Over the last few months, a steady stream of visitors to Palo Alto, Calif., called an old friend’s home number and asked if he was well enough to entertain visitors, perhaps for the last time.
過去幾個(gè)月里，不斷有人到加州的帕洛阿爾托（舊金山）想要拜訪他們的老朋友喬布斯，并打電話詢問他能否接待這些客人，也許是見最后一面。

In February, Steven P. Jobs had learned that, after years of fighting cancer, his time was becoming shorter. He quietly told a few acquaintances, and they, in turn, whispered to others. And so a pilgrimage began. The calls trickled in at first. Just a few, then dozens, and in recent weeks, a nearly endless stream of people who wanted a few moments to say goodbye, according to people close to Mr. Jobs. Most were intercepted by his wife, Laurene. She would apologetically explain that he was too tired to receive many visitors. In his final weeks, he became so weak that it was hard for him to walk up the stairs of his own home anymore, she confided to one caller.
在與癌癥多年戰(zhàn)斗之后，今年2月，喬布斯已經(jīng)察覺自己的健康每況愈下，他悄悄地把這個(gè)消息告訴給了幾個(gè)老朋友，然后這些人又悄悄告訴別人。先是慰問電話，漸漸的，越來越多的人想要來跟喬布斯告別，但是喬布斯的妻子勞倫·鮑威爾婉拒了一些人的拜訪，她抱歉地解釋到，喬布斯已經(jīng)沒有太多的精力接待訪客。她告訴其中一個(gè)拜訪者，喬布斯在生命的最后幾個(gè)星期內(nèi)幾乎已經(jīng)無法上樓梯。

Some asked if they might try again tomorrow. Sorry, she replied. He had only so much energy for farewells. The man who valued his privacy almost as much as his ability to leave his mark on the world had decided whom he most needed to see before he left.
有人問他們能否隔天再來拜訪，但是勞倫婉言謝絕了，因?yàn)閱滩妓沟木τ邢蕖Ｋ⒅仉[私的程度就如同他對(duì)這個(gè)世界的影響力那般強(qiáng)烈，他已經(jīng)決定在臨走之前見幾個(gè)他覺得需要見的人。

Mr. Jobs spent his final weeks — as he had spent most of his life — in tight control of his choices. He invited a close friend, the physician Dean Ornish, a preventive health advocate, to join him for sushi at one of his favorite restaurants, Jin Sho in Palo Alto. He said goodbye to longtime colleagues including the venture capitalist John Doerr, the Apple board member Bill Campbell and the Disney chief executive Robert A. Iger. He offered Apple’s executives advice on unveiling the iPhone 4S, which occurred on Tuesday. He spoke to his biographer, Walter Isaacson. He started a new drug regime, and told some friends that there was reason for hope.
在生命的最后幾周，就像他畢生一直所堅(jiān)持的那樣，喬布斯做出了自己的選擇。他邀請(qǐng)親密朋友，內(nèi)科醫(yī)師和健康預(yù)防倡導(dǎo)者迪安·奧尼什，在他最愛的一家餐館一起吃壽司；他跟多年的老同事告別，他們包括：風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本家約翰·杜爾、蘋果董事會(huì)成員比爾·坎貝爾、迪士尼董事長羅伯特·伊格爾；他為即將發(fā)布的iPhone 4S向蘋果高管們給出了建議（iPhone 4S于周二發(fā)布）；他和自己的傳記作家沃爾特·艾薩克森談了談；他接受了新的藥物注射；他告訴一些朋友，生活總是會(huì)有希望的。

But, mostly, he spent time with his wife and children “Steve made choices,” Dr. Ornish said. “I once asked him if he was glad that he had kids, and he said, ‘It’s 10,000 times better than anything I’ve ever done.’ ”
但是，多數(shù)時(shí)間，他還是與妻子和孩子呆在一起。奧尼什醫(yī)生表示：“史蒂夫做出了選擇，我曾經(jīng)問過他是不是很高興有孩子，他的回答是‘這比我做的所有事都好上一萬倍’?！?/div>

“But for Steve, it was all about living life on his own terms and not wasting a moment with things he didn’t think were important. He was aware that his time on earth was limited. He wanted control of what he did with the choices that were left.”
“但是對(duì)史蒂夫來說，人生最重要的是按自己的意愿做事，而不要把時(shí)間浪費(fèi)在自己認(rèn)為不重要的事情上。他知道自己時(shí)日無多，在最后的時(shí)間里他更要做自己想做的事?！?/div>

In his final months, Mr. Jobs’s home was surrounded by security guards. His driveway’s gate was flanked by two black S.U.V.’s. On Thursday, as online eulogies multiplied and the walls of Apple stores in Taiwan, New York, Shanghai and Frankfurt were papered with hand-drawn cards, the S.U.V.’s were removed and the sidewalk at his home became a garland of bouquets, candles and a pile of apples, each with one bite carefully removed.
在他去世前幾個(gè)月里，喬布斯的房子周圍都安排了警衛(wèi)，他的私人車道兩邊停有兩輛黑色SUV汽車。10月6日星期四，隨著網(wǎng)上悼詞的驟增以及臺(tái)灣、紐約、上海和法蘭克福的蘋果專賣店都貼滿了蘋果迷的手工祝?？ㄆ?，SUV汽車也跟著撤離，現(xiàn)在喬布斯家的小道上都放滿了人們送來的花、蠟燭和一個(gè)個(gè)被小心地咬了一口的蘋果。

“Everyone always wanted a piece of Steve,” said one acquaintance who, in Mr. Jobs’s final weeks, was rebuffed when he sought an opportunity to say goodbye. “He created all these layers to protect himself from the fan boys and other peoples’ expectations and the distractions that have destroyed so many other companies.
一位被婉拒與喬布斯告別的熟人說道：“每個(gè)人都想要分享喬布斯，他把自己層層保護(hù)起來，與他的粉絲、其他人隔絕，也避免了來自其他公司的干擾。”

“But once you’re gone, you belong to the world.”
“可是一旦你離開，你便屬于全世界?！?/div>

Mr. Jobs’s biographer, Mr. Isaacson, whose book will be published in two weeks, asked him why so private a man had consented to the questions of someone writing a book. “I wanted my kids to know me,” Mr. Jobs replied, Mr. Isaacson wrote Thursday in an essay on . “I wasn’t always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did.”
為喬布斯寫傳記的作家艾薩克森的著作將在兩周內(nèi)發(fā)表。艾薩克森在周四的《時(shí)代》雜志文章中寫到，曾經(jīng)問過他為什么如此注重隱私的一個(gè)人會(huì)接受一個(gè)作家的訪問。喬布斯的回答是：“我想要我的孩子了解我，我總是無法經(jīng)常陪伴他們，所以我想要他們知道原因并試著理解我所做的一切?！?/div>

Because of that privacy, little is known yet of what Mr. Jobs’s heirs will do with his wealth. Unlike many prominent business people, he has never disclosed plans to give large amounts to charity. His shares in Disney, which Mr. Jobs acquired when the entertainment company purchased his animated film company, Pixar, are worth about $4.4 billion. That is double the $2.1 billion value of his shares in Apple, perhaps surprising given that he is best known for the computer company he founded.
由于隱私保護(hù)，現(xiàn)在還不知道喬布斯的繼承人會(huì)如何使用這筆遺產(chǎn)。與其他著名企業(yè)家不同，喬布斯從來沒有公開提過有要將遺產(chǎn)獻(xiàn)給慈善事業(yè)的計(jì)劃。他將皮克斯電影公司賣給迪士尼后，擁有迪士尼44億美元的股份，兩倍于他在蘋果21億美元的股份，這一點(diǎn)似乎讓人訝異，因?yàn)樗且蛱O果電腦公司而聞名于世的。

Mr. Jobs’s emphasis on secrecy, say acquaintances, led him to shy away from large public donations. At one point, Mr. Jobs was asked by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates to give a majority of his wealth to philanthropy alongside a number of prominent executives like Mr. Gates and Warren E. Buffett. But Mr. Jobs declined, according to a person with direct knowledge of Mr. Jobs’s decision.
喬布斯的友人稱，喬布斯強(qiáng)調(diào)隱私這點(diǎn)讓他避開了一些大型的公共捐贈(zèng)活動(dòng)。有一次，微軟創(chuàng)始人比爾·蓋茨建議喬布斯將他的大部分遺產(chǎn)捐贈(zèng)給慈善事業(yè)，當(dāng)時(shí)在他們旁邊還有另外幾位著名的企業(yè)家，如沃倫·巴菲特，但是喬布斯婉拒了。

Now that Mr. Jobs is gone, many people expect that attention will focus on his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, who has largely avoided the spotlight, but is expected to oversee Mr. Jobs’s fortune. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Mrs. Powell Jobs worked in investment banking before founding a natural foods company. She then founded College Track, a program that pairs disadvantaged students with mentors who help them earn college degrees. That has led to some speculation in the philanthropic community that any large charitable contributions might go to education, though no one outside Mr. Jobs’s inner circle is thought to know of the plans.
如今喬布斯已經(jīng)離世，許多人便將期待的目光轉(zhuǎn)向了她的妻子勞倫。勞倫很少在鏡頭前拋頭露面，但她有望監(jiān)管喬布斯的財(cái)產(chǎn)。她是賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)和斯坦福大學(xué)商學(xué)院畢業(yè)的高材生，在創(chuàng)辦天然食品公司之前曾供職投資銀行，她還曾創(chuàng)建“學(xué)院追蹤”項(xiàng)目，為學(xué)業(yè)落后的學(xué)生和導(dǎo)師牽線搭橋，幫助他們獲得大學(xué)學(xué)位。這在慈善團(tuán)體中引發(fā)了某些猜測(cè)：?jiǎn)滩妓故欠裨诮逃I(lǐng)域投入了大量慈善捐助。但是，其實(shí)喬布斯的核心圈子以外的人士對(duì)計(jì)劃一無所知。

Mr. Jobs himself never got a college degree. Despite leaving Reed College after six months, he was asked to give the 2005 commencement speech at Stanford.
喬布斯本人從未獲得過大學(xué)學(xué)位。盡管入學(xué)六個(gè)月以后就離開了里德學(xué)院，他仍獲邀在斯坦福大學(xué)發(fā)表2005年度畢業(yè)演講。

In that address, delivered after Mr. Jobs was told he had cancer but before it was clear that it would ultimately claim his life, Mr. Jobs told his audience that “death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent.”
彼時(shí)，喬布斯已獲知自己罹患癌癥，但尚未明確是否會(huì)因此死去。在那篇演講中，喬布斯對(duì)聽眾們談到，“死亡很可能是生命唯一的也是最佳的發(fā)明。它是推動(dòng)生命變革的發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)。”

The benefit of death, he said, is you know not to waste life living someone else’s choices.“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
他說道：“死亡的好處在于，你明白了不應(yīng)將生命浪費(fèi)在為他人的選擇而活上，“不要讓他人喧嘩紛擾的見解淹沒了自己內(nèi)心的聲音。最重要的是，要有勇氣追尋自己的心，跟隨自己的直覺?！?/div>

In his final months, Mr. Jobs became even more dedicated to such sentiments. “Steve’s concerns these last few weeks were for people who depended on him: the people who worked for him at Apple and his four children and his wife,” said Mona Simpson, Mr. Jobs’s sister. “His tone was tenderly apologetic at the end. He felt terrible that he would have to leave us.”
在他最后的日子里，喬布斯更加忠實(shí)于這一信念。喬布斯的妹妹莫娜·辛普森說，“最后的幾周里，喬布斯最牽掛的是那些依靠他的人：蘋果公司的員工、四個(gè)孩子和自己的妻子。臨終時(shí)，他語調(diào)溫柔，飽含歉意。他為即將離我們而去而難過?！?/div>

聲明：雙語文章中，中文翻譯僅代表譯者個(gè)人觀點(diǎn)，僅供參考。如有不妥之處，歡迎指正。