乔布斯传 第92期:伟大的艺术家窃取灵感(3)

 One important showdown occurred when Atkinson decided¹ that the screen should have a white background rather than a dark one.

阿特金森认为应该把屏幕的深色背景换成白色的，这引发了一次重大冲突。

This would allow an attribute that both Atkinson and Jobs wanted: WYSIWYG, pronounced "wiz-ee-wig," an acronym² for "What you see is what you get."

屏幕背景色的改变可以实现阿特金森和乔布斯都想要的一个特性:WYSIWYG,这是“所见即所得”的缩写。

What you saw on the screen was what you'd get when you printed it out.

你在屏幕上看到的是什么样，打印出来就还是什么样。

"The hardware team screamed bloody³ murder," Atkinson recalled.

“硬件团队一片哀嚎，”阿特金森回忆说，

"They said it would force us to use a phosphor that was a lot less persistent⁴ and would flicker⁵ more."

“他们说，这样的话就必须使用一种持久性差且闪烁严重的磷光体。”

So Atkinson enlisted⁶ Jobs, who came down on his side.

阿特金森只好搬来乔布斯帮忙，乔布斯自然站在了他的一边。

The hardware folks grumbled⁷, but then went off and figured it out.

硬件团队抱怨连连，但之后还是实现了这个功能。

"Steve wasn't much of an engineer himself, but he was very good at assessing people's answers.

“乔布斯本人算不上是个工程师，但他十分擅长评估别人的答案。

He could tell whether the engineers were defensive⁸ or unsure of themselves."

他能看得出来工程师是心存戒备还是缺乏自信。”

One of Atkinson's amazing feats⁹ (which we are so accustomed to nowadays that we rarely marvel¹⁰ at it) was to allow the windows on a screen to overlap¹¹ so that the "top" one clipped into the ones "below" it.

阿特金森的伟大功绩之一（时至今日我们已经对它习以为常，感觉不到它的神奇）就是实现了屏幕上窗口间的重叠，这样一来“上面的”窗口就叠在了“下面的”窗口上。

Atkinson made it possible to move these windows around, just like shuffling¹² papers on a desk, with those below becoming visible or hidden as you moved the top ones.

这一功能让人们可以像堆疊桌子上的文件纸张一样移动屏幕上的窗口，在你移动上面的窗口时，下面的窗口就会被隐藏起来或者被显示出来。

Of course, on a computer screen there are no layers of pixels underneath¹³ the pixels that you see, so there are no windows actually lurking¹⁴ underneath the ones that appear to be on top.

当然，在电脑屏幕上，并没有层层像素隐藏在你看到的画面下，所以在你看到的“上面的”窗口之下，并没有隐藏的窗口。

To create the illusion of overlapping¹⁵ windows requires complex coding that involves what are called "regions."

制造窗口重叠的假象，需要编写复杂的代码，其中运用到了“区域”这样一个概念。

Atkinson pushed himself to make this trick work because he thought he had seen this capability¹⁶ during his visit to Xerox¹⁷ PARC.

阿特金森强迫自己一定要做出这个效果，因为他觉得自己在施乐PARC见过这个功能。

In fact the folks at PARC had never accomplished¹⁸ it, and they later told him they were amazed that he had done so.

而实际上，施乐PARC的人从来没能实现这个功能，他们后来还阿特金森完成这一壮举表示了震惊。

"I got a feeling for the empowering aspect of naivet," Atkinson said.

“我终于知道什么叫无知者无畏了，”阿特金森说，

"Because I didn't know it couldn't be done, I was enabled to do it."

“正因为我不知道这个任务是如此困难，我才得以完成它。”

1 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。

2 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

3 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

4 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

5 flicker   

vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现

参考例句：

• There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
• At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

6 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

8 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

9 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

10 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

11 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

12 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

14 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

16 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。

17 xerox   

n./v.施乐复印机，静电复印

参考例句：

• Xerox and Lucent are two more high-tech companies run by women.施乐和朗讯是另外两家由女性经营的大科技公司。
• You cannot take it home,but you can xerox it.你不能把它带回家，但可以复印。

18 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。