乔布斯传 第572期:波诺(5)

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The next day, as Ive headed toward Dublin, Vincent had to fend¹ off Jobs, who was still having second thoughts.

第二天，就在艾弗飞往都柏林的途中，文森特马上去做乔布斯的工作，希望他转变心意。

"I don't know if we're doing the right thing," he said. "We don't want to do this for anyone else."

乔布斯说：“我不知道我们是否在做正确的事情。我们不希望为任何人这样做。”

He was worried about setting the precedent² of artists getting a royalty³ from each iPod sold.

他担心的是，一旦为某些艺人在每台iPod中抽版税的问题上开了先河，接下来会后患无穷。

Vincent assured him that the U2 deal would be special.

文森特向他保证和U2的合作只此一家。

"Jony arrived in Dublin and I put him up at my guest house,

“乔尼到了都柏林，我把他安顿在我的客房，

a serene⁴ place over a railway track with a view of the sea," Bono recalled.

很安静，向窗外眺望还可以看见铁轨和大海。”波诺回忆道，

"He shows me this beautiful black iPod with a deep red click wheel, and I say okay, we'll do it."

“他给我看了这款漂亮的黑色iPod，上面配着深红色的转盘，我说很好，我们就这么做吧。”

They went to a local pub, hashed out some of the details, and then called Jobs in Cupertino to see if he would agree.

他们还去了一家当地的酒吧，讨论了一些细节，然后打电话给库比蒂诺的乔布斯，问他是否同意。

Jobs haggled⁵ for a while over each detail of the finances, and over the design, before he finally embraced the deal.

乔布斯针对合作的每一项细节和设计都讨价还了一番。

That impressed Bono. "It's actually amazing that a CEO cares that much about detail," he said.

这着实让波诺印象深刻，他说：“有这样一位如此注重细节的CEO真是太出乎我的意料了。”

When it was resolved, Ive and Bono settled into some serious drinking. Both are comfortable in pubs.

当一切都敲定之后，艾弗和波诺痛快地喝了几杯。他们都很喜欢酒吧。

After a few pints⁶, they decided⁷ to call Vincent back in California.

几杯下肚之后，他们决定给加州的文森特打电话。

He was not home, so Bono left a message on his answering machine, which Vincent made sure never to erase⁸.

但是文森特不在家，所以波诺给他的电话答录机留了言，文森特说他永远不会删除这条留言：

"I'm sitting here in bubbling Dublin with your friend Jony," it said.

“我正在和你的朋友乔尼在一起，在美得冒泡的都柏林。

"We're both a bit drunk, and we're happy with this wonderful iPod

我们都有点儿醉了，而且我们对这个新的iPod赞不绝口，

and I can't even believe it exists and I'm holding it in my hand. Thank you!"

我甚至不敢相信它确实存在，而且就拿在我的手里。谢谢你！”

1 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

2 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

3 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

4 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

5 haggled   

v.讨价还价( haggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cook and the grocer haggled over the price of eggs. 厨师和杂货商为蛋价计较个没完。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• After they had haggled for some time, the two men decided to close the bargain. 那两个人经过一番讨价还价以后，决定成交。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 pints   

n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒

参考例句：

• I drew off three pints of beer from the barrel. 我从酒桶里抽出三品脱啤酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two pints today, please. 今天请来两品脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。