《乔布斯传》自问世以来受到了全世界人民的关注，让我们在翻译学习中回顾乔帮主的伟大一生。第一章第二部分描写了乔布斯在加州山景城的童年时光，以及在这里及附近地区硅谷慢慢发展起来的历史。生活在硅谷的经历让乔布斯迷上了电子学，并第一次接触到了电脑。前文讲到，乔布斯从住在隔壁的惠普工程师那里了解到碳粒传声器并不需要扩音器（amplifier），这与乔布斯父亲的以前观点恰好相反。

【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)

【译文】

乔布斯后来生动地回忆了这个事件，仿佛历历在目。因为这是他第一次意识到他的父亲并不是无所不知，然后他又渐渐明白并发现了一个让他困惑不安的事实：他比他的父母更聪明。他一直很崇拜父亲的能力和悟性。我父亲没有受过什么教育，但我一直都觉得他真的很聪明。但是这次碳粒传声器的事件插曲，让乔布斯开始慢慢意识到他其实比他的父母更聪明更灵敏。这样的发现让他很震惊。那是一个很重要的时刻，让我毕生难忘。当我意识到我比我父母更聪明的时候，我的心里产生了一种巨大的羞愧感。我永远忘不了那一刻。他后来告诉朋友，这样的发现，还有他被收养的事实，让他感到和家人还有整个世界间的疏远感，那是一种超然的分离感。

【翻译笔记】

1. dawn on: 开始被理解，渐渐明白，醒悟

常用句式为：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.

我渐渐明白，我仍然热爱着过去我所做的一切。

2. burn into: 烙上(记号等), 形成(某种习惯、看法等)

burn into one's mind 在心目中留下不可磨灭的印象

A horrible image was burn in her mind.

她的脑海里留下难忘的恐怖场景。

3. carbon microphone: 碳粒传声器