1985年，喬布斯雖仍在蘋果任董事長，但卻失去實權(he had not been to any meetings since since he lost his power)。無奈之下，他遞交辭呈，暫別蘋果(with no work to do and no access even to regular management reports)，投入新事業的發展，致力于工作站的開發(a powerful but personal workstation)。新公司NeXT成立後，知名商標設計師Paul Rand 爲其設計標志。面對剛起步的事業，蘋果公司內部對喬布斯的非議，肩扛雙重壓力的喬布斯會在新公司的會議室裏有怎樣的表現？
原文
Joe Nocera, then writing for Esquire, captured Jobs’s intensity at a NeXT staff meeting: It’s not quite right to say that he is sitting through this staff meeting, because Jobs doesn’t sit through much of anything; one of the ways he dominates is through sheer movement. One moment he’s kneeling in his chair; the next minute he’s slouching in it; the next he has leaped out of his chair entirely and is scribbling on the blackboard directly behind him. He is full of mannerisms. He bites his nails. He stares with unnerving earnestness at whoever is speaking. His hands, which are slightly and inexplicably yellow, are in constant motion。
What particularly struck Nocera was Jobs’s “almost willful lack of tact 。” It was more than just an inability to hide his opinions when others said something he thought dumb; it was a conscious readiness, even a perverse eagerness, to put people down, humiliate them, show he was smarter.When Dan’l Lewin handed out an organization chart, for example, Jobs rolled his eyes. “These charts are bullshit,” he interjected. Yet his moods still swung wildly, as at Apple. A finance person came into the meeting and Jobs lavished praise on him for a “really, really great job on this”； the previous day Jobs had told him, “This deal is crap 。” (Chapter 18 NeXT: To Be on Your Own)
譯文
喬·切諾拉在爲《時尚先生》撰稿時，曾提及喬布斯在NeXT員工會議上不安的表現：說他能坐著開完員工會議是不准確的，因爲他從未安分地坐到會議結束。他 控制局面的方法之壹就是動來動去。這壹刻，還跪在椅子上，下壹分鍾，卻無精打采；過壹會兒，整個身體從椅子上躍起，在身後的黑板上亂塗亂寫。他有各種各樣 的怪癖，包括咬指甲、用令人膽怯的目光盯著講話者。手也莫名地發黃，持續顫動。
最令切諾拉震驚的是喬布斯“極度自我並缺乏與人交往的技巧”。面對別人說出他所認爲的愚蠢意見時，喬布斯似乎早有准備，會急迫地去奚落、侮辱他人 來顯示自己的聰明。例如，當丹·盧拿出壹份組織結構圖時，喬布斯轉了轉眼珠，插話到“這些東西完全狗屁不通”。和在蘋果工作時壹樣，他的情緒依舊波瀾起 伏，喜怒無常。壹位財務人員來到會議室，喬布斯慷慨地稱贊他說：“這次的工作的確做得非常非常出色”，而在前壹天，他剛剛說到，“這筆交易跟垃圾沒什麽兩樣”。
翻譯筆記
1. sit through 耐著性子看完或聽完， 壹直坐到 … 結束
I sit through all three performances but none of them is any good。
三個節目我都從頭看到尾，可是沒壹個節目是精彩的。
We had to sit through several tedious speeches。
我們只得坐在那裏聽著幾個乏味的講演。
2. mannerism n. 固守獨特的格調，矯揉造作；癖性
A type of schizophrenia, usually starting at puberty, characterized by foolish mannerisms, senseless laughter, delusions, hallucinations, and regressive behavior。
青春期癡呆的壹種精神分裂症，通常始發于青春期，其特征爲舉止癡呆、傻笑、妄想、幻覺以及退化的舉止。
He’s taken on some irritating mannerisms。
他新添了些討人嫌的怪毛病。
3. strike v/n 打擊，攻擊；(鍾)敲響，報(時)；打動，感動，給.。。以印象，使…突然想起；罷工
He was struck by lightning。
他被閃電擊中。
That play struck me as silly。
那出戲我覺得很無聊。
It struck me that there was no one at home。
我突然想起家中沒有人。
The coal miners struck for better safety conditions。
煤礦工人罷工要求改善安全狀況。
The commander decided to make an air strike on the enemy’s supply line。
指揮官決定空襲敵人的補給線。
4.tact n. 機智， 手法
Does he possess the necessary patience and tact to do the job well?
他有具備這項工作必需的耐性和應變能力嗎？
He’s short on tact。
他處事不夠圓通。
The hostess presided at table with tact and urbanity。
女主人招待客人進餐時風雅而又得體。
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