《乔布斯传》翻译笔记：车库里腾空出世的苹果电脑

 《乔布斯传》自问世以来受到了全世界人民的关注，对此恒星英语推出《乔布斯传》翻译笔记系列，让我们在翻译学习中回顾乔帮主的伟大一生。第五章揭开了苹果电脑公司跌跌撞撞的诞生历史。乔布斯和沃兹要开公司，卖车攒钱，取名字，接到第一份订单，买零件。苹果电脑公司在乔布斯家的车库里腾空出世了。乔布斯和沃兹每人持有苹果公司50%的股份，沃兹负责设计，乔布斯负责推广，他们是最完美的拍档。苹果公司的名字又是怎么想到的？到底有着怎样的渊源和含义呢？

【英语原文】

Finally Jobs proposed Apple Computer. “I was on one of my fruitarian diets,” he explained. “I had just come back from the apple farm. It sounded fun, spirited, and not intimidating¹. Apple took the edge off the word ‘computer.’ Plus, it would get us ahead of Atari in the phone book.” He told Wozniak that if a better name did not hit them by the next afternoon, they would just stick with Apple. And they did. Apple. It was a smart choice. The word instantly signaled friendliness² and simplicity³. It managed to be both slightly off-beat and as normal as a slice of pie. There was a whiff of counterculture, back-to-nature earthiness to it, yet nothing could be more American. And the two words together—Apple Computer—provided an amusing disjuncture. “It doesn’t quite make sense,” said Mike Markkula, who soon thereafter became the first chairman of the new company. “So it forces your brain to dwell on it. Apple and computers, that doesn’t go together! So it helped us grow brand awareness⁴.” (Chapter 5 The Apple I: Apple Is Born)

【译文】

最后乔布斯提出要不就叫苹果电脑吧。他解释道：“当时我只吃水果蔬菜，我又正好刚从苹果农场回来。苹果电脑听起来很有趣，有活力又不会让人产生距离感。苹果其实弱化了 ‘电脑’ 这个科技词汇的概念，再说在电话簿上我们可是排在雅达利前面。”乔布斯跟沃兹说，要是到截止期限的第二天下午他们都想不出更好的名字，那就用这个，于是“苹果电脑” 真的成了公司的名字。“苹果”，这是个很妙的选择。这个单词会马上释放出友好和简单的信号，做到了既略有点不合常规，又很普通不古怪。有一点点反主流文化，又体现了返璞归真的质朴感，而且非常有美国特色。苹果和电脑，这两个单词放在一起，营造了一种有趣的分裂感。苹果电脑的首位投资人，后来成为公司第一任董事长的迈克·马克库拉（Mike Markkula）表示：“其实这个名字没什么意义，不过它有种魔力，会让你细细回味其中的含义。苹果和电脑放一起，根本不搭嘛！但是正是这种不协调，帮我们增加了品牌的知名度。”

【翻译笔记】

1. take the edge off: 减弱，弱化

I need a sandwich to take the edge off my appetite.

我得吃块三明治，解解腹中之饥。

Exercise may also take the edge off withdrawal⁵ symptoms such as irritability⁶, headaches, and lethargy.

同时，锻炼还会减弱戒烟不良反应的程度，例如易怒，头痛和瞌睡。

2. hit: 本意“打击、袭击”，还可以用作“偶然发现”之意，本处使用的是形象的“想到（主意、办法）”的用法。同样用法的还有近义词strike，常用短语为hit on/upon：突然想到。

Finally he hit upon a good idea which could be applied⁷ to such a case.

最后他忽然想到一个可以适用于这种情况的好主意。

It struck a local businessman that men should pay back the women who gave them a present on Valentine's Day.

一位当地的生意人突然想到一个点子，就是男士们应该回礼给那些在西洋情人节送他们礼物的女士。

3. dwell on: 详述，细想，考虑。dwell的本意为“居住、存在于”，这里表示细想某事。

In the court, the witness was required to dwell on what he had seen.

在法庭上，目击者被要求详述他所见到的事件。

If you dwell on the bad things in life, you miss out on all the good things.

如果你一直踌躇于生活中那些糟糕的事上，你就会错过一切美好的事情。

1 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

2 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

3 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 irritability   

n.易怒

参考例句：

• It was the almost furtive restlessness and irritability that had possessed him. 那是一种一直纠缠着他的隐秘的不安和烦恼。
• All organisms have irritability while alive. 所有生物体活着时都有应激性。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。