(圖為IBM在1981年推出的個(gè)人電腦)

第十三章中麥金塔電腦的發(fā)展過(guò)程中遇到了兩個(gè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手:IBM在1981年推出的個(gè)人電腦和蘋(píng)果自家生產(chǎn)的Lisa。喬布斯的Mac團(tuán)隊(duì)一致認(rèn)為IBM是糟糕的產(chǎn)品(it sucked)。蘋(píng)果公司表現(xiàn)出了狂妄的自信,甚至在《華爾登日?qǐng)?bào)》刊登整版廣告,迎接和挑釁意味濃重(wiht the headline “Welcome, IBM. Seriously”)。喬布斯本人對(duì)Mac電腦的細(xì)節(jié)表現(xiàn)出了絕對(duì)的控制欲(end-to-end control)。1983年Lisa電腦問(wèn)世(比Mac 早整整一年),作為公司形象代言人的喬布斯前往紐約為L(zhǎng)isa宣傳,但是他在接受各種訪問(wèn)時(shí)反復(fù)提到比Lisa更廉價(jià)更大眾的Mac項(xiàng)目,如此無(wú)疑是給Lisa送上了死亡之吻(launching the Lisa with the kiss of death)。和IBM的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)戰(zhàn)對(duì)于喬布斯來(lái)說(shuō)到底有多重要?

【英語(yǔ)原文】

Throughout his career, Jobs liked to see himself as an enlightened rebel pitted against evil empires, a Jedi warrior or Buddhist samurai fighting the forces of darkness. IBM was his perfect foil. He cleverly cast the upcoming battle not as a mere business competition, but as a spiritual struggle. “If, for some reason, we make some giant mistakes and IBM wins, my personal feeling is that we are going to enter sort of a computer Dark Ages for about twenty years,” he told an interviewer. “Once IBM gains control of a market sector, they almost always stop innovation.” Even thirty years later, reflecting back on the competition, Jobs cast it as a holy crusade: “IBM was essentially Microsoft at its worst. They were not a force for innovation; they were a force for evil. They were like ATT or Microsoft or Google is.”(Chapter 13 Building the Mac: Competition)

【滬江譯文】

在喬布斯的整個(gè)職業(yè)生涯中,他把自己看作是開(kāi)明進(jìn)步的反叛者,以一己之力對(duì)抗邪惡帝國(guó),一名與黑暗勢(shì)力作斗爭(zhēng)的絕地武士或是佛教武士。IBM之于喬布斯,簡(jiǎn)直是完美的陪襯。這場(chǎng)即將到來(lái)的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)對(duì)于喬布斯來(lái)說(shuō),不僅僅是一場(chǎng)商業(yè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng),還是精神的較量。“如果因?yàn)槟承┰?,我們犯下彌天大錯(cuò)而IBM贏了,那在我的內(nèi)心里,我就覺(jué)得計(jì)算機(jī)行業(yè)將要進(jìn)入長(zhǎng)達(dá)20多年的黑暗時(shí)代?!?喬布斯在一次采訪中這樣表示?!耙坏㊣BM控制了某個(gè)市場(chǎng)領(lǐng)域,他們總是會(huì)停止創(chuàng)新?!?即使是在30年后的如今,回想起當(dāng)年的競(jìng)爭(zhēng),喬布斯還是把它定義為一場(chǎng)改革圣戰(zhàn):“IBM本質(zhì)上就是最糟糕的微軟公司,他們根本不是創(chuàng)新的力量;他們是邪惡的力量。IBM就像ATT(美國(guó)電話電報(bào)公司)、微軟和谷歌一樣?!?/p>

【翻譯筆記】

1. cast...as...把...看作、視為... 由于cast還有演員陣容的意思,所以cast as還可以表示扮演(角色),塑造(形象)等。cast 還表示投射、計(jì)算、澆鑄等意思。一些比較常用的短語(yǔ)用法:

cast? a vote 投票

cast doubt on 對(duì)...產(chǎn)生懷疑

cast aside as worthless 視如敝履 (cast aside:拋棄,廢除)

But if there is no progress, then Mr Obama will be cast as starry-eyed and weak.
但是如果毫無(wú)進(jìn)展,人們就會(huì)認(rèn)為奧巴馬總統(tǒng)太過(guò)于樂(lè)觀并且軟弱無(wú)能。

Google cast its mobile-phone design as an experiment. Shareholders should hope it ends there.
谷歌將此次手機(jī)設(shè)計(jì)當(dāng)作是一次試探,而股東應(yīng)當(dāng)希望谷歌就此罷手。

As soon as he became rich he cast aside all his old friends who gave him some help.
他一富起來(lái)就拋棄了所有曾經(jīng)給過(guò)他幫助的老朋友。

2. reflect back:回想回顧,真實(shí)反映,襯托。reflect比較常用的意思:反射,反映,深思反省。reflect on/upon 仔細(xì)考慮。

The election results do not always reflect back the views of voters.
選舉的結(jié)果并不總是真實(shí)地反映出選民的觀點(diǎn)。

Another useful method for improving your reading is the ability to reflect on what is being presented.
另外一種改善閱讀的有效方法就是思考呈現(xiàn)在你面前的材料。

3. 絕地武士、黑暗時(shí)代和十字軍東征:

絕地武士:Jedi warrior(Jedi Knight)美國(guó)著名導(dǎo)演喬治·盧卡斯拍攝的科幻系列電影《星球大戰(zhàn)》(Star Wars)中的虛幻角色,擁有一種超自然的感應(yīng)力量被稱為原力(the Force),主要武器是光劍(lightsaber)。 絕地武士的使命是保衛(wèi)和維護(hù)共和國(guó)和宇宙的安定。

黑暗時(shí)代:Dark Ages 指的是中世紀(jì)早期的西歐歷史。隨著羅馬帝國(guó)的衰落(following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire),大部份的羅馬文明遭到破壞,西歐進(jìn)入一個(gè)所謂的黑暗時(shí)代。

十字軍東征:The Crusades 指的是1096到1291年西歐的封建領(lǐng)主和騎士對(duì)地中海東岸伊斯蘭教國(guó)家發(fā)動(dòng)的一系列宗教性戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)(a series of religious wars)。東征期間東征期間,羅馬天主教會(huì)授予每一個(gè)戰(zhàn)士十字架,組成的軍隊(duì)稱為十字軍。作為侵略戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的十字軍東征也為西方的文藝復(fù)興運(yùn)動(dòng)開(kāi)辟了道路。

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