乔布斯传 第9期:童年,被遗弃和被选择(5)

 　　“Every weekend, there’d be a junkyard trip. We’d be looking for a generator¹, a carburetor, all sorts of components².”

　　“每个周末，我们都会进行一次废品站之旅。我们会寻找发电机，或者化油器，还有各种各样的元件。”

　　He remembered watching his father negotiate at the counter.

　　他还记得看着父亲在柜台前谈价格。

　　“He was a good bargainer, because he knew better than the guys at the counter what the parts should cost.”

　　“他很揸长讨价还价，因为他比卖家更清楚零件的合理价格。”

　　This helped fulfill³ the pledge his parents made when he was adopted.

　　这一点对于实现他父母当初领养他时许下的承诺很有帮助。

　　“My college fund came from my dad paying $50 for a Ford⁴ Falcon⁵ or some other beat-up car that didn’t run, working on it for a few weeks,

　　“我上大学的钱是这么来的：我父亲会花50美元买下一辆已经开不动的福特猎鹰（Ford Falcon)或者其他什么破车，花几个星期修好它，

　　and selling it for $250—and not telling the IRS.”

　　然后以250美元的价格卖出去——而且他不会去报税。”

　　The Jobses’ house and the others in their neighborhood were built by the real estate developer Joseph Eichler, whose company spawned⁶ more than eleven thousand homes in various California subdivisions between 1950 and 1974.

　　乔布斯家的房子位于迪亚布洛大道286号，和他们周围的房子一样，都是由房地产开发商约瑟夫·埃奇勒（Joseph Eichler)建造的，他的公司于1950-1974年间，在加州的各个地区兴建了超过11000座房屋。

　　Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision of simple modern homes for the American “everyman,”

　　受到弗兰克·劳埃德·赖特（Frank Lloyd Wright) “适合美国普通百姓的简单现代之家”这一设想的启发，

　　Eichler built inexpensive houses that featured floor-to- ceiling glass walls, open floor plans, exposed post-and-beam construction, concrete slab⁷ floors, and lots of sliding glass doors.

　　埃奇勒建造了廉价房屋，这些房屋的特点是：落地的玻璃墙、开放式的平面设计、无遮蔽的梁柱构造、混凝土地面以及大量的滑动玻璃门。

　　“Eichler did a great thing,” Jobs said on one of our walks around the neighborhood.

　　“埃奇勒做得很好，”乔布斯有一次和我在附近散步时说，

　　“His houses were smart and cheap and good. They brought clean design and simple taste to lower-income people.

　　“他造的房子整洁漂亮，价格低廉，质量优秀。他们把干净的设计和简洁的品位帯给了低收入人群。

　　They had awesome⁸ little features, like radiant heating in the floors.

　　房子本身有很棒的小特色，比如地板下安装了热辐射供暧设施。

　　You put carpet on them, and we had nice toasty floors when we were kids.”

　　我们小的时候，铺上地毯，躺在上面，温暧舒适。”

　　Jobs said that his appreciation⁹ for Eichler homes instilled¹⁰ in him a passion for making nicely designed products for the mass market.

　　乔布斯说，他对埃奇勒建造的房屋的欣赏，激发了他为大众制造设计精良的产品的热情。

　　“I love it when you can bring really great design and simple capability¹¹ to something that doesn’t cost much,” he said as he pointed¹² out the clean elegance¹³ of the houses.

　　“我喜欢把很棒的设计和简便的功能融入产品中，而且不会太贵，”他一边向我指出这些房屋的干净典雅之处，一边说道，

　　“It was the original vision for Apple. That’s what we tried to do with the first Mac. That’s what we did with the iPod.”

　　“这是苹果公司最初的设想，我们在制造第一台Mac电脑时就尝试这么做，并在iPod上实现了这个设想。”

　　Across the street from the Jobs family lived a man who had become successful as a real estate agent.

　　乔布斯家的对面曾经住着一个成功的房地产经纪人。

　　“He wasn’t that bright,” Jobs recalled, “but he seemed to be making a fortune.

　　“他也不是很聪明，”乔布斯回忆说，“但看起来他好像赚了不少钱。

　　So my dad thought, ‘I can do that.’ He worked so hard, I remember. He took these night classes, passed the license¹⁴ test, and got into real estate. Then the bottom fell out of the market.”

　　于是我爸爸就想：‘我也能干这一行啊。’我记得他拼命努力，去上夜校，通过了执照考试，进入了房地产业。紧接着，房地产市场崩溃了。”

　　As a result, the family found itself financially strapped¹⁵ for a year or so while Steve was in elementary school.

　　结果，乔布斯一家经济拮据了差不多一年时间，当时史蒂夫还在上小学。

　　His mother took a job as a bookkeeper for Varian Associates, a company that made scientific instruments, and they took out a second mortgage.

　　他妈妈在生产科学仪器的瓦里安联合公司（Varian Associates)找到了一份记账员的工作，他们家也给房子办理了第二份抵押贷款。

　　One day his fourth-grade teacher asked him, “What is it you don’t understand about the universe?”

　　有一天，他的四年级老师问他：“关于这个世界，你有什么不明白的？ ”

　　Jobs replied, “I don’t understand why all of a sudden my dad is so broke.”

　　乔布斯回答说：“我不明白为什么我爸爸一夜之间就破产了。”

1 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

2 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

3 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

4 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

5 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

6 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

7 slab   

n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上

参考例句：

• This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
• The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成，它们共同支撑着一块平板。

8 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

9 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

10 instilled   

v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Nature has instilled in our minds an insatiable desire to see truth. 自然给我们心灵注入了永无休止的发现真理的欲望。 来自辞典例句
• I instilled the need for kindness into my children. 我不断向孩子们灌输仁慈的必要。 来自辞典例句

11 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

12 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。

13 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

14 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

15 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》