行动上举棋不定，是得不到荣誉的。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 decried   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The measures were decried as useless. 这些措施受到指责，说是不起作用。
• The old poet decried the mediocrity of today's writing. 老诗人抨击了现代文体的平庸无奇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 devoid   

adj.全无的，缺乏的

参考例句：

• He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。
• The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。

9 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。