乔布斯传 第404期:微软契约(7)

 Jobs realized that the image of Gates looming¹ over him and the audience was a mistake. 乔布斯意识到盖茨的脸笼罩在他和观众们的头顶是个错误。

"I wanted him to come to Boston," Jobs later said. "That was my worst and stupidest staging event ever. “我本想让他来波士顿，”乔布斯后来说，“那是我有史以来最糟糕最愚蠢的舞台设计。

It was bad because it made me look small, and Apple look small, and as if everything was in Bill's hands." 说它糟糕是因为那让我看起来渺小，让苹果看起来渺小，而似乎一切都掌握在比尔的手中。”

Gates likewise was embarrassed when he saw the videotape of the event. 当盖茨看到此次活动的录像时，同样也觉得很尴尬。

"I didn't know that my face was going to be blown up to looming proportions," he said. “我并不知道我的脸在屏幕上会那么夸张。”他说。

Jobs tried to reassure² the audience with an impromptu³ sermon. 乔布斯试图用一段即兴演讲来安抚观众。

"If we want to move forward and see Apple healthy again, we have to let go of a few things here," he told the audience. “如果我们想进步并看到苹果好起来，我们必须放弃一些东西，”他对听众说，

"We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win Microsoft has to lose... “我们必须放弃这种如果微软赢苹果就必须输的观念...

I think if we want Microsoft Office on the Mac, we better treat the company that puts it out with a little bit of gratitude⁴." 我想，如果我们想在Mac上使用微软Office，我们最好还是对开发它的公司表达一点儿谢意。”

The Microsoft announcement, along with Jobs's passionate⁵ reengagement with the company, provided a much-needed jolt⁶ for Apple. 微软的公告加上乔布斯的激情回归，给苹果打了一针强心剂。

By the end of the day, its stock had skyrocketed $6.56, or 33%, to close at $26.31, twice the price of the day Amelio resigned. 当天的交易日结束时，苹果股票飙升6.56美元--涨幅33%--收盘于26.31美元，是阿梅里奥辞职当天股价的两倍。

The one-day jump added $830 million to Apple's stock market capitalization. 这一天的暴涨给苹果的市值增加了8.3亿美元。

The company was back from the edge of the grave. 公司被从死亡线上拉了回来。

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

3 impromptu   

adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地)

参考例句：

• The announcement was made in an impromptu press conference at the airport.这一宣布是在机场举行的临时新闻发布会上作出的。
• The children put on an impromptu concert for the visitors.孩子们为来访者即兴献上了一场音乐会。

4 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

5 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

6 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。