乔布斯传 第709期:出版和新闻(11)

At dinner they talked about the importance of infusing an entrepreneurial and nimble culture into a company.

晚餐时，他们谈到了在企业中注入创业精神和敏捷文化的重要性。

Sony failed to do that, Murdoch said. Jobs agreed.

默多克认为索尼公司未能做到这一点，乔布斯表示赞同。

"I used to believe that a really big company couldn't have a clear corporate¹ culture," Jobs said.

“我曾认为，一家真正的大企业不可能具有鲜明的企业文化，”乔布斯说。

"But I now believe it can be done. Murdoch's done it. I think I've done it at Apple."

“但是，现在我相信这是可能的。默多克就做到了，我觉得我在苹果公司也做到了。”

Most of the dinner conversation was about education.

晚餐上大部分谈话都围着着教育展开。

Murdoch had just hired Joel Klein, the former chancellor² of the New York City Department of Education, to start a digital curriculum division.

默多克刚刚聘请了乔尔·克莱因负责启动数字课程部门；克莱因曾担任纽约市教育局局长。

Murdoch recalled that Jobs was somewhat dismissive of the idea that technology could transform education.

默多克回忆说，对于技术能够改变教育的观点，乔布斯有些不屑一顾。

But Jobs agreed with Murdoch that the paper textbook business would be blown away by digital learning materials.

但是乔布斯和默多克都认为，纸质教科书业务将会被数字学习材料淘汰。

In fact Jobs had his sights set on textbooks as the next business he wanted to transform.

事实上，教科书领域是乔布斯的下一个变革目标。

He believed it was an $8 billion a year industry ripe for digital destruction.

他认为，现在是时候让数字技术摧毁这个每年80亿美元的产业了。

He was also struck by the fact that many schools, for security reasons, don't have lockers³, so kids have to lug⁴ a heavy backpack around.

许多学校出于安全考虑，没有储物柜,以至于孩子们得背着沉重的书包上下学，这也令乔布斯感到震惊。

"The iPad would solve that," he said.

“iPad会解决这个问题。”他说。

His idea was to hire great textbook writers to create digital versions, and make them a feature of the iPad.

乔布斯想要聘请优秀的教科书编写者来制作电子版教科书，并让其成为iPad的一个特色。

In addition, he held meetings with the major publishers, such as Pearson Education, about partnering with Apple.

此外，他还与主要教材出版商会面，如培生教育出版集团商议合作。

"The process by which states certify⁵ textbooks is corrupt," he said.

“国家认证教材的过程很腐败，”乔布斯说。

"But if we can make the textbooks free, and they come with the iPad, then they don't have to be certified⁶.

“但是如果我们让教材免费，在iPad上提供教材，那么就无须认证这个环节。

The crappy economy at the state level will last for a decade, and we can give them an opportunity to circumvent⁷ that whole process and save money."

美国糟糕的经济形势还会持续十年，我们这样做可以帮政府规避认证流程，把这部分钱省下来。”

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 lockers   

n.寄物柜( locker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I care about more lockers for the teachers. 我关心教师要有更多的储物柜。 来自辞典例句
• Passengers are requested to stow their hand-baggage in the lockers above the seats. 旅客须将随身携带的行李放入座位上方的贮藏柜里。 来自辞典例句

4 lug   

n.柄，突出部，螺帽；(英）耳朵；（俚）笨蛋；vt.拖，拉，用力拖动

参考例句：

• Nobody wants to lug around huge suitcases full of clothes.谁都不想拖着个装满衣服的大箱子到处走。
• Do I have to lug those suitcases all the way to the station?难道非要我把那些手提箱一直拉到车站去吗？

5 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

6 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

7 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。