沪江

乔布斯传翻译笔记:你侬我侬的短暂蜜月

沪江英语 2012-03-29 14:41
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(蜜月期的乔布斯与斯卡利

第十七章里,乔布斯因麦金塔电脑的发布而家喻户晓(The launch of the Macintosh in January 1984 propelled Jobs into an even higher orbit of celebrity), 好不容易争取来的约翰・斯卡利更是绝对放权于自己。此时,在苹果公司里,乔布斯再度得到权力(At Apple his status revived),可谓是春风得意。于是他和斯卡利就有了这短暂的蜜月期。然而正如古语所言,飞龙在天后则亢龙有悔。好景不长,乔布斯接下来的命运如同十 七章的标题伊卡洛斯(Icarus)一般,因过于自大而走向自食其果,自绝后路,众叛亲离。先让我们来看看在蜜月期里,史蒂夫的表现吧!

【英语原文】

For the time being, Jobs and Sculley were able to convince themselves that their friendship was still strong.They professed their fondness so effusively and often that they sounded like high school sweethearts at a Hallmark card display. The first anniversary of Sculley's arrival came in May 1984, and to celebrate Jobs lured him to a dinner party at Le Mouton Noir, an elegant restaurant in the hills southwest of Cupertino. To Sculley’s surprise, Jobs had gathered the Apple board, its top managers, and even some East Coast investors. As they all congratulated him during cocktails, Sculley recalled, “a beaming Steve stood in the background, nodding his head up and down and wearing a Cheshire Cat smile on his face.” Jobs began the dinner with a fulsome toast. “The happiest two days for me were when Macintosh shipped and when John Sculley agreed to join Apple,” he said. “This has been the greatest year I’ve ever had in my whole life, because I’ve learned so much from John.” He then presented Sculley with a montage of memorabilia from the year.
In response, Sculley effused about the joys of being Jobs’s partner for the past year, and he concluded with a line that, for different reasons, everyone at the table found memorable. “Apple has one leader,” he said, “Steve and me.”He looked across the room, caught Jobs’s eye, and watched him smile.“It was as if we were communicating with each other,” Sculley recalled. (Chapter17 Icarus:Flying High)

【沪江译文】

当时,乔布斯和斯卡利仍然坚信他们的友谊坚固无摧。他们如此热烈而频繁地在公开场合表达着对彼此的钟爱,就像是从贺曼贺卡里走出来的高中生小情侣一般。 1984年5月为了庆祝斯卡利在苹果就职周年,乔布斯将他诱至丘珀蒂诺西南山郡里一家名为“黑山羊”的高级餐厅参加晚宴。斯卡利惊奇的发现乔布斯请来了苹果的董事会、高管们甚至是来自东海岸的一些投资人。斯卡利后来回忆道,在鸡尾酒会上当他们举杯向他祝贺时,“史蒂夫神采奕奕地站在不太显眼的位置,上下轻点着头,总是咧着嘴微笑着。” 晚宴开始时,史蒂夫说了番过于夸张的祝酒词。他说:“有这么两天我是最开心的日子,一天是麦金塔上市之时,另一天就是约翰・斯卡 利同意加入苹果那天。今年可谓是我此生最棒的一年,因为我在约翰身上学到了太多。” 随后,他赠予了斯卡利一本记录当年大事记的影集。
作为回应,斯卡利的话语里也溢满了过去一年里与乔布斯共事的快乐。他总结性的说了这么一句:“苹果的领导者是一个人,史蒂夫和我。” 这句话被在场所有人铭记,尽管原因并不相同。斯卡利回忆当时他的目光越过人群找到乔布斯,看着他对自己微笑,感觉彼此心灵相通。

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【翻译笔记】

1. profess v. 声称;宣称;公开表明;信奉

这个词的构成由前缀pro-(before or in front of,即在前之“前”)和词干fess构成,原文是法语或拉丁语,大致相当于英语的to confess openly 公开宣称,to take vows 立誓等含义。由此,我们可以看出,profess的基本实际含义是“前宣”。

我们熟悉的另一个词professor,就出自这个动词,因此professor 除了有教授的意思外还有公开表明信仰的人之意。另外professed是形容词,它的意思是:公开声称的;伪称的。

They have become what they profess to scorn.
他们成了自己曾声称看不起的那种人。

2. Hallmark card:贺曼贺卡

它是由Joyce C. Hall (1891-1982) 创立于1910年,是深受消费者青睐的贺卡品牌,社会情感交流行业的领袖。对细节的高度重视以及1944年推出的口号"When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best(如果你真的在乎,就寄最好的贺卡)",使Hallmark品牌成为优良品质的代名词。

hallmark n. 检验印记; 特点,标志; 质量证明 vt. 给……盖上品质证明印记; 使具有……标志

小写形式的hallmark的来源可追溯到英王爱德华一世时代。1300年爱德华一世下令,凡金银制品未打上伦敦金业公会(Glodsmiths’ Company of London)的纯度印记均不得出售。打印记的工作是在该工会的所在地Goldsmiths’ Hall 进行和完成的,因此金银纯度印记就被称为hallmark 并一直沿用至今。

One hallmark of a good politician is his ability to influence people.
衡量一个优秀政治家的标志之一就是他对大众的影响力。

A greater focus on professional management and marketing became the hallmark of the shopping center industry.
更加关注在专业管理和营销,这成为购物中心行业的特点。

3. a Cheshire Cat smile柴郡猫般的笑容

The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll's depiction of it in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Known for his distinctive mischievous grin. (柴郡猫来源于英国作家刘易斯・卡罗尔(Lewis Carroll,1832-1898)创作的童话《爱丽丝漫游奇境记》,它的形象是一只咧着嘴笑的猫,拥有能凭空出现或消失的能力,甚至在它消失以后,它的笑容还挂在半空中。)因此这个短语又被引申为:

Grin like a Cheshire cat:常常无缘无故地傻笑

He did not say anything, but just looked at me and grinned like a Cheshire cat.
他什么都不说,只是望着我咧着嘴傻笑。

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