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Excerpts from 'Steve Jobs' and the Chinese translation (I)

China.org.cn, November 15, 2011

•        50万字，4个译者，翻译仅花了不到一个月的时间。《史蒂夫·乔布斯传》简体中文版在中国上架以来，该书的翻译质量引来网友的一番热议。

         这里，栏目编辑将相继节选其中的一些片断，以供网友翻译鉴赏之用。为了对比学习，小编还将尝试提供自己润色之后的译文，供广大翻译爱好者展开讨论。

  "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson [File photo] 《史蒂夫•乔布斯传》[美]沃尔特•艾萨克森 著

   

  1. So he grew up not only with a sense of having once being abandoned, but also with a sense that he was special. In his own mind, that was more important in the formation of his personality.
  中文版：所以在他长大的过程中，伴随他的不仅仅是曾经被遗弃的感觉，还有一种自己不同于常人的感觉。在他心中，后者在他的个性形成中扮演的角色更为重要。

  试译版：所以，曾经遭到遗弃的事实伴随着他的成长，与此同时，他还发觉自己与众不同。在他看来，后者对他个性的形成影响更大。

  2. Not surprisingly, he was sent home two or three times before he finished third grade. By then, however, his father had begun to treat him as special, and in his calm but firm manner he made it clear that he expected the school to do the same.
  中文版：不出意料，乔布斯在读完三年级之前被送回家两三次。不过父亲当时已经把他当作特殊的孩子来对待了，他以平静但有力的态度向学校阐明，他希望学校也能这么对待自己的孩子。

  试译版：不出所料，乔布斯小学三年级还没读完就已经被送回家两三次。不过，那个时候，父亲已经把他当作特殊的孩子来对待了。父亲用平静而坚定的口吻向学校明确表态，希望学校也能这么对待自己的孩子。

  3. "I remember him [Francis Wozniak, father of Steve Wozniak] telling me that engineering was the highest level of importance you could reach in the world," Steve Wozniak later recalled. "It takes society to a new level."
  中文版：“我记得他告诉我，工程学是世界上最重要的，”史蒂夫•沃兹尼亚克后来回忆说，“工程学将社会带入了一个新的层级。”

  试译版：“我记得他这样跟我说过，这个世界上工程学最重要，” 史蒂夫•沃兹尼亚克后来回忆说，“它促进了社会的进步。”

  4. "Steve and I just sat on the sidewalk in front of Bill's house for the longest time, just sharing stories – mostly about pranks we'd pulled, and also what kind of electronic designs we'd done," Wozniak recalled. "We had so much in common. Typically, it was really hard for me to explain to people what kind of design stuff I worked on, but Steve got it right away. And I liked him. He was kind of skinny and wiry and full of energy."
  中文版：“史蒂夫和我就在比尔家门前的人行道上坐了很久，分享彼此的故事——大多是关于我们搞的恶作剧，还有各自做过的电子设计，”沃兹回忆说，“我们有如此多的共同点。一般来说，我很难向别人解释清楚我做的设计，但史蒂夫一下子就听明白了。我喜欢他。他瘦巴巴的，但是充满了活力。”

  试译版：……他瘦瘦的，但是很结实，而且充满了活力。

  5. The Blue Box adventure established a template for a partnership that would soon be born. Wozniak would be the gentle wizard coming up with a neat invention that he would have been happy just to give away, and Jobs would figure out how to make it user-friendly, put it together in a package, market it, and make a few bucks.
  中文版：蓝盒子的这段奇妙经历为两人之间即将诞生的合作关系建立了一个模板：沃兹尼亚克就是个文雅的天才，创造出一项很酷的发明，然后就算送给别人他也很高兴；而乔布斯会想出怎样让这个发明方便易用的方法，然后把它包装起来，推向市场，赚上一笔。

  试译版：蓝盒子这段经历初展了两人不久后建立的合作关系。……

  6. When his parents pushed him to go to college, he responded in a passive-aggressive way. He did not consider state schools, such as Berkeley, where Woz then was, despite the fact that they were more affordable. Nor did he look at Stanford, just up the road and likely to offer a scholarship. "The kids who went to Stanford, they already knew what they wanted to do," he said. "They weren't really artistic. I wanted something that was more artistic and interesting."
  中文版：当他的父母坚持要他上大学时，他以一种被动而富有侵略性的态度进行了回应。他不考虑州立大学，比如当时沃兹就读的伯克利，尽管州立大学的学费更加亲民。他也不想去斯坦福，尽管就在家旁边，而且可能会给他提供奖学金。“去念斯坦福的人，他们已经知道自己想要什么了，”他说，“他们一点儿艺术性都没有。我想要上的是更富有艺术性的、更有趣的学校。”

  试译版：当他的父母坚持要他上大学时，他表现被动，而且带有攻击性。……

  （来源：中国网学英语频道 2011-11-14）

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