《喬布斯傳》自問世以來受到了全世界人民的關注，讓我們在翻譯學習中回顧喬幫主的偉大一生。第一章第二部分描寫了喬布斯在加州山景城的童年時光，以及在這里及附近地區硅谷慢慢發展起來的歷史。生活在“硅谷”的經歷讓喬布斯迷上了電子學，并第一次接觸到了電腦。前文講到，喬布斯從住在隔壁的惠普工程師那里了解到碳粒傳聲器并不需要擴音器（amplifier），這與喬布斯父親的以前觀點恰好相反。

【原文】

Jobs recalled the incident vividly because it was his first realization that his father did not know everything. Then a more disconcerting discovery began to dawn on him: He was smarter than his parents. He had always admired his father's competence and savvy. "He was not an educated man, but I had always thought he was pretty damn smart..." Yet the carbon microphone incident, Jobs said, began a jarring process of realizing that he was in fact more clever and quick than his parents. "It was a very big moment that's burned into my mind. When I realized that I was smarter than my parents, I felt tremendous shame for having thought that. I will never forget that moment." This discovery, he later told friends, along with the fact that he was adopted, made him feel apart—detached and separate—from both his family and the world. (Chapter 1 Childhood: Silicon Valley)

【譯文】

喬布斯后來生動地回憶了這個事件，仿佛歷歷在目。因為這是他第一次意識到他的父親并不是無所不知，然后他又漸漸明白并發現了一個讓他困惑不安的事實：他比他的父母更聰明。他一直很崇拜父親的能力和悟性。“我父親沒有受過什么教育，但我一直都覺得他真的很聰明。”但是這次碳粒傳聲器的事件插曲，讓喬布斯開始慢慢意識到他其實比他的父母更聰明更靈敏。這樣的發現讓他很震驚。“那是一個很重要的時刻，讓我畢生難忘。當我意識到我比我父母更聰明的時候，我的心里產生了一種巨大的羞愧感。我永遠忘不了那一刻。”他后來告訴朋友，這樣的發現，還有他被收養的事實，讓他感到和家人還有整個世界間的疏遠感，那是一種超然的分離感。

【翻譯筆記】

1. dawn on: 開始被理解，漸漸明白，醒悟

常用句式為：sth. dawn on sb. /it dawns on sb. that

Then the ghastly truth dawned on me.

然后我突然明白了可怕的真相。

It slowly dawned on me that I still loved what I did.

我漸漸明白，我仍然熱愛著過去我所做的一切。

2. burn into: 烙上(記號等), 形成(某種習慣、看法等)

burn into one's mind 在心目中留下不可磨滅的印象

A horrible image was burn in her mind.

她的腦海里留下難忘的恐怖場景。

3. carbon microphone: 碳粒傳聲器