Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs Dies

 　　Apple co-founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs has died.  Jobs was 56 years old and had been battling cancer for nearly a decade.

　　The technology company issued a statement on its website late Wednesday, saying the company has lost a visionary and creative genius, and that the world has lost an amazing human being.

　　The company statement also said his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

　　U.S. President Barack Obama expressed condolences in a written statement, saying Jobs was among the greatest of American innovators.

　　Mr. Obama said Jobs "redefined entire industries," made the Internet "not only accessible, but intuitive and fun," and achieved what he called one of history's "rarest feats," of changing how we see the world.

　　Jobs resigned as chief executive of the technology giant in August.  He had battled pancreatic cancer since 2003, and underwent a liver transplant in 2009.

　　In a written statement, Jobs' family said he died peacefully Wednesday, surrounded by his loved ones.

　　Jobs - a college dropout¹ - was born February 24, 1955.  He grew up in a part of California that later became known as Silicon² Valley, a center of the U.S. technology industry.

　　In 1974, Jobs left his position as a technician with a video game maker³ and traveled to India to find spiritual enlightenment.  When he returned, he and friend Steve Wozniak began work in Jobs' garage, developing the first Apple computer.

　　The two founded the Apple computer company.  At one point in his career, Jobs left Apple following a dispute with the company's other top executives.  He returned in 1997, after the company had come to the edge of collapse⁴.  Under Jobs' renewed leadership, Apple reinvented itself, introducing a new line of computers known as the iMacs.

　　Apples fortunes were transformed again when it shifted its focus away from personal computer manufacturer to producing handheld products like the iPhones, iPads and iPods.  It is now one of the world's most valuable companies.

　　Jobs' death comes one day after Apple unveiled a highly anticipated new iPhone - this one with the ability to respond to spoken commands.  The device is equipped with a higher-quality camera and the ability to synchronize⁵ information among different Apple devices, updating them all at once.

　　A timeline of Steve Jobs' life and career

　　February 24, 1955: Steven Paul Jobs is born in California. He grows up in the area that is to become known as Silicon Valley.

　　1974: Jobs works as a technician with the video game maker Atari. He saves money and then travels to India to find spiritual enlightenment.

　　April 1, 1976: Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer after working on the design of their first computer in the garage of Jobs' home. They introduce the Apple I.

　　January 24, 1984: Apple introduces the Macintosh, an all-in-one desktop⁶ machine that is widely credited with revolutionizing the personal computer industry.

　　September 1985: Jobs resigns from Apple following a long-running dispute with other top executives.

　　1986: Jobs forms a new software company called NeXT, Inc., and buys a computer animation⁷ studio from Stars Wars creator George Lucas. The studio, Pixar, makes some of the most popular computer-animated films, including Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo.

　　1997: NeXT struggles and is bought by Apple, which also has been losing money. Jobs returns to Apple and eventually to his role as chief executive.

　　1998: Under Jobs' leadership, Apple introduces its newest personal computer, the iMac, and returns to profitability.

　　October 2001: Apple introduces the iPod, promoting the personal digital music player as "1,000 songs in your pocket."

　　April 28, 2003: Apple launches the iTunes Music Store, an online store selling 200,000 songs for 99 cents apiece. The company also introduces an upgraded iPod that is thinner and lighter⁸, and capable of holding up to 7,500 songs.

　　August 2004: Jobs is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and undergoes surgery.

　　December 2004: iPod sales hit the 10 million mark. The number of songs downloaded from the iTunes store tops 200 million. October 2005: Apple introduces a new iPod that plays videos in addition to music. The iTunes stores sells one million videos in less than three weeks.

　　January 2007: Apple introduces the iPhone.

　　September 2007: Apple introduces the iPod Touch, which uses a touch-screen interface⁹ and has wireless¹⁰ networking capabilities¹¹.

　　June 2008: Apple introduces an updated iPhone, capable of running software applications - apps - that are designed by other companies, creating a new industry of phone apps.

　　July 2008: Apple creates the App Store as the new iPhone 3G goes on sale. More than 10 million apps are downloaded during the store's first few days.

　　February 2009: Jobs begins a six-month medical leave of absence. It is later revealed that he underwent a liver transplant.

　　January 2010: Apple introduces its first touch screen tablet computer, the iPad.

　　January 2011: Jobs takes a second medical leave of absence but tells Apple employees he will remain involved in major strategic decisions.

　　March 2011: Jobs appears at an Apple event to introduce the iPad 2. The Financial Times says Apple's stock rises about 2 percent in the minutes after he begins speaking.

　　August 10, 2011: Apple briefly¹² surpasses oil company ExxonMobil to become the world's most valuable company.

　　August 24, 2011: Jobs resigns as Apple chief executive. Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, takes over as CEO.

1 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。

2 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

3 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 synchronize   

v.使同步 [=synchronise]

参考例句：

• The sound on a film must synchronize with the action. 影片中的声音必须与动作配合一致。
• You must synchronize your Inbox before selecting additional folders. 在选择其他文件夹前，您必须同步您的收件箱。

6 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

7 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

9 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。

10 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。