乔布斯传 第650期:金刚玻璃(1)

Gorilla¹ Glass

金刚玻璃

Jobs became infatuated with different materials the way he did with certain foods.

乔布斯很喜欢在做一样东西时尝试用不同材料，就像他对待某些食物时那样。

When he went back to Apple in 1997 and started work on the iMac,

1997年，他回归苹果后，开始着手制造iMac，

he had embraced what could be done with translucent² and colored plastic. The next phase was metal.

用半透明和彩色塑料做出了漂亮的产品。接下来是金属。

He and Ive replaced the curvy plastic PowerBook G3 with the sleek³ titanium PowerBook G4,

他和艾弗用光滑的钛板制作出PowerBook G4，淘汰了塑料外壳的PowerBook G3，

which they redesigned two years later in aluminum⁴, as if just to demonstrate how much they liked different metals.

两年后又用铝制材料对该款电脑进行了重新设计，似乎只为了证明他们非常喜欢尝试不同的材料。

Then they did an iMac and an iPod Nano in anodized aluminum,

之后，阳极电镀铝板被用在了iMac和iPod Nano上，

which meant that the metal had been put in an acid bath and electrified⁵ so that its surface oxidized.

这种材料是将铝进行酸浴和电镀，使其表面氧化。

Jobs was told it could not be done in the quantities they needed, so he had a factory built in China to handle it.

乔布斯得知这种材料的产量达不到他们的需要后，就在中国兴建了一家工厂进行生产。

Ive went there, during the SARS epidemic⁶, to oversee⁷ the process.

非典期间，艾弗前往该厂监督流程。

"I stayed for three months in a dormitory to work on the process," he recalled.

“我在宿舍里住了3个月，改进流程，”他回忆道。

"Ruby⁸ and others said it would be impossible,

“鲁比和其他人认为不可能做到，

but I wanted to do it because Steve and I felt that the anodized aluminum had a real integrity to it."

但是我想做，因为乔布斯和我都觉得阳极电镀铝能够真正让产品完美起来。”

Next was glass. "After we did metal, I looked at Jony and said that we had to master glass," said Jobs.

再接下来是玻璃。“在搞定金属材质后，我看着乔尼说，我们必须掌握玻璃材质的使用。”乔布斯说道。

For the Apple stores, they had created huge windowpanes and glass stairs.

在苹果店，他们做出了巨大的玻璃窗和玻璃楼梯。

For the iPhone, the original plan was for it to have a plastic screen, like the iPod.

而对于iPhone，苹果公司原计划像iPod—样，使用塑料屏幕。

But Jobs decided⁹ it would feel much more elegant and substantive¹⁰ if the screens were glass.

但是，乔布斯认为玻璃屏幕会更好，感觉更优雅实在。

So he set about finding a glass that would be strong and resistant¹¹ to scratches.

于是，他开始寻找结实耐划的玻璃。

1 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

2 translucent   

adj.半透明的；透明的

参考例句：

• The building is roofed entirely with translucent corrugated plastic.这座建筑完全用半透明瓦楞塑料封顶。
• A small difference between them will render the composite translucent.微小的差别,也会使复合材料变成半透明。

3 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

4 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

5 electrified   

v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
• The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

7 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

8 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

9 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。

10 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

11 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。