乔布斯传 第486期:木材 石头 钢铁 玻璃(2)

 Jobs particularly focused on the staircases, which echoed the one he had built at NeXT. 乔布斯尤其关注楼梯的设计，苹果零售店的楼梯和他以前为NeXT办公楼设计的楼梯如出一辙。

When he visited a store as it was being constructed, he invariably suggested changes to the staircase. 他每去一个正在兴建的店铺时，都会对楼梯的设计提出改进建议。

His name is listed as the lead inventor on two patent applications on the staircases, 为他设计的楼梯递交的两项专利申请书上都把他作为主要发明者：

one for the see-through look that features all-glass treads and glass supports melded together with titanium, 一个专利是采用了透明玻璃踏板和玻璃混合金属钛的支架；

the other for the engineering system that uses a monolithic¹ unit of glass containing multiple glass sheets laminated together for supporting loads. 一个专利是采用含有多层玻璃压制而成的整块承重玻璃系统。

In 1985, as he was being ousted² from his first tour at Apple, 1985年，在被苹果驱逐之后，

he had visited Italy and been impressed by the gray stone of Florence's sidewalks. 乔布斯去了意大利，佛罗伦萨人行道上的灰蓝色石头给他留下了深刻印象。

In 2002, when he came to the conclusion that the light wood floors in the stores were beginning to look somewhat pedestrian 2002年乔布斯得出一个结论：浅色的木地板有些平庸

a concern that it' s hard to imagine bedeviling someone like Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer 你很难想象这种担忧会困扰微软CEO史蒂夫·鲍尔默这样的人

Jobs wanted to use that stone instead. 就决定改用那种石头做地面。

Some of his colleagues pushed to replicate³ the color and texture⁴ using concrete, which would have been ten times cheaper, 一些同事建议他用混凝土，成本是石头的1/10，而且也可以模仿出石头的颜色和纹路，

but Jobs insisted that it had to be authentic⁵. 但是乔布斯坚持必须用真正的石头。

The gray-blue Pietra Serena sandstone, which has a fine-grained texture, 灰蓝色的锡耶纳沙石有着清晰的纹理感，

comes from a family-owned quarry⁶, Il Casone, in Firenzuola outside of Florence. 来自佛罗伦萨外围费伦佐拉的一个家庭自营采石场--IICasone。

"We select only 3% of what comes out of the mountain, “我们只从山上采集的石头中挑选3%，

because it has to have the right shading and veining⁷ and purity," said Johnson. 因为它们必须要有合适的颜色、纹路和纯度。”约翰逊说。

"Steve felt very strongly that we had to get the color right and it had to be a material with high integrity." “史蒂夫对石头的颜色和完整性非常挑剔。”

So designers in Florence picked out just the right quarried⁸ stone, oversaw⁹ cutting it into the proper tiles, 所以佛罗伦萨的设计师千挑万选，再叫人把它们切成尺寸适当的石块，

and made sure each tile was marked with a sticker to ensure that it was laid out next to its companion tiles. 并在每一个石块上面做好标记，以确定哪一块石头和哪一块相邻。

"Knowing that it's the same stone that Florence uses for its sidewalks assures you that it can stand the test of time," said Johnson. 约翰逊说：“铺在佛罗伦萨人行道上的石头，一定能经受住时间的考验。”

 

1 monolithic   

adj.似独块巨石的；整体的

参考例句：

• Don't think this gang is monolithic.不要以为这帮人是铁板一块。
• Mathematics is not a single monolithic structure of absolute truth.数学并不是绝对真理的单一整体结构。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

4 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

5 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

6 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

7 veining   

n.脉络分布；矿脉

参考例句：

• Art is a mirror reflects the era veining of the current society.艺术是社会的镜子，反映出当今社会的时代脉络。
• It retraces the four periods of our culture industry to make clear its development veining.通过对我国文化产业发展四个阶段的回顾，以期厘清其发展脉络。

8 quarried   

v.从采石场采得( quarry的过去式和过去分词 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石

参考例句：

• The workmen quarried out a huge block of marble. 工人们从采石场采得一块很大的大理石。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The large limestone caves are also quarried for cement. 同时还在这些大石灰岩洞里开采水泥原料。 来自辞典例句

9 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网