中英双语新闻——74 Is it the end of an era?

 　　When Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple’s chief executive last Wednesday the world knew that it was the end of an era.

 

　　上周三，乔布斯辞去苹果公司首席执行官一职，全世界都意识到一个时代终结了。

 

　　Since then, discussion of his resignation has lapsed¹ into hysteria. After all, he is the man who rescued Apple from near-death experience.

 

　　从那天起，有关他辞职一事的热议已陷入了一种失控的状态。毕竟，他是那个让苹果公司起死回生的救世主。

 

　　After he and Steve Wozniak financed the original Apple Computer with 1,300 dollars (8,296 yuan) in 1976, Jobs left Apple when he lost a boardroom showdown in 1985. When Jobs came back in 1996, Apple was a corporate² minnow and seemed headed for oblivion. Now, 15 years later, Apple has become one of the most valuable companies in the world.

 

　　1976年，乔布斯和史蒂夫?沃兹用1300美元（合人民币8296元）创立了苹果公司的原型。1985年，乔布斯与董事会夺权失败从而离开苹果公司。1996年乔布斯重返苹果公司时，苹果已沦为一家无足轻重、似乎即将被遗忘的过气公司了。而在15年后的今天，苹果公司已经成为了全球市值最高的企业之一。

 

　　If you ask people what Steve Jobs is best remembered for, most will name a particular product: the iPod and the iTunes Store hastened the move from CDs to downloadable singles; the iPhone turned the cell phone into an uninterrupted online pipeline³ of content; and the iPad opened a convenient, portable window into the growing trove⁴ of media online.

 

　　如果你问人们乔布斯最令人难忘的是什么，大多数人都会说出一个产品：iPod 与iTunes Store 加速了从CD到可下载单曲这一过程的转变；iPhone则让手机成为一个源源不断输送网络内容的信息渠道；iPad则向那些不断增长的在线媒体宝库了敞开一扇舒适便捷之窗。

 

　　None of these devices or services were the first of its kind. Indeed, they all arrived years after their pioneering competitors – but they were the first to be embraced by the masses. And that’s one of Jobs’ unique contributions to Apple – a phenomenal sense of timing⁵ – an ability to recognize when the public may finally be ready to adopt such a technology.

 

　　这些产品或服务中没有一项是苹果首创推出的。事实上，往往是苹果的竞争对手率先研发出这些产品，几年后苹果公司才推出同类产品。但这些产品却是最受大众拥戴的。此外，乔布斯为苹果做出的诸多无可替代的贡献之一便是：对于时机的非凡掌控，也就是瞧准大众何时准备好接受这类新科技。

 

　　Jobs is also famously fanatical about design. When the rest of the industry was building computers as grey, rectangular metal boxes, he was looking for design metaphors⁶. For a time he thought the Mac should be like a Porsche.

 

　　此外，众所周知乔布斯对于设计极为狂热。当其他业内人士正循规蹈矩的把电脑设计成灰色的长方形金属盒子时，他却一直在寻找设计上的隐喻手法。他曾一度认为苹果电脑的形状应该像保时捷汽车那样。

 

　　In that sense he is the opposite of the MBA-trained executives. “The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting,” he said in 1996, when the company was on the rocks. “The cure for Apple is to innovate⁷ its way out of its current predicament.”

 

　　从某些层面来讲，他与那些接受MBA课程培养的执行官们完全不同。1996年苹果公司陷入困境时，他曾表示：“削减成本并不能拯救苹果公司，苹果需要的是一条走出当前困境的创新之路。

 

　　Another time he said: “When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it.”

 

　　还有一次他曾这样说：“如果你是名正在制作一个漂亮衣柜的木匠，纵然柜子后面是面墙，没人会看到，你也不会在柜子后面使用胶合板。”

 

　　His love of good design has always been the most striking aspect of Jobs’ celebrated⁸ speeches introducing new Apple products. As he introduced the iMac, iPhone and iPad, words like “beautiful”, “amazing” and “awesome” *tumbled out. For once they didn’t sound like corporation-speak. He spoke⁹ from the heart.

 

　　乔布斯在苹果新品发布会上发表的那些著名演说中，他本人对于优秀设计的那份热爱已成为最引人注目的一个环节。当他介绍iMac, iPhone 和 iPad时，“太美了”，“真迷人”，“棒极了”这些词语就会脱口而出。这时这些词汇听上去并非像一位公司发言人那样的场面话。都是他发自内心说出来的。

 

　　Granted, Apple’s success has hindered the companies whose ideas didn’t jibe¹⁰ with Jobs’ notion of what the public wanted. For example, subscription¹¹ music services struggled for years because Jobs disliked them and Apple’s iPods didn’t support them.

 

　　当然，苹果公司的成功也成为一些公司的阻碍，在大众需求方面，这些公司与乔布斯的理念相悖。比如，订购音乐服务就痛苦挣扎了多年，原因则是乔布斯不喜欢这些服务所以苹果推出的iPod不支持此类服务。

 

　　On the other hand, Apple wouldn’t be where it is today without Jobs’ singular vision – as well as the company’s ability to translate it into their products.

 

　　另一方面，没有乔布斯的非凡眼力，没有本公司将其转化为现实的能力，苹果公司就达不到现在的成就。

 

　　Last Wednesday’s announcement wasn’t surprising, considering Jobs’ long struggle with pancreatic cancer.

 

　　鉴于乔布斯已与胰腺癌斗争多年，上周三他的辞职声明也就没有那么令人震惊了。

 

　　It was, however, a reminder¹² that the Steve Jobs era won’t last forever. Luckily, he will remain chairman of Apple’s board. Here’s hoping that it’s not over yet.

 

　　不管怎样，此次事件提醒我们“乔布斯时代”不会永远存在。幸运的是，他还会保留董事会主席一职。希望这一切还没有结束。

1 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

4 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 metaphors   

隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I can only represent it to you by metaphors. 我只能用隐喻来向你描述它。
• Thus, She's an angel and He's a lion in battle are metaphors. 因此她是天使，他是雄狮都是比喻说法。

7 innovate   

v.革新，变革，创始

参考例句：

• We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
• It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 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。

10 jibe   

v.嘲笑，与...一致，使转向；n.嘲笑，嘲弄

参考例句：

• Perhaps I should withdraw my jibe about hot air.或许我应当收回对热火朝天的嘲笑。
• What he says does not jibe with what others say.他所说的与其他人说的不一致。

11 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

12 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。