（圖中即為蘋果電腦公司的第一處辦公場(chǎng)所：?jiǎn)滩妓辜业能噹?kù)）

《喬布斯傳》自問(wèn)世以來(lái)受到了全世界人民的關(guān)注，對(duì)此滬江英語(yǔ)推出《喬布斯傳》翻譯筆記系列，讓我們?cè)诜g學(xué)習(xí)中回顧喬幫主的偉大一生。第五章揭開了蘋果電腦公司跌跌撞撞的誕生歷史。喬布斯和沃茲要開公司，賣車攢錢，取名字，接到第一份訂單，買零件。蘋果電腦公司在喬布斯家的車庫(kù)里騰空出世了。喬布斯和沃茲每人持有蘋果公司50%的股份，沃茲負(fù)責(zé)設(shè)計(jì)，喬布斯負(fù)責(zé)推廣，他們是最完美的拍檔。蘋果公司的名字又是怎么想到的？到底有著怎樣的淵源和含義呢？

【英語(yǔ)原文】

Finally Jobs proposed Apple Computer. “I was on one of my fruitarian diets,” he explained. “I had just come back from the apple farm. It sounded fun, spirited, and not intimidating. Apple took the edge off the word ‘computer.’ Plus, it would get us ahead of Atari in the phone book.” He told Wozniak that if a better name did not hit them by the next afternoon, they would just stick with Apple. And they did. Apple. It was a smart choice. The word instantly signaled friendliness and simplicity. It managed to be both slightly off-beat and as normal as a slice of pie. There was a whiff of counterculture, back-to-nature earthiness to it, yet nothing could be more American. And the two words together—Apple Computer—provided an amusing disjuncture. “It doesn’t quite make sense,” said Mike Markkula, who soon thereafter became the first chairman of the new company. “So it forces your brain to dwell on it. Apple and computers, that doesn’t go together! So it helped us grow brand awareness.” (Chapter 5 The Apple I: Apple Is Born)

【滬江譯文】

最后喬布斯提出要不就叫蘋果電腦吧。他解釋道：“當(dāng)時(shí)我只吃水果蔬菜，我又正好剛從蘋果農(nóng)場(chǎng)回來(lái)。蘋果電腦聽起來(lái)很有趣，有活力又不會(huì)讓人產(chǎn)生距離感。蘋果其實(shí)弱化了 ‘電腦’ 這個(gè)科技詞匯的概念，再說(shuō)在電話簿上我們可是排在雅達(dá)利前面?！眴滩妓垢制澱f(shuō)，要是到截止期限的第二天下午他們都想不出更好的名字，那就用這個(gè)，于是“蘋果電腦” 真的成了公司的名字?！疤O果”，這是個(gè)很妙的選擇。這個(gè)單詞會(huì)馬上釋放出友好和簡(jiǎn)單的信號(hào)，做到了既略有點(diǎn)不合常規(guī)，又很普通不古怪。有一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)反主流文化，又體現(xiàn)了返璞歸真的質(zhì)樸感，而且非常有美國(guó)特色。蘋果和電腦，這兩個(gè)單詞放在一起，營(yíng)造了一種有趣的分裂感。蘋果電腦的首位投資人，后來(lái)成為公司第一任董事長(zhǎng)的邁克·馬克庫(kù)拉（Mike Markkula）表示：“其實(shí)這個(gè)名字沒什么意義，不過(guò)它有種魔力，會(huì)讓你細(xì)細(xì)回味其中的含義。蘋果和電腦放一起，根本不搭嘛！但是正是這種不協(xié)調(diào)，幫我們?cè)黾恿似放频闹??！?/p>

【翻譯筆記】

1. take the edge off: 減弱，弱化

I need a sandwich to take the edge off my appetite.
我得吃塊三明治，解解腹中之饑。

Exercise may also take the edge off withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, headaches, and lethargy.
同時(shí)，鍛煉還會(huì)減弱戒煙不良反應(yīng)的程度，例如易怒，頭痛和瞌睡。

2. hit: 本意“打擊、襲擊”，還可以用作“偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)”之意，本處使用的是形象的“想到（主意、辦法）”的用法。同樣用法的還有近義詞strike，常用短語(yǔ)為hit on/upon：突然想到。

Finally he hit upon a good idea which could be applied to such a case.
最后他忽然想到一個(gè)可以適用于這種情況的好主意。

It struck a local businessman that men should pay back the women who gave them a present on Valentine's Day.
一位當(dāng)?shù)氐纳馊送蝗幌氲揭粋€(gè)點(diǎn)子，就是男士們應(yīng)該回禮給那些在西洋情人節(jié)送他們禮物的女士。

3. dwell on: 詳述，細(xì)想，考慮。dwell的本意為“居住、存在于”，這里表示細(xì)想某事。

In the court, the witness was required to dwell on what he had seen.
在法庭上，目擊者被要求詳述他所見到的事件。

If you dwell on the bad things in life, you miss out on all the good things.
如果你一直躊躇于生活中那些糟糕的事上，你就會(huì)錯(cuò)過(guò)一切美好的事情。

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