乔布斯传 第21期:奇特的一对,两个史蒂夫(2)

 　　By fourth grade Wozniak became, as he put it, one of the "electronics kids."

　　到了四年级，沃兹尼亚克成为了他自称为“电子小孩”的一类人。

　　He had an easier time making eye contact with a transistor¹ than with a girl, and he developed the chunky and stooped look of a guy who spends most of his time hunched² over circuit boards.

　　对他来说，盯着一只晶体管要比跟一个姑娘眉来眼去来得容易，他就以矮矮胖胖、有点儿驼背的形象示众，大多数时间他都埋头于电路板中。

　　At the same age when Jobs was puzzling over a carbon microphone that his dad couldn't explain,

　　在乔布斯还在为了一个连他父亲都解释不清的碳精话筒而迷惑的年纪，

　　Wozniak was using transistors³ to build an intercom system featuring amplifiers, relays, lights, and buzzers⁴ that connected the kids' bedrooms of six houses in the neighborhood.

　　沃兹尼亚克已经在使用晶体管搭建对讲系统了，这个系统带有放大器、继电器、灯和蜂鸣器，连接了相邻的6座房子中孩子们的卧室。

　　And at an age when Jobs was building Heathkits, Wozniak was assembling a transmitter and receiver from Hallicrafters, the most sophisticated radios available.

　　乔布斯还在玩希斯工具盒的时候，沃兹尼亚克已经在组装来自世界上最先进的无线电制造商哈里克拉夫特（Hallicrafters)的发射器和接收器了，他还和父亲一起获得了业余无线电执照。

　　Woz spent a lot of time at home reading his father's electronics journals, and he became enthralled⁵ by stories about new computers, such as the powerful ENIAC.

　　沃兹花了大量的时间在家阅读父亲的电子学期刊，他着迷于关于新式计算机的那些故事，比如强大的埃尼阿克（ENIAC)。

　　Because Boolean algebra⁶ came naturally to him, he marveled at how simple, rather than complex, the computers were.

　　在接触到布尔代数之后，他惊奇地发现其实计算机系统一点儿也不复杂，而是非常简单。

　　In eighth grade he built a calculator that included one hundred transistors, two hundred diodes, and two hundred resistors on ten circuit boards.

　　八年级的时候，他基于二进制理论造出了一台计算器，把100只晶体管、200只二极管、200只电阻装在了10块电路板上。

　　It won top prize in a local contest run by the Air Force, even though the competitors included students through twelfth grade.

　　在当地一项由空军举办的赛事上，尽管参赛者中还有十二年级的学生，但这台计算器还是赢得了最高奖。

　　Woz became more of a loner when the boys his age began going out with girls and partying, endeavors that he found far more complex than designing circuits.

　　与沃兹同龄的男孩已开始跟女孩约会、参加各种派对，而他觉得这些都比设计电路更为复杂，他显得更加不合群了。

　　"Where before I was popular and riding bikes and everything, suddenly I was socially shut out," he recalled. "It seemed like nobody spoke⁷ to me for the longest time."

　　“之前我还挺受欢迎的，但突然间我就被孤立了，”他回忆说，“很长的一段时间都没有人跟我说话。”

　　He found an outlet⁸ by playing juvenile⁹ pranks¹⁰.

　　他找到了一个发泄的办法：

　　In twelfth grade he built an electronic metronome—one of those tick-tick-tick devices that keep time in music class—and realized it sounded like a bomb.

　　搞些幼稚的恶作剧。高中四年级的时候，他做了一个电子节拍器——音乐教室里用来打拍子的、会发出“滴答”声的装置。然后他意识到“滴答”声听上去很像是炸弹定时器的声音。

　　So he took the labels off some big batteries, taped them together, and put it in a school locker¹¹; he rigged it to start ticking faster when the locker opened.

　　于是他把一些大块电池的标签撕掉，把它们绑在一起，然后放进了学校的储物柜里。他设定好装置，一旦柜门被打开，“滴答”频率就会变高。

　　Later that day he got called to the principal's office. He thought it was because he had won, yet again, the school's top math prize. Instead he was confronted by the police.

　　那天晚些时候，他被叫到了校长办公室。他还以为是因为他又一次获得了学校的最高数学奖。然而，等待他的是警察。

　　The principal had been summoned when the device was found, bravely ran onto the football field clutching it to his chest, and pulled the wires off.

　　校长布吕德先生（Mr. Bryld)在装置刚被发现时就被叫到了现场，他一把抓起那个玩意儿，紧贴胸口，抱着它勇敢地跑到了操场，然后把上面的电线拆掉。

　　Woz tried and failed to suppress his laughter. He actually got sent to the juvenile detention¹² center, where he spent the night.

　　沃兹强忍着，但还是控制不住笑了出来。那天他真的被送到了青少年拘留中心，在那儿过了一晚上。

　　It was a memorable¹³ experience. He taught the other prisoners how to disconnect the wires leading to the ceiling fans and connect them to the bars so people got shocked when touching¹⁴ them.

　　沃兹认为那是一段难忘的经历。他在里面教其他犯人把通到天花板上风扇的电线接到铁窗上，这样一且有人碰到就会被电击一下。

　　Getting shocked was a badge of honor for Woz. He prided himself on being a hardware engineer, which meant that random¹⁵ shocks were routine.

　　对沃兹来说，被电击就好像是获得荣誉奖章一样。作为一名硬件工程师让他很自豪，但这也意味着触电是家常便饭。

　　He once devised a roulette game where four people put their thumbs in a slot; when the ball landed, one would get shocked.

　　他曾经发明过一种轮盘赌游戏：四个人把拇指按在槽里，球落下之后，其中的一个会被电到。

　　"Hardware guys will play this game, but software guys are too chicken," he noted¹⁶.

　　“搞硬件的人才愿意玩这个游戏，搞软件的都太胆小了。”他这么强调。

1 transistor   

n.晶体管，晶体管收音机

参考例句：

• This make of transistor radio is small and beautifully designed.这半导体收音机小巧玲珑。
• Every transistor has at least three electrodes.每个晶体管至少有三个电极。

2 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

3 transistors   

晶体管( transistor的名词复数 )； 晶体管收音机，半导体收音机

参考例句：

• In semiconductor receivers transistors take the place of vacuum tubes. 在半导体收音机中晶体管代替了真空管。
• We often turn to this handbook for information on transistors. 我们常从这本手册查阅有关晶体管的资料。

4 buzzers   

n.门铃( buzzer的名词复数 )；蜂音器（的声音）；发嗡嗡声的东西或人；汽笛

参考例句：

• Scout in with Buzzers(Via The Swarm) or whatever fast unit you have. 用技能召唤的蜂群（或者任何你拥有的快速单位）探路。 来自互联网
• Buzzers have the ability to clear garrisoned structures. 蜂群拥有清除驻军建筑得能力。 来自互联网

5 enthralled   

迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快

参考例句：

• The child watched, enthralled by the bright moving images. 这孩子看着那明亮的移动的影像，被迷住了。
• The children listened enthralled as the storyteller unfolded her tale. 讲故事的人一步步展开故事情节，孩子们都听得入迷了。

6 algebra   

n.代数学

参考例句：

• He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
• The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

9 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

10 pranks   

n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Frank's errancy consisted mostly of pranks. 法兰克错在老喜欢恶作剧。 来自辞典例句
• He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句

11 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

12 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

13 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

14 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

15 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。