《乔布斯传》翻译笔记：和初恋女友的爱恨纠葛

【英语原文】

The relationship between Jobs and Brennan quickly deteriorated¹. “Chrisann would get into this kind of victim mode, when she would say that Steve and I were ganging up on her,” Kottke recalled. “Steve would just laugh and not take her seriously.” Brennan was not, as even she later admitted, very emotionally stable. She began breaking plates, throwing things,trashing the house, and writing obscene words in charcoal² on the wall. She said that Jobs kept provoking her with his callousness³: “He was an enlightened being who was cruel.” Kottke was caught in the middle.“Daniel didn’t have that DNA⁴ of ruthlessness, so he was a bit flipped⁵ by Steve’s behavior,” according to Brennan. “He would go from ‘Steve’s not treating you right’ to laughing at me with Steve.”(Chapter 7 Chrisann and Lisa: he who is abandoned)

【译文】

乔布斯和布伦南之间的关系很快恶化。“布伦南会摆出一份受害者的姿态，她认为我和乔布斯联合起来对付她。”一起合租的大学好友科特肯这样回忆道。“而史蒂夫就会一笑置之，根本不把她当回事儿。” 布伦南后来也承认自己在那段时间情绪非常不稳定。她开始摔盘子，扔东西，在屋里乱扔垃圾，还用木炭笔在墙上写一些粗俗的词语。她说乔布斯的铁石心肠总是会激怒她的情绪。“他是一个残忍的文明人。”科特肯夹在中间左右为难。“丹尼尔（科特肯的名字）骨子里就不是个冷酷的人，所以他有点被史蒂夫的行为影响了。”根据布伦南的描述，科特肯态度摇摆不定：有时会跟布伦南表示乔布斯不该这样对她，有时又会和乔布斯一起嘲笑怀有身孕的布伦南。

【翻译笔记】

1. gang up on：联合对付，联合反对.  gang最基本的用法是用作名词表示团伙，组织，带有一定的贬义；用作动词时表示成群结伙（伤害、恐吓某人）。gang up: 聚集联合，朋比为奸。

Various agencies gang up to combat the use of illicit⁶ drugs. 各个机构联合起来对抗非法药品的使用。

Every year, all the kids gang up on me and throw me in the pool. 每年，孩子们都对我群起而攻之，将我抛入游泳池。

2. caught in the middle：被夹在中间，左右为难。这个短语很好理解，也很形象。要注意的是这里使用的是被动语态，表示某人的窘迫境地。

If you take over Dora's job, you are sure to be caught in the middle. 如果接替多拉的工作，你一定会被搞得进退两难。

And caught in the middle of shareholders⁷ and the relevant departments, CSRC is currently estimated that dilemma⁸. 而夹在股民和相关部门中间的证监会目前估计左右为难。

3. ironic⁹ resonance¹⁰ 讽刺的巧合：

乔布斯的亲生父母在怀上乔布斯时都是23岁，而怀上Lisa时乔布斯和布伦南也都是23岁。这一点也让乔布斯觉得很吃惊。最具有讽刺意味的是，一生下就被遗弃的乔布斯（he who is abandoned），也把同样的命运加诸于自己的女儿。乔布斯为了否认父女关系，不惜在法庭上声称自己没有生育能力。之所以后来会接受亲子鉴定（paternity test），也是因为当时苹果即将上市，所以不想有负面新闻。乔布斯在多年后承认，成熟之后的他回头再想，觉得对布伦南太过残忍和无情。如果时光倒流，他们会不会有不一样的结局？

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