《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。第二章“古怪的一對”介紹了喬布斯的摯友史蒂夫·沃茲尼亞克。喬布斯和沃茲一起發明了可以撥打免費電話的藍盒子。這項惡作劇式的發明被突發奇想的喬布斯拿來出售賺錢。雖然后來出現被持槍男搶劫藍盒子的插曲，但是這次初次合作的成功也為喬布斯和沃茲未來的合作奠定了基調：沃茲負責發明，喬布斯負責投入市場賺錢。

The partnership paved the way for what would be a bigger adventure together. “If it hadn’t been for the Blue Boxes, there wouldn’t have been an Apple,” Jobs later reflected. “I’m 100% sure of that. Woz and I learned how to work together, and we gained the confidence that we could solve technical problems and actually put something into production.” They had created a device with a little circuit board that could control billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure. “You cannot believe how much confidence that gave us.” Woz came to the same conclusion: “It was probably a bad idea selling them, but it gave us a taste of what we could do with my engineering skills and his vision.” 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.”

這樣的合作關系為以后更大的冒險鋪平了道路。喬布斯后來回想道：“我百分之百確定，沒有藍盒子就沒有蘋果公司。沃茲和我學會怎樣一起工作，我們也在解決技術難題和將發明投入生產的過程中獲得了自信。” 他們發明的藍盒子只是用一小塊電路板做成的小裝置，但是卻能控制價值數十億美元的基礎設施。“藍盒子的成功簡直讓我們自信心爆棚。” 沃茲也有同樣的想法：“賣藍盒子可能是個壞主意，但是的確讓我們嘗到了合作的甜頭，我的工程技術和喬布斯的發展遠見結合在一起可以做出一番成就。” 藍盒子的冒險經歷建立了喬布斯和沃茲將來的合作模式：沃茲是那個有很多巧妙發明又愿意與人分享的安靜天才，喬布斯則負責如何將沃茲的發明變得方便使用，然后包裝并投入市場，賺點錢。

1. pave the way:

Scientists hope that data from this expedition will pave the way for a more detailed exploration of Mars.科學家們希望這次探險獲得的數據能為將來的火星探測鋪平道路。

Worse still, as policymakers rush to implement reforms in response to one financial calamity, they are apt to create disorders that pave the way for the next disaster.更糟糕的是，當決策者匆忙實施改革以應對金融災難時，往往容易造成新的混亂，為下一場災難埋下隱患。

2. come to the/a conclusion : 。短語后常接修飾conclusion的同位語從句。

From the foregoing discussion, we can come to the conclusion that the purpose of college education should always target at cultivating the overall abilities of the students.基于以上論證，我們可以清楚地認識到：大學教育應該永遠是以培養學生較強的綜合能力為目標的。

come to a conclusion除了有“得出結論”這意，還可以表示某事或過程“”。

At last, the yearlong ordeal of buying a house came to a conclusion.這場長達一年的買房折磨終于結束了。

3. make big bucks/make a few bucks:

I made some big bucks last week. I didn't expect that I could make so much money.上周我賺了一大筆錢，真沒想到我能賺這么多。

buck是口語用法，指一美元，一般泛指“錢”。

4. 藍盒子：藍盒子是用來破解電話系統的工具，內建電子零件，可模仿電信營運商的播話控制訊號。藍盒子常被用來撥打免費電話。喬布斯和沃茲打造的藍盒子現收藏在位于硅谷的電腦歷史博物館中。

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