乔布斯传翻译笔记：老乔的三十岁人生感言

第十七章中，麦金塔电脑的发布使乔布斯如日中天（an even higher orbit of celebrity），曼哈顿之行充满艺术气息。他与斯卡利的蜜月期里也常有冲突（they sounded like high school sweethearts），公司成员对乔布斯的作风产生抵触，甚至开始质疑苹果的发展道路。这时，老乔也迎来了他的三十岁生日。1985年2月，乔布斯在旧金山圣弗朗西斯酒店的宴 会厅举办了正式又好玩的生日聚会（a lavishly formal but also playful）：所有人要求以黑领带、网球鞋（black tie and tennis shoes）的装束出席。同月他与作家戴维·谢菲(David Sheff）进行了亲密的长篇访谈（long and intimate interview）。当年华渐老，那个极具艺术天赋和创造力的天才会中发出怎样的感慨呢？走进乔布斯的三十岁感言：

【英语原文】

“It’s rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something amazing,” Jobs said wistfully to the writer David Sheff, who published a long and intimate interview in Playboy the month he turned thirty. “Of course, there are some people who are innately curious, forever little kids in their awe of life, but they’re rare.”The interview touched on many subjects, but Jobs’s most poignant ruminations were about growing old and facing the future:
Your thoughts construct patterns like scaffolding in your mind. You are really etching chemical patterns. In most cases, people get stuck in those patterns, just like grooves in a record, and they never get out of them. I’ll always stay connected with Apple. I hope that throughout my life I’ll sort of have the thread of my life and the thread of Apple weave in and out of each other, like a tapestry. There may be a few years when I’m not there, but I’ll always come back. If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take whatever you’ve done and whoever you were and throw them away. The more the outside world tries to reinforce an image of you, the harder it is to continue to be an artist, which is why a lot of times, artists have to say, “Bye. I have to go. I’m going crazy and I’m getting out of here.” And they go and hibernate somewhere. Maybe later they re-emerge a little differently. (Chapter 17 Icarus: Thrity Years Old)

【译文】

在跨入而立之年门槛的那个月，乔布斯曾和作家戴维·谢菲进行过亲密的长篇访谈。这个后来发表于《花花公子》中的访谈涉及了很多方面，但他最深的思索都围绕着变老和面对未来。乔布斯伤感地说道：
我 们很少能在三四十岁艺术家的创作中发现精妙绝伦的作品。当然，有些人的好奇心是与生俱来的。他们永远如孩子般敬畏生活，但这种人真的是凤毛麟角。固定的思 维模式是思想的断头台。岁月也会逐渐在我们身上留下痕迹。大多数情况人们陷于定式，像唱片上的针槽再也走不出来。我会永远保持和苹果的关系。我希望自己的 生命历程能和苹果编织在一起，如挂毯中的丝线紧密交缠。或许有几年我也会暂时缺席，但总有回来的那一天。如果你想如艺术家般充满创意的生活，就不要深陷往 事。你必须乐于接受自己的过去，然后把将其丢弃。外部世界越试图强化你的形象，你就越难继续做一位艺术家。这就是为什么很多时候艺术家们会不得不说：“永 别吧，我必须离开。我会疯了的，我要逃离这里”。然后他们离开，在某处休隐。或许有一天他们会再次出现，那时一切会有一点点不同。

【翻译笔记】

1. awe n. 敬畏；惊叹 feeling of respect and slight fear; feelings of being very impressed；v. 使……敬畏；使惊叹（usually passive) to fill sb with awe

常用短语：awe and respect 敬畏和惊奇

stand in awe of sb/sth to admire sb/sth and be slightly frightened of them/it
对……敬畏；为……望而生畏

He speaks of her with awe.
他谈到她时肃然起敬。

She seemed awed by the presence of so many famous people.
见到这么多名人出席，似乎令她惊叹不已。

We watched in awed silence.
我们敬畏地默然观看着。

2. reinforce vt.加固, 加强, 增强, 使更具说服力 vi. 得到加强

Any good speaker should be able to reinforce his argument with facts.
一个好的演讲者会用事实来加强他论点。

The commander poured men in to reinforce the slaughtered battalions.
指挥官投入大量兵员增援被打败的部队。

This evidence reinforces my view that he is a spy.
这个证据证实了我认为他是间谍的这一看法。

3. hibernate 冬眠，蛰伏 v. (of animals) to spend the winter in a state like deep sleep

Not all the animals hibernate in winter.
不是所有的动物都在冬天冬眠。

You should hibernate before I contact with you.
在我与你联系之前，你得潜伏不动。

4.《花花公子》

《花花公子》（Playboy）是一本著名的美国成人娱乐杂志，1953年在美国由休·赫夫纳创办。是美国纽约股票交易所上市的媒体集团企业，出版多种刊物，亦有电视、电影等业务。它曾以其前卫的色情图片在世界范围内大赚其钱，并且捧红过像玛丽莲梦露那样的一代影星。《花花公子》以言论倾向自由主义闻名，其文章的水平一般甚高。《花花公子》内的裸照以“品味高尚”、“乐而不淫”作招徕，走的是高格调、中产娱乐消费路线。花花公子和它的兔女郎（Playboy Bunny）商标，已经成为美国文化的象征之一。