《喬布斯傳》自問世以來受到了全世界人民的關注，對此英語推出《喬布斯傳》翻譯筆記系列，讓我們在翻譯學習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，沃茲負責設計，喬布斯負責推廣，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？

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.”

最后喬布斯提出要不就叫蘋果電腦吧。他解釋道：“當時我只吃水果蔬菜，我又正好剛從蘋果農場回來。蘋果電腦聽起來很有趣，有活力又不會讓人產生距離感。蘋果其實弱化了 ‘電腦’ 這個科技詞匯的概念，再說在電話簿上我們可是排在雅達利前面。”喬布斯跟沃茲說，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，于是“蘋果電腦” 真的成了公司的名字。“蘋果”，這是個很妙的選擇。這個單詞會馬上釋放出友好和簡單的信號，做到了既略有點不合常規，又很普通不古怪。有一點點反主流文化，又體現了返璞歸真的質樸感，而且非常有美國特色。蘋果和電腦，這兩個單詞放在一起，營造了一種有趣的分裂感。蘋果電腦的首位投資人，后來成為公司第一任董事長的邁克·馬克庫拉表示：“其實這個名字沒什么意義，不過它有種魔力，會讓你細細回味其中的含義。蘋果和電腦放一起，根本不搭嘛！但是正是這種不協調，幫我們增加了品牌的知名度。”

1. take the edge off:

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，鍛煉還會減弱戒煙不良反應的程度，例如易怒，頭痛和瞌睡。

2. hit: 本意“”，還可以用作“偶然發現”之意，本處使用的是形象的“”的用法。同樣用法的還有近義詞strike，常用短語為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.一位當地的生意人突然想到一個點子，就是男士們應該回禮給那些在西洋情人節送他們禮物的女士。

3. dwell on: 。dwell的本意為“”，這里表示細想某事。

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，你就會錯過一切美好的事情。

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