《乔布斯传》翻译笔记：乔布斯抢了别人的“宝贝孩子”

【英语原文】

Some on the team found Jobs impossible to work with. “Jobs seems to introduce tension, politics, and hassles rather than enjoying a buffer¹ from those distractions,” one engineer wrote in a memo² to Raskin in December 1980. “I thoroughly³ enjoy talking with him, and I admire his ideas, practical perspective, and energy. But I just don’t feel that he provides the trusting, supportive, relaxed environment that I need.” But many others realized that despite his temperamental failings, Jobs had the charisma⁴ and corporate⁵ clout⁶ that would lead them to “make a dent⁷ in the universe.” Jobs told the staff that Raskin was just a dreamer, whereas he was a doer and would get the Mac done in a year. It was clear he wanted vindication⁸ for having been ousted⁹ from the Lisa group, and he was energized¹⁰ by competition. He publicly bet John Couch $5,000 that the Mac would ship before the Lisa. “We can make a computer that’s cheaper and better than the Lisa, and get it out first,” he told the team.(Chapter 10 The Mac Is Born : Jef Raskin's baby)

【译文】

团队里的有些人觉得根本没法与乔布斯共事。“乔布斯给整个项目带来了激烈紧张、权力斗争和冲突麻烦，而从来不会想着去化解这些让人分心的的事情。” 1980年12月，有一位工程师在交给拉斯金的工作备忘录中这样表示。“我当然很喜欢跟他聊天，我很欣赏他的创意点子、实用性的观点和工作热情，但是我觉得他无法提供我想要的那种彼此信任、相互支持、轻松愉悦的工作环境。” 另一方面，也有一些人觉得，虽然乔布斯有着喜怒无常的性格缺点，他身上还是有一种独特的魅力和团队影响力，引导他们想要去改变世界。乔布斯对团队成员表示拉斯金只是一个空想家，而他自己却是实干家，他会在一年内完成Mac电脑。很明显，因为他从丽莎项目被夺权，他需要证明自己，竞争激发了他的斗志。乔布斯甚至公开与丽莎项目的负责人约翰·库奇打赌5000美元，赌Mac会比Lisa电脑先完成。“我们可以做一个比丽莎更廉价更好的电脑，我们必须抢先一步做出来。”他这样告诉整个团队。

【翻译笔记】

1. buffer：计算机术语指缓冲区/缓冲器，我们常看到的视频正在缓冲即可翻译成buffering。也可指车辆中的减震器。buffer同样也是个政治词汇，缓冲国（a buffer state）指夹在两个对立的或潜在敌对的强权国家之间的国家，并通过它的存在来避免两国之间的冲突。文中使用的buffer表示缓解，缓和的意思。

President Barack Obama's popularity remains¹¹ largely intact and acts as a kind of buffer against an uncontrolled explosion of anger. 贝拉克·奥巴马总统的支持率仍旧居高不下。他在一定程度上缓解了民众的愤怒情绪。

Hong Kong is a natural "buffer zone" between China and global currency markets in which pilot programmes can be conducted. 香港是中国大陆和全球货币市场之间一个天然的“缓冲带”，大陆可以在此试点。

India has long been influential¹² in Nepal, which it regards as a buffer against China. 印度对于尼泊尔一直很有影响力，且视其为应对中国的缓冲国。

2. temperamental failings：喜怒无常的缺点

temperament是个中性名词，表示气质、性情和性格，但加上词尾变化成形容词则表示脾气喜怒无常、捉摸不定。

failings词根为动词fail（失败），表示失败、过失和缺点。failings还有一个比较特殊的用法，用作介词表示如果没有...

In fact, he was considered a terrible grouch¹³, a very mean-spirited and temperamental person. 事实上，他是个出了名的坏脾气，大家都觉得他心胸狭窄、喜怒无常。

You may find her at home, or failing that, try the library. 她可能在家，如果没有，你就去图书馆找找看。

3. make a dent in the universe: 在世界留下印记，改变世界。

dent的原意是指凹痕，make a dent in the universe，渺小的人在茫茫宇宙留下痕迹，用自己的力量改变世界。《乔布斯传》的中文译本的宣传语“活着就是为了改变世界”的原文即是：We are here to put a dent in the universe, (Otherwise why else even be here)，这也是乔布斯一直以来的梦想和愿景，他做到了。

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