乔布斯传 第62期:奇迹从车库开始(3)

 "I was always into repeating digits," Wozniak said.

"我一直都很喜欢重复的数字，"沃兹尼亚克说，

"The phone number for my dial-a-joke service was 255-6666."

"我的'打电话听笑话'服务的号码是255-6666。"

Neither of them knew that in the Book of Revelation 666 symbolized¹ the "number of the beast,"

他们两个都不知道的是，666是《圣经·启示录》中"恶魔的数字"。

but they soon were faced with complaints,

不过很快他们就遭到了抗议，

especially after 666 was featured in that year's hit movie, The Omen².

特别是在当年大热的电影《凶兆》重点突出了数字666之后。

(In 2010 one of the original Apple I computers was sold at auction³ by Christie's for $213,000.)

（2010年，一台原版Apple I在佳士得的一场拍卖中以213000美元售出。）

The first feature story on the new machine appeared in the July 1976 issue of Interface⁴, a now-defunct hobbyist magazine.

这台新机器的第一次专题报道出现在1976年7月的《界面》(Interface)杂志上，这是一本面向业余爱好者的杂志

Jobs and friends were still making them by hand in his house,

乔布斯和朋友们还在家中动手组装机器，

but the article referred to him as the director of marketing⁵ and "a former private consultant⁶ to Atari."

但报道文章中已经称他为"市场总监"和"前雅达利的私人顾问"了。

It made Apple sound like a real company.

这让苹果听上去像个真正的公司。

"Steve communicates with many of the computer clubs to keep his finger on the heartbeat of this young industry," the article reported,

"史蒂夫与许多电脑俱乐部进行交流，以掌握这一新兴产业的脉搏，"报道中称，

and it quoted him explaining,

并且还引用了乔布斯的解释，

"If we can rap about their needs, feelings and motivations,

"如果我们可以了解他们的需求、感受和动机，

we can respond appropriately by giving them what they want."

我们就可以作出正确的回应，生产出他们所需要的产品。"

By this time they had other competitors, in addition to the Altair,

那个时候，他们已经有了阿尔泰之外的竞争者，

most notably⁷ the IMSAI 8080 and Processor Technology Corporation's SOL-20.

其中最著名的是IMSAI8080和处理器科技公司的SOL-20。

The latter was designed by Lee Felsenstein and Gordon French of the Homebrew Computer Club.

后者是由家酿计算机俱乐部的李·费尔森施泰因和戈登·弗伦奇设计的。

They all had the chance to go on display during Labor⁸ Day weekend of 1976,

1976年的劳工节周末，第一届年度个人电脑节在新泽西州的大西洋城举行，所有人都有机会展示自己的产品。

at the first annual Personal Computer Festival, held in a tired hotel on the decaying boardwalk of Atlantic City, New Jersey⁹.

活动地点在一座陈旧的酒店里，酒店位于当时已经开始破败的木板路上。

Jobs and Wozniak took a TWA flight to Philadelphia,

乔布斯和沃兹尼亚克搭乘环球航空公司的航班前往费城，

cradling one cigar box with the Apple I and another with the prototype for the successor that Woz was working on.

他们将Apple I放在一只雪茄盒子里，沃兹正在开发的第二代样机放在另一只盒子里。

Sitting in the row behind them was Felsenstein, who looked at the Apple I and pronounced it "thoroughly¹⁰ unimpressive."

费尔森施泰因就坐在他们后面一排，他看到Apple I后，

Wozniak was unnerved by the conversation in the row behind him.

称之"十分平庸'这番评论让沃兹失去了信心。

"We could hear them talking in advanced business talk," he recalled,

"我们听见他们在用很高深的商业术语讲话"，他回忆说

"using businesslike acronyms¹¹ we'd never heard before."

"用的都是我们从没有听过的类似商业术语的缩略词。"

Wozniak spent most of his time in their hotel room, tweaking his new prototype.

沃兹大多数时间都待在酒店房间里，研究他的新样机。

He was too shy to stand at the card table that Apple had been assigned near the back of the exhibition hall.

展览大厅的后面有一张桌子被安排给了苹果公司，沃兹太害羞了，根本没勇气姑在那里介绍产品。

Daniel Kottke had taken the train down from Manhattan, where he was now attending Columbia,

当时在哥伦比亚大学就读的科特基，从曼哈顿搭乘火车来到了这里，

and he manned the table while Jobs walked the floor to inspect the competition.

他坚守在桌旁，乔布斯则四处走动观察竞争对手的情况。

What he saw did not impress him. Wozniak, he felt reassured¹², was the best circuit engineer,

他看到的东西并不能打动他。他确信，沃兹尼亚克是最好的电路工程师，

and the Apple I (and surely its successor) could beat the competition in terms of functionality.

Apple I(当然也包括它的第二代）在功能上绝对可以击败所有对手。

However, the SOL-20 was better looking.

然而，SOL-20拥有更加迷人的外观。

It had a sleek¹³ metal case, a keyboard, a power supply, and cables.

它有一个造型优美的金属盒子，附带键盘、电源以及线缆。

It looked as if it had been produced by grown-ups.

看上去这才是成年人设计的产品。

The Apple I, on the other hand, appeared as scruffy¹⁴ as its creators.

相反，Applel就显得和它的发明者一样邋遢不堪。

重点讲解：

1.face with 面对;面临

例句：However, when you come face to face with him, the goalmouth seems to shrink to a tiny size.

但是当你面对他这样一位伟大的门将时，连球门似乎都小了许多。

2.at auction 拍卖；在拍卖中出价

例句：How much do you think the painting will be expected to fetch at auction?

你估计那幅画在拍卖会上能卖多少钱？

3.keep finger on 濒于；接近于；濒临于

例句：The chairman does his best to keep his finger on the pulse of his company's activities.

董事长竭尽全力去掌握他的公司各项活动的确切情况。

4.in addition to 除…之外；除了

例句：In addition to his pay, the boss said he would leave him ten days'holiday with salary every year.

除了工资以外，老板还答应给他每年十天的带薪假期。

1 symbolized   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• For Tigress, Joy symbolized the best a woman could expect from life. 在她看，小福子就足代表女人所应有的享受。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• A car symbolized distinction and achievement, and he was proud. 汽车象征着荣誉和成功，所以他很自豪。 来自辞典例句

2 omen   

n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示

参考例句：

• The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
• Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了？

3 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

4 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

7 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

11 acronyms   

n.首字母缩略词( acronym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Scratch the subject of defence and acronyms, abbreviations, and buzzwords fly out. 话题触及国防，缩合字，缩写字和行话就满天飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some acronyms as scientific terminology are used as a lexical item. 一些科学术语缩写用作词汇项目。 来自互联网

12 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

14 scruffy   

adj.肮脏的，不洁的

参考例句：

• Despite her scruffy clothes,there was an air of sophistication about her.尽管她衣衫褴褛，但神态老练世故。
• His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.他邋遢的外表并不反映他的性格。