乔布斯传 第315期:安家(4)

 　　They got beds, dressers, and a music system for the living room, but items like sofas took longer.  他们买了些床、梳妆台、摆在客厅的一套音响系统，但是要买沙发就需要更长时间。

　　"We spoke¹ about furniture in theory for eight years," recalled Powell. “我们纸上谈兵用了8年，”鲍威尔回忆，

　　"We spent a lot of time asking ourselves, 'What is the purpose of a sofa?'" “我们花了很多时间问自己，沙发的用途是什么？”

　　Buying appliances was also a philosophical² task, not just an impulse purchase.  买电器也是个哲学问题，而不仅仅是冲动的购买行为。

　　A few years later, Jobs described to Wired the process that went into getting a new washing machine:  多年以后，乔布斯向《连线》杂志描述了选购一台新洗衣机的过程：

　　It turns out that the Americans make washers and dryers³ all wrong.  我们发现，美国人制造洗衣机和干衣机的理念完全是错误的。

　　The Europeans make them much better—but they take twice as long to do clothes! 欧洲人则好得多--但是他们洗衣服要多花一倍的时间！

　　It turns out that they wash them with about a quarter as much water and your clothes end up with a lot less detergent⁴ on them. 欧洲洗衣机洗衣服只是美国洗衣机用水量的1/4，你衣服上残留的洗条剂也少得多。

　　Most important, they don't trash your clothes.  最重要的是，它们不会把你的衣服洗坏。

　　They use a lot less soap, a lot less water, but they come out much cleaner, much softer, and they last a lot longer.  他们用少得多的肥皂、少得多的水，但是洗出衣服却千净得多，柔软得多，寿命也长得多。

　　We spent some time in our family talking about what's the trade-off we want to make.  我们在家花了些时间讨论我们该怎样取舍。

　　We ended up talking a lot about design, but also about the values of our family. 结果我们讨论了很多设计问题，但也讨论了我们家的价值观。

　　Did we care most about getting our wash done in an hour versus⁵ an hour and a half?  我们是最关心用一个小时而不是一个半小时洗好衣服呢，

　　Or did we care most about our clothes feeling really soft and lasting⁶ longer?  还是最关心我们的衣洗后感觉特别柔软也更耐久呢？

　　Did we care about using a quarter of the water?  我们在意用1/4的水吗？

　　We spent about two weeks talking about this every night at the dinner table.  我们用了大约两星期时间，每晚在餐桌上讨论这个问题。

1 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。

2 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

3 dryers   

n.干燥机( dryer的名词复数 )；干燥器；干燥剂；干燥工

参考例句：

• Men also have hair dryers and, if they suffer from baldness, they use a growth stimulator, buy hairpieces, or have hair transplanted from the hirsute part of the scalp to the bare areas. 男士也有他们的吹风机，而且如果他们秃顶的话，还会用毛发生长剂、买假发，或者把头发从密集的地方移植到谢顶的地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dryers can be automated. 干燥机可以自动化作业。 来自辞典例句

4 detergent   

n.洗涤剂；adj.有洗净力的

参考例句：

• He recommended a new detergent to me.他向我推荐一种新的洗涤剂。
• This detergent can remove stubborn stains.这种去污剂能去除难洗的污渍。

5 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。