记者：但是您并未读完大学，能给我们讲一下您当时为什么要辍学吗

Reporter: But you didn't graduate from college. Can you tell us why you dropped out

乔布斯：好的，我在里德学院读了半年后就辍学了。一方面是因为学费太贵，我父母一生的积蓄都花在了我的学费上；另一方面，我看不出读大学的价值所在。所以我就辍学了。

Jobs: OK. I dropped out six months after I started my studies in Reed College. On the one hand, the tuition was so expensive that all my parents' savings were being spent on my tuition. On the other hand, I could not see the value of attending college. So I dropped out. 记者：那您怎么看当时这一决定的

Reporter: What do you think of your decision of dropping out

乔布斯：就像我刚才演讲中所提到的，这或许是我所做的最棒的决定之一。我辍学之后参加了书法班，学到了衬线和无衬线字体，10年后这些在设计Mac时都用上了，不然，很有可能现在的个人电脑就没有这种美妙的版面设计了。 Jobs: Just as I mentioned in my speech, that was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. Since I had dropped out of Reed College, I took a calligraphy class and learned about serif and sanserif typefaces which were designed into the Mac 10 years later. Otherwise, personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.

记者：您的故事让我们学到了很多东西。谢谢您接受我的采访。

Reporter: We learn a lot from your story. Thanks for granting my interview.

7. Practice: translation

A. Put the following sentences in the text into Chinese. Pay special attention to the italicized expressions.

1. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit.

我在里德学院读了6个月就退学了，但是作为旁听生又在那里待了18个月左右，然后才真正离开学校。 2. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption.

我的生母是个年轻未婚的研究生，因此她决定把我送给别人收养。

3. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. 这在当时看来非常可怕，但现在回头看看，那是我做过的最棒的决定之一。

4. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.

我依照好奇心和直觉做事，大多事后证明是非常值得的。

5. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. 这一切在我的生活中是否实用，我不抱希望。

B. Complete the sentences by translating into English the Chinese given in the brackets. 1.[Every time I saw the straw hat] (每当我看到那顶草帽), it reminded me of the tour I had made years before.

2. This is[the most wonderful time that I have ever had] (我度过的最美好的时光).

3. [I'm honored to attend the closing ceremony of the conference] (我很荣幸能参加大会闭幕式) and give you a speech.

4. Bill Clinton has helped to get the two American journalists released and he seems to [have a hope of making peace] (有希望调解) between North Korea and the US.

5. One friend of mine has decided to [quit his/her well-paid but demanding position] (辞去那份工资高但要求也高的工作) recently.

Summary outline:

1. The start of Steve Jobs' life;

2. The reason why he dropped out of college;

3. What he learned in the calligraphy class after dropping out of college; 4. The effect of what he learned in the calligraphy class in his life; 5. The implications of Steve Jobs' story.

Reference answer： Steve Jobs was adopted several months after birth since his biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student. As his parents had promised, Jobs did go to college 17 years later. However, he found the college was much too expensive and he couldn't see the value of attending it, so he dropped out six months later. Then he dropped in on a calligraphy class which he found fascinating. He learned serif and sanserif typefaces and many other things, of which he found an application 10 years later—they were all designed into the first Macintosh computer. It made all the difference in Jobs' life. If he had never dropped out, he would have never dropped in on the calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have had the wonderful typography that they do. Therefore, one has to trust in something—his/her gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever, and this approach will give one the confidence to follow whatever he/she trusts in.

computer repairs

A customer has bought a new computer, but she is having a lot of trouble with it. She is now calling Computer Technical Support for help.

Clerk: Hello and thank you for calling Computer 职员：您好，欢迎致电电脑技术支持部。Technical Support. How can I help you

请问有什么需要帮忙

Customer: Yeah, I bought one of your laptop computers 顾客：是的，大约三个星期前我买了一台about three weeks ago, but it just isn't working 你们的手提电脑，但是它运行总是不正常。 properly.

职员：啊，很抱歉，但您的电脑已不在保Clerk: Well, sorry to say, but your computer is no longer 修期内。它昨天已经过期了。 under warranty. It ran out yesterday. 顾客：什么三周的保修期 Customer: What A three-week warranty 职员：是的，就是这样。到底是什么问题Clerk: Yes, I'm afraid so. What's the problem 呢 顾客：首先，它总是死机，而且瘫痪了无Customer: Well, first of all, the machine always freezes 数次。 and has crashed at least a zillion times. 职员：呃，女士…… Clerk: Uh, madam... 顾客：而且我认为这台电脑感染了间谍软Customer: And I think the computer's infected with 件和大香蕉木马病毒，这是我最担心的。

spyware and the Big Banana Trojan virus. That's my biggest concern. Clerk: Oh, uh, madam...

职员：哦，呃，女士……

顾客：再加上这里面有太多预装的第三方

Customer: And plus there are a ton of pre-installed 应用软件，它们把电脑弄得很混乱。我现third-party applications that just clutter the 在没有办法让电脑工作。 computer. I'm at my wits' end trying to get this thing working.

Clerk: Madam. I have to put you on hold.

职员：女士，我得请您稍等一下。 顾客：什么

Customer: What

职员：我们需要一些时间来判断这些问题。

Clerk: It's going to take us a minute or so to diagnose 我将把电话转给我们的技术人员。

the problems. I'm going to transfer you to our technician.

电话录音：感谢您的等待。您的来电对我

Phone Recording: Thank you for waiting. Your call is 们非常重要。您的等候号码是84号。您的important to us. You are number 84 in the queue. Your 等待时间大约是2小时17分，或者我们一approximate waiting time is 2 hours 17 minutes, or 有机会便会回复您的来电。 whenever we get around to answering your call.

New Words

Warranty

n. [U, C] a written agreement in which a company selling sth. promises to repair or replace

it if there is a problem within a particular period of time 保修单 zillion

n. [U, C] an extremely large number 极大的数目

I've told you a zillion times what the problem is. Don't you understand it now 关于问题的症结，我已经跟你讲了无数遍了。你现在还不明白吗 clutter

vt. to fill an area with too many things and make it messy 凌乱地塞满，乱堆放

I hate some computer companies because they tend to clutter their machines with junk software most people don't use.

我讨厌某些电脑公司，因为他们老是在电脑上乱装些大多数人根本用不上的垃圾软件。 queue

n. [C] a line of people, cars, etc. waiting for sth. or to do sth. 队，行列

Phrases and Expressions

be under warranty

to be bound by a written promise by a company to fix or replace one of its products 在保修期内

The camera is still under warranty. 这个相机仍在保修期内。 run out

1) (of an agreement or a document) to become no longer valid 过期，失效

Sometimes, a product you buy will function perfectly long after the warranty runs out. 有时候买来的产品在保修期过了很久之后，仍然很好用。

2) (of a supply of sth.) to be used up or finished 用完，耗尽 Time is running out for the trapped miners. 被困矿工的时间正在一点点流失。 be at one's wits' end

to be very worried or upset because you have tried every possible way to solve a problem but cannot do it 智穷计尽；全然不知所措

To tell the truth, I'm at my wits' end trying to figure out the problem with my computer. 我想找出电脑里存在的问题，但说实话，我已经一筹莫展了。 get around/round to doing sth.

抽出时间来做某事

3. Text A Do-anything Pen May Change the Face of Computing 万能笔革新计算机技术

1 At a conference in California yesterday, the audience 1 昨天，在加利福尼亚的一个会议上，of 500-some technology veterans watched in fascination 500名资深技术员饶有兴趣地观看了as a company called Livescribe introduced its brilliant Livescribe公司展示其卓越发明：一只invention: a pen.

钢笔。

2 Well, not just a pen—a computer that looks like a pen. 2 当然这不仅仅是一只笔——The pen does have ink and it makes lines on paper, but 是看上去像笔的电脑。这只钢笔确实有墨it also records a digital file of whatever you 水，能在纸上留下笔划，同时也能把你写write—both text and sketches—by using an infrared 的任何东西录为数码文件——文本和草camera to read a code of tiny, nearly invisible gray dots 图都可以——利用红外摄像机读入代码，on the paper. It can also read bar codes. To make it work, 即一种在纸上几乎看不见的小灰点。此you need to either buy a recycled paper notepad from 外，它还能读入条形码。要让它工作，你Livescribe, or roll your own by downloading a graphics 需要从Livescribe公司购买环保型记事file that prints on most laser printers.

本，或是自己下载适用于大多数激光打印

3 It also records the sound around you and links it to 机的图像文件。

what you were writing at the time. Tap the pen to that 3 它还能记录你身边的声音并text again, it reads the little dots, and you get an 把这种声音同你当时所写的东西连接在audio playback from that time. As a journalist with 一起。比如，在对应文件上再次轻击钢笔，lousy handwriting and no shorthand skills, I could use 它会读入这些小灰点，播放当时录入的声that. Just write an outline of what someone is saying 音。我是一名新闻记者，字迹潦草，还不in an interview, and tap on the notes to hear again what 会速记，正好需要它。在采访中只须就采the person said.

访内容写个提纲，然后用笔轻击笔记，就

4 That in itself would be very cool, but the Livescribe 可以再听一遍受访人所说的话了。 folks have bigger plans. Here are some other things the 4 这种功能本身已经够新奇了，但是pen can do:

5 Create 3D audio files

Livescribe人有更大的计划。下面是这只钢笔的其他功能：

The Livescribe headphones include microphones, so you 5 制作3D音频文件

can record the sound exactly how and when it hits each Livescribe耳机有麦克风，因of your ears. Play it back through any headphones, and 此你能实时、实效记录传入你耳朵的声you get the same effect as if you were hearing sounds 音。播放时，用任何耳机听，你都能得到around you.

6 Create flash animations

和你当时听到的一样的效果。 6 制作flash动画片

Whatever you write or draw can be captured as a flash 无论你写什么、画什么，都能movie. Play it back and you see the drawings take form 被捕捉成flas*******。播放时，你会看on your screen. Click on parts of the text in the 见你的图画在屏幕上如何成形。点击动画animation and launch any linked items, such as web 文件的不同部分，可以转到不同的超链pages, audio files, or videos. 7 Access commentary in a book

接，如网页、音频或视频文件。 7 显示书中的注释