乔布斯传翻译笔记：追忆在法国的似水年华

 第二十章描述了一个有平常感情的乔布斯。Tina Redse被乔布斯评价为最美丽和最懂他的女人（I don't know that anyone will ever understand me better than she did）。然而他们性格中的矛盾和哲学理念的冲突（philosophical difference）最终导致两人的分离。她与乔布斯相恋五年，并一直保持着精神上的联系（retained their spiritual connection）。25年后，Redse创办心理健康网络（OpenMind, a mental health resource network)偶然读到自恋型人格失调 （Narcissistic Personality Disorder）的症状时,发信乔布斯的表现完全与此病症状一致（Jobs perfectly¹ met the criteria），她致信乔布斯，追忆似水年华，回忆那段两人在法国刻骨铭心的日子。

追忆在法国的似水年华

【英语原文】

She recalled their Paris moment in a poignant² email she sent to him twenty-five years later, after they had gone their separate ways but retained their spiritual connection: We were on a bridge in Paris in the summer of 1985. It was overcast³. We leaned against the smooth stone rail and stared at the green water rolling on below. Your world had cleaved⁵ and then it paused, waiting to rearrange itself around whatever you chose next. I wanted to run away from what had come before. I tried to convince you to begin a new life with me in Paris, to shed our former selves and let something else course through us. I wanted us to crawl through that black chasm⁶ of your broken world and emerge, anonymous⁷ and new, in simple lives where I could cook you simple dinners and we could be together every day, like children playing a sweet game with no purpose save the game itself. I like to think you considered it before you laughed and said “What could I do? I’ve made myself unemployable.” I like to think that in that moment’s hesitation⁸ before our bold futures⁹ reclaimed¹⁰ us, we lived that simple life together all the way into our peaceful old ages, with a brood of grandchildren around us on a farm in the south of France, quietly going about our days, warm and complete like loaves of fresh bread, our small world filled with the aroma¹¹ of patience and familiarity.(Chapter 20A REGULAR GUY: The Romantic)

【译文】

25年后，她在给他的一封令人心酸的邮件中，追忆了他们在巴黎相守的时光。自那之后他们分离，却一直保持着精神交流：1985年的夏，天色昏沉，我们在巴黎的一座桥上。我们倚在光滑的石栏上，凝视着荡漾的碧水。你的世界崩裂、停止，等着你做出选择重新安排。我想逃离过去遇到的一切。我也曾试图劝说你和我在巴黎开始全新的生活，摆脱过去的自己，体验别样的人生。我希望我们可以穿越过你那破损的世界黑暗的深渊，体验无名而又全新的简单生命。我为你煮简单的晚餐，每天厮守，就像孩子玩一个美妙的游戏，没有任何目的，只为游戏本身的快乐。我多希望你能先想一想在大笑着说“我能做什么？我已经把自己搞的没人敢用了”。我多希望，在那些犹疑前，在被冷酷未来俘获之前，我们选择了过着简单的生活直至安稳的老年。在法国南部的一个农场，儿孙绕膝，安安静静的生活。生活温暖而完整，像一条新出炉的面包，我们小小的世界满溢着耐心和亲密的芳香。

【翻译笔记】

1.cleave⁴ v.裂开, 分开（尤指沿天然纹理）,使分开, 穿过, 依恋或忠实, 粘着

He cleaved an apple with a knife.

他用一把刀子将苹果切开。

They cleaved a path through the wilderness¹².

他们在荒原中开辟出一条路。

Which may be why we still cleave to his great poem.

这或许就是我们依然坚守着他伟大诗篇的原因。

The tribe cleave to their old belief even after the european arrive.

即使在欧洲人到来之後，这些部落仍固守著它们古老的信仰。

2.convince 使相信,信服，说服;使承认；使悔悟；使认错

接从句:concince sb that 从句：

He convinced me that I should study law.

他劝我应该学法律。

convince sb. of sth. 使某人相信某事

I try to convince him of the reality of the danger.

我试图使他相信危险的确存在。

convince sb. 说服某人

We utterly¹³ failed to convince them.

我们根本说服不了他们。

convince sb to do sth.　说服某人做某事

We convinced Anne to go by train rather than plane

我们说服了安妮放弃乘飞机而坐火车走。

convinced adj.坚信；深信；确信的；坚定不移的；

I am convinced that she is innocent.

我坚信她是无辜的。

convincing adj.令人信服的；有说服力的

She sounded very convincing to me.

我觉得她的话很有说服力。

3.brood 

n.一窝, 一伙,一家孩子, 一组事物

v.孵, 沉思, 笼罩

Some insects produce seven or eight broods a year.

有些昆虫一年产七八次卵。

It's no use brooding over one's past mistakes.

老是抱着过去的错误是没用的。

She fall to brood about what have happen to her.

她开始沉思默想自己的遭遇。

Don't brood over lost opportunities.

别为失去的机会懊丧不已。

4.aroma n. 浓香, 香气

The aroma of roasting coffee beans.

烘焙咖啡豆的香味。

A shrub¹⁴ or tree, such as the mountain laurel, having a similar aroma or leaf shape.

月桂属的树木具有类似芳香和叶子形状的灌木或乔木，如山月桂。

The aroma of roses.

玫瑰的芳香

There is an aroma suggestive of spring flowers in the room.

这房间里有一种香气，使人想起春天的花朵。

5.后来的Tina Redse与Steve Jobs:

Redse 后来结婚了，有了两个孩子，然后离婚了。一直以来，乔布斯都会公开表示对她的思念，即使是在他幸福结婚之后。当他开始跟癌症斗争之后，她又跟他恢复了联络。每当她回忆起他们的相恋，都会很动情。“虽然我们的价值观有冲突，让我们没办法像曾经希望的那样在一起，可是我几十年前对他的关心和爱却一直持续下来。”同样，一个下午，乔布斯在他的起居室里回忆起她时，突然哭了起来。“她是我见过的最纯洁的人，她身上有种灵魂的力量，我们之间精神相通。”

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

3 overcast   

adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天

参考例句：

• The overcast and rainy weather found out his arthritis.阴雨天使他的关节炎发作了。
• The sky is overcast with dark clouds.乌云满天。

4 cleave   

v．(clave；cleaved)粘着，粘住；坚持；依恋

参考例句：

• It examines how the decision to quit gold or to cleave to it affected trade policies.论文分析了放弃或坚持金本位是如何影响贸易政策的。
• Those who cleave to the latter view include many conservative American politicians.坚持后一种观点的大多是美国的保守派政客。

5 cleaved   

v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His spade cleaved the firm sand with a satisfying crunch. 他的锹凿开了坚实的砂土，发出令人舒心的嘎扎声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Eagles cleaved the sky. 鹰击长空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 chasm   

n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突

参考例句：

• There's a chasm between rich and poor in that society.那社会中存在着贫富差距。
• A huge chasm gaped before them.他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。

7 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

8 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

9 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

10 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

12 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

13 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

14 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。