乔布斯传翻译笔记：乔布斯暂别苹果

 1985年，乔布斯虽仍在苹果任董事长，但却失去实权（he had not been to any meetings since since he lost his power)。无奈之下，他递交辞呈，暂别苹果（with no work to do and no access even to regular management reports），投入新事业的发展，致力于工作站的开发（a powerful but personal workstation)。新公司NeXT成立后，知名商标设计师Paul Rand 为其设计标志。面对刚起步的事业，苹果公司内部对乔布斯的非议，肩扛双重压力的乔布斯会在新公司的会议室里有怎样的表现？

【英语原文】

Joe Nocera, then writing for Esquire, captured Jobs’s intensity¹ at a NeXT staff meeting: It’s not quite right to say that he is sitting through this staff meeting, because Jobs doesn’t sit through much of anything; one of the ways he dominates is through sheer movement. One moment he’s kneeling in his chair; the next minute he’s slouching in it; the next he has leaped out of his chair entirely² and is scribbling³ on the blackboard directly behind him. He is full of mannerisms. He bites his nails. He stares with unnerving earnestness at whoever is speaking. His hands, which are slightly and inexplicably⁵ yellow, are in constant motion.

What particularly struck Nocera was Jobs’s “almost willful lack of tact⁶ .” It was more than just an inability to hide his opinions when others said something he thought dumb; it was a conscious readiness, even a perverse⁷ eagerness, to put people down, humiliate⁸ them, show he was smarter.When Dan’l Lewin handed out an organization chart, for example, Jobs rolled his eyes. “These charts are bullshit,” he interjected. Yet his moods still swung wildly, as at Apple. A finance person came into the meeting and Jobs lavished⁹ praise on him for a “really, really great job on this”; the previous day Jobs had told him, “This deal is crap .” (Chapter 18 NeXT: To Be on Your Own)

【译文】

乔·切诺拉在为《时尚先生》撰稿时，曾提及乔布斯在NeXT员工会议上不安的表现：说他能坐着开完员工会议是不准确的，因为他从未安分地坐到会议结束。他 控制局面的方法之一就是动来动去。这一刻，还跪在椅子上，下一分钟，却无精打采；过一会儿，整个身体从椅子上跃起，在身后的黑板上乱涂乱写。他有各种各样 的怪癖，包括咬指甲、用令人胆怯的目光盯着讲话者。手也莫名地发黄，持续颤动。

最令切诺拉震惊的是乔布斯“极度自我并缺乏与人交往的技巧”。面对别人说出他所认为的愚蠢意见时，乔布斯似乎早有准备，会急迫地去奚落、侮辱他人 来显示自己的聪明。例如，当丹·卢拿出一份组织结构图时，乔布斯转了转眼珠，插话到“这些东西完全狗屁不通”。和在苹果工作时一样，他的情绪依旧波澜起 伏，喜怒无常。一位财务人员来到会议室，乔布斯慷慨地称赞他说：“这次的工作的确做得非常非常出色”，而在前一天，他刚刚说到，“这笔交易跟垃圾没什么两样”。

【翻译笔记】

1. sit through 耐着性子看完或听完， 一直坐到 ... 结束

I sit through all three performances but none of them is any good. 三个节目我都从头看到尾，可是没一个节目是精彩的。

We had to sit through several tedious speeches. 我们只得坐在那里听着几个乏味的讲演。

2. mannerism⁴ n. 固守独特的格调，矫揉造作；癖性

A type of schizophrenia, usually starting at puberty, characterized by foolish mannerisms, senseless laughter, delusions¹⁰, hallucinations, and regressive behavior. 青春期痴呆的一种精神分裂症，通常始发于青春期，其特征为举止痴呆、傻笑、妄想、幻觉以及退化的举止。

He's taken on some irritating mannerisms. 他新添了些讨人嫌的怪毛病。

3. strike v/n 打击，攻击；(钟)敲响，报(时)；打动，感动，给...以印象，使…突然想起；罢工

He was struck by lightning. 他被闪电击中。

That play struck me as silly. 那出戏我觉得很无聊。

It struck me that there was no one at home. 我突然想起家中没有人。

The coal miners struck for better safety conditions. 煤矿工人罢工要求改善安全状况。

The commander decided¹¹ to make an air strike on the enemy's supply line. 指挥官决定空袭敌人的补给线。

4.tact n. 机智， 手法

Does he possess the necessary patience and tact to do the job well? 他有具备这项工作必需的耐性和应变能力吗?

He's short on tact. 他处事不够圆通。

The hostess presided at table with tact and urbanity. 女主人招待客人进餐时风雅而又得体。

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 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 scribbling   

n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• Once the money got into the book, all that remained were some scribbling. 折子上的钱只是几个字！ 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• McMug loves scribbling. Mama then sent him to the Kindergarten. 麦唛很喜欢写字，妈妈看在眼里，就替他报读了幼稚园。 来自互联网

4 mannerism   

n.特殊习惯，怪癖

参考例句：

• He has this irritating mannerism of constantly scratching his nose.他老是挠鼻子，这个习惯真让人不舒服。
• Her British accent is just a mannerism picked up on her visit to London.她的英国口音是她访问伦敦学会的。

5 inexplicably   

adv.无法说明地，难以理解地，令人难以理解的是

参考例句：

• Inexplicably, Mary said she loved John. 真是不可思议，玛丽说她爱约翰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inexplicably, she never turned up. 令人不解的是，她从未露面。 来自辞典例句

6 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

7 perverse   

adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的

参考例句：

• It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
• She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

8 humiliate   

v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace

参考例句：

• What right had they to bully and humiliate people like this?凭什么把人欺侮到这个地步呢？
• They pay me empty compliments which only humiliate me.他们虚情假意地恭维我，这只能使我感到羞辱。

9 lavished   

v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I lavished all the warmth of my pent-up passion. 我把憋在心里那一股热烈的情感尽量地倾吐出来。 来自辞典例句
• An enormous amount of attention has been lavished on these problems. 在这些问题上，我们已经花费了大量的注意力。 来自辞典例句

10 delusions   

n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想

参考例句：

• the delusions of the mentally ill 精神病患者的妄想
• She wants to travel first-class: she must have delusions of grandeur. 她想坐头等舱旅行，她一定自以为很了不起。 来自辞典例句

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。