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Chinese IT Forerunner:Chu Bong-foo 电脑界的华人先驱：朱邦复

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本  

Throughout history, revolutionary thinkers have attempted to bring about changes that most people thought were impossible. We are indebted to those who think “outside the box” for key advancements in every area of knowledge. The Chinese are especially indebted to Chu Bong-foo, a self-described revolutionary, who is known as the headstrong and brilliant father of Chinese computing.

历史上具革命性的思想家都试着做出一般人认为不可能做到的变革。对于那些为了在各个知识领域得到关键性进步而做体制外思考的人，我们应该深深地感激。中国人尤其要感激自许为改革家的朱邦复先生，他以顽强又优异的电脑中文化之父知名。

Chu brought Chinese characters into the world of computer technology with his invention of the ChangJie keyboard input system in 1978. In an apparent case of David vs. Goliath, as Microsoft was preparing to monopolize Taiwan’s computing market with a Chinese version of Windows 3.0 in 1991, Chu countered with a Chinese language system designed to run Windows 3.0. After losing out to Microsoft’s powerful advertising campaign, Chu went into semi-retirement.

1978年朱邦复发明了仓颉键盘输入系统，将中国文字带入电脑科技的世界。表面上如同圣经故事中戴维对抗歌利亚【注】的例子，在1991年，微软正准备以3.1中文版窗口操作系统寡占台湾的电脑市场，朱邦复以一套可以运用在窗口3.0的中文系统与之对抗。结果朱邦复不敌微软强大的广告营销，随即步入半退休的状态。

He resurfaced a few years ago as vice-president of Culturecom Holdings, a Hong Kong-based computer business that plans to produce 200 million electronic book readers. His “e-book reader” – a technological breakthrough that can transmit over 10,000 pages of digital data on two AA batteries – was delivered to a million senior high school students in China as the first stage of the product’s hands-on testing. As with all of Chu’s innovations, this new device strives to promote Chinese culture through modern technology.

朱邦复在几年前重新复出，担任香港的电脑公司──文化传信集团的副董事长，该公司计划生产二亿套「电子书阅读机」──这是一项科技大突破，两个AA电池就可以传输超过一万页以上的数字数据──第一期计划就准备送给中国大陆的一百万名高中学生做实际测试。就像所有朱邦复的革新一样。这个新装置竭力以现代科技推广中国文化。

【注】：圣经故事中歌利亚Goliath是被戴维David杀死的非利士族巨人(1 Sam. 17:4, 49-51,   2 Sam. 21: 19)

Vocabulary

单词发音

forerunner [ˋfor͵rʌnɚ] n. 先驱﹐ 先导﹐ 前锋

indebted [ɪnˋdɛtɪd] adj. 受惠的；感激的

outside the box 创造性的，打破传统的

self-described 自称的

revolutionary [͵rɛvəˋluʃən͵ɛrɪ] n. 革命者

headstrong [ˋhɛd͵strɔŋ] adj. 固执的，刚愎的，任性的

monopolize [məˋnɑp!͵aɪz] v. 垄断; 独占; 完全控制

counter [ˋkaʊntɚ] v. 反击，还击；对着干

hands-on [ˋhændzˋɑn] adj. 实际操作的﹐ 亲身实践的; 实用的

Sentence of the Day

He sticks to his guns.

他坚持自己的想法。

stick to one’s guns 坚持不让步

课文讲解

As a young man, Chu exiled himself to Brazil for a decade in search of his calling. While searching for direction in life, Chu came to appreciate the efficiency of the Roman alphabet and, in order to appropriate this efficiency for his own language, began bridging the apparent disparity between computing and the Chinese language. Underlying this task has been Chu’s conviction that “culture and content are the soul of the information industry.”

年轻时，朱邦复在巴西自我放逐了十年以追寻自己的使命。在寻找生命方向的同时，朱邦复体会到西方罗马拼音文字【注】的效率，并且为了让中文也得到这种效率，他开始就电脑与中国语文之间的差异进行接轨工作。他这项工作使命的基础信念是「文化与内容是信息工业的灵魂所在」。

Now 66, and still outspoken, Chu has spent decades analyzing Chinese characters and working to develop computer technology that does not distort the Chinese tradition of literacy. “Only Chinese characters still retain their pictographic origins, and record the Chinese way of thinking,” he says.

现年66岁而仍外向直言的朱邦复，已经花了数十年时间分析中国文字，并研发不妨害中文读写传统的电脑科技。他说「只有中文字依然维持着图像文字式的起源，并记录中国人的思考方式。」

Chu wants to introduce modern technology to mainland China’s huge population of poor farmers, He envisions the day when rural families will sport electronic watches with voice recognition to access information about crop prices, bank accounts, even personal health. The publisher of Chu’s latest book – a science fiction novel called Cosmic Drifter – says “what people admire ….[is] how he allows others to use all the results of his research free of charge.“ In the twilight of his career, Chu remains ambitious, farsighted, and dedicated to creating computer products that benefit society.

朱邦复想把现代科技介绍给中国大陆为数众多的贫困农民。他想望这一天的来临：乡下农户能把弄着具语音识别功能的电子手表来撷取信息，处理农作物价格、银行帐户、甚至有关个人身体健康的事物。替朱邦复出版最新作品──一本名为「宇宙浪子」的科幻小说──的出版社表示「最令人敬佩之处…就是他让别人免费使用他所有的研发成果。」在他生涯的后半段，朱邦复仍具企图心和远见，并且致力于创造有益社会的电脑产品。

【注】：欧洲和西方语言所熟悉使用的字母ABC到Z──是罗马人撷取转用爱屈利亚语的字母而来，而爱屈利亚语字母的前身，则是希腊字母。

－by Mary Lasovich

Vocabulary

单词发音

exile [ˋɛksaɪl] v. 流放，放逐；使离乡背井

calling [ˋkɔlɪŋ] n.〔神的〕感召; 〔从事某种工作的〕强烈冲动; 使命感

appreciate [əˋpriʃɪ͵et] v. 体会，领会，察知

alphabet [ˋælfə͵bɛt] n. 字母系统，字母表，全套字母

disparity [dɪsˋpærətɪ] n.【正式】〔两个或两个以上事物之间的〕不同; 不平等; 差异; 悬殊

underlie [͵ʌndɚˋlaɪ] v. 构成……的基础

conviction [kənˋvɪkʃən] n. 确信，信念

outspoken [aʊtˋspokən] adj. 坦率的；直言不讳的

distort [dɪsˋtɔrt] v. 歪曲；曲解; 使失真

literacy [ˋlɪtərəsɪ] n. 识字；读写能力

pictographic [͵pɪktəˋgræfɪk] adj. 象形文字的

envision [ɪnˋvɪʒən] v. 想象，展望

sport [sport] v. 炫耀，给人看，玩弄

recognition [͵rɛkəgˋnɪʃən] n. 认出; 识别

cosmic [ˋkɑzmɪk] adj. 宇宙的

drifter [ˋdrɪftɚ] n. 漂泊者；流浪汉

twilight [ˋtwaɪ͵laɪt] n.（人的）暮年，晚期

farsighted [ˋfɑrˋsaɪtɪd] adj. 有远见的，有先见之明的

Sentence of the Day

He's given computing a shot in the arm.

他给电脑界一剂强心针。

a shot in the arm 兴奋剂, 刺激因素