每日外刊 | 1104-科技巨头们在万圣节前夕的装饰上相互竞争

2022年11月04日10:45:27 教育 1590

背景知识

提起万圣节，必然会跟“恐怖”和“鬼魂”等元素联系起来。每年这天大家都很忙，小孩儿忙着“不给糖就捣蛋”、派对青年们忙着给自己化一个惊艳而不失浮夸的鬼脸装、商家们忙着找噱头来营销，各大科技公司们也在万圣节的装饰上费尽了心思。

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Tech titans rival one another in Halloween decor

科技巨头们在万圣节前夕的装饰上相互竞争

Rivalry between Apple and Google has often been fierce. Sometimes it has played out in the courts. But once a year their competition has also been visible on the streets—in the form of Halloween decorations. Steve Jobs started it. In the 1990s, when Apple's co-founder had young children, come October the front garden of his rambling English cottage in a leafy Palo Alto neighbourhood sprouted gruesome decor—not just skeletons and pumpkins but sound effects and special lighting—leading to a cauldron overflowing with dry ice at the front door. Jobs himself could be spotted handing out (now defunct) Odwalla health bars, an annual disappointment for trick-or-treaters who heard rumours of free iPods. The family later upgraded to goody-bags that included Toblerone.

苹果和谷歌之间的竞争经常是激烈的。这种竞争有时也会在法庭上上演。但是，他们的竞争每年也会以万圣节前夕装饰的形式出现在街头。这种竞争是史蒂夫·乔布斯开创的。20世纪90年代，当苹果的联合创始人有了小孩时，到了十月，他在一所杂乱的英国小屋的前花园（该小屋坐落于帕洛阿尔托一片绿树成荫的小区里）开始出现可怕的装饰——不仅是骷髅和南瓜，还有音效和特殊的灯光——这些装饰通往前门那个装满了干冰的大锅。人们可以看到乔布斯亲自发放Odwalla健康棒(现在已经不存在了)，这是一年一度让“不给糖就捣蛋”的人所失望的事情，因为这些人听传言说可以领免费的iPods。后来，这家人又推出了包括三角巧克力在内的礼品袋。

When Larry Page, co-founder of Google (now Alphabet), moved into a home on a cul-de-sac round the corner some years later, he was not to be out-spooked. His displays had themes: a carnival one year, a Little Red Riding Hood forest the next. Jobs died in 2011, but his widow continued to match Mr Page's shows. Neighbours recall hundreds of carved jack-o-lanterns illuminating the apple orchard outside the Jobs home, and actors dressed as monsters playing hockey in the driveway.

几年后，当谷歌(现在的Alphabet)联合创始人拉里·佩奇搬进附近一条死胡同里的一所房子时，他并没有被吓到。他的展览都有主题:一年是狂欢节，第二年是小红帽森林。乔布斯于2011年去世，但他的遗孀所办的展出继续与佩奇的展出不相上下。邻居们还记得，乔布斯家外的苹果园里有数百个雕刻的南瓜灯，还有装扮成怪物的演员在车道上打曲棍球。

Others joined in. Not far away Yahoo's former boss, Marissa Mayer, took to handing out king-size candy bars and stuffed animals. The tech titans' glitz and goodies drew growing crowds and hour-long queues. Locals have mixed feelings that a hometown tradition has become a regional attraction. "People here love community events so much that they risk suffocating them to death," says Pat Burt, Palo Alto's mayor, while cycling through the neighbourhood.

其他人加入。不远处，雅虎的前老板玛丽莎·梅耶尔开始分发超大号糖果和布绒动物玩具。这些科技巨头的浮华和美食吸引了越来越多的人，人们排起了数小时的长队。家乡的传统已经成为一种地区性景点，当地人对此有着复杂的感受。“这里的人们如此热爱社区活动，以至于他们冒着窒息而死的风险也要参加，”帕洛阿尔托市长帕特·伯特在骑车穿过社区时说。

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