翻译小学堂：原文+参考译文（逐段解析）
形式：先思考，后动笔，再对比，分析总结，内化吸收
翻译学堂【幻灯片解析】
【句段1】Microsoft PowerPoint is the world’s most ubiquitous presentation tool. Some figures suggest that this all-conquering presentation software is installed on more than a billion computers worldwide and that there may be up to a staggering 30 million PowerPoint presentations created every day.
【句段2】Some users are such passionate devotees they can’t abandon it – even when it comes to managing their free time. So there’s no denying it’s an addictive, powerful tool – but is it past its sell-by-date, as some critics suggest?
【句段3】It emerged from software company Forethought Inc., a Silicon Valley hothouse, in the 1980s. The program, initially named Presenter, was first released – on the Apple Macintosh – in 1987. Bob Gaskins was the man behind it.
【句段4】Gaskins was onto something, but it was a hard sell at the time. The software wouldn’t run on any existing personal computers. Anyone wanting to use it had to buy a new machine.
【句段5】Davies explains that before PowerPoint, people used slides, overhead projectors and acetate films to convey information to groups – but anyone creating a presentation had to send away to get their materials made. It took a long time to do, was difficult to make changes.
【句段6】But while PowerPoint revolutionised and democratised the way we work, it also had another unexpected result. Around the same time as PowerPoint was gaining popularity, middle management was becoming massively criticised, says Matthew Fuller, professor of cultural studies at Goldsmiths at the University of London.
【句段7】Fuller suggests there’s a connection: because PowerPoint let more people share their ideas, it exposed the failings of middle management and inadvertently led to an exodus of people from these roles, he says. “Perhaps their ideas could be seen for the trivia they were, to some extent.”
【句段8】PowerPoint has empowered us – bringing creativity into offices and classrooms and has helped turn us all into presenters – but it’s also been accused of over-simplifying ideas and distracting us from clear thinking.
参考译文（逐段解析）
句段一
原文：
Microsoft PowerPoint is the world’s most ubiquitous presentation tool. Some figures suggest that this all-conquering presentation software is installed on more than a billion computers worldwide and that there may be up to a staggering 30 million PowerPoint presentations created every day.
参考译文：
微软公司的 PowerPoint 是全世界使用最广泛的演示工具。有数据表明，全球超过10 亿台电脑安装了这款所向披靡的演示工具，每天使用 PowerPoint 制作的演示文稿达到惊人的 3000 万份。
重点词汇：
ubiquitous: 普遍存在的；无处不在的
presentation: 幻灯片演示；演讲；展示会；介绍会；发布会
figure:数据；人物；图片
all-conquering: 所向无敌的；压倒一切的
staggering: 令人难以相信的
翻译要点：
根据上下文以及语境，对单词的意思进行适当的引申。例如 all-conquering 的字面意思是“所向无敌的；压倒一切的”；在本文，表示的意思是这款软件非常流行，基本上没有什么竞争对手。因此可以翻译成“所向披靡的”
断句：
Microsoft PowerPoint is the world’s most ubiquitous presentation tool. /Some figures suggest that this all-conquering presentation software is installed on more than a billion computers worldwide / and that there may be up to a staggering 30 million PowerPoint presentations created every day.
句段二
原文：
Some users are such passionate devotees they can’t abandon it – even when it comes to managing their free time. So there’s no denying it’s an addictive, powerful tool – but is it past its sell-by-date, as some critics suggest?
参考译文：
有的用户对 PowerPoint 爱不释手 — 甚至使用 PowerPoint 来管理他们的业余时间。不可否认，这的确是一款功能强大、让人上瘾的工具 — 但它是否像一些批评人士所说，已经过了“巅峰期”呢？
重点词汇：
passionate: 热诚的；狂热的；
having or showing strong feelings of enthusiasm for sth or belief in sth
devotee: 爱好者；虔诚的宗教信徒
when it comes to:当提到 xxx 的时候；对于 xxx 的情况
there’s no denying:毫无疑问
sell-by-date: 保质期；最迟销售日期；赏味期限
翻译要点：
1.注意 devotee 的构词法：动词加上 ee（vb+ee）；类似的常见词有：employee；referee；trainee；payee；addressee
2. when it comes to 的字面意思是“当提到 xxx 的时候”，对于 even when it comes to managing their free time 这半句话的翻译，需要根据前半句的意思，灵活地处理 when it comes to 的译文。前半句说了，人们对 PPT 爱不释手，那么 even when it comes to managing their free time 要表达的意思就是说，甚至是在管理他们的空闲时间这个事情上，他们也使用 PPT。
3. sell-by-date 的字面意思是“保质期；最迟销售日期；赏味期限”；但是如果时间简单地引用字面意思，则译文不容易理解。什么叫做 PPT 已经过了“保质期”呢？PPT 软件并不是吃的或者穿的东西，并没有所谓的保质期。因此，要结合上下文挖掘它的引申含义。
断句：
Some users are such passionate devotees they can’t abandon it – even when it comes to managing their free time. /So there’s no denying it’s an addictive, powerful tool – but is it past its sell-by-date, as some critics suggest?
句段三
原文：
It emerged from software company Forethought Inc., a Silicon Valley hothouse, in the 1980s. The program, initially named Presenter, was first released – on the Apple Macintosh – in 1987. Bob Gaskins was the man behind it.
参考译文：
PowerPoint 在上世纪 80 年代诞生于一家名叫 Forethought 的硅谷软件公司。这款软件最早名叫 Presenter，在 1987 年首次面向苹果公司的 Macintosh 电脑发布。发明人是鲍勃·加斯金斯（Bob Gaskins）
重点词汇：
emerge: 浮现；显现；
hothouse: 温室；暖房
behind: 是…产生（或发展）的原因 responsible for starting or developing sth
翻译要点：
1. hothouse 的字面意思是温室；暖房；英语原文使用了比喻的修辞手法。硅谷是很多科技公司的诞生地，因此，这里的 hothouse 的意思可以引申为“公司”
2. 英文里面，介词的表达能力很强大，意思很丰富。比如这里的 behind
断句：
It emerged from software company Forethought Inc., a Silicon Valley hothouse, in the 1980s. /The program, initially named Presenter, was first released – on the Apple Macintosh – in 1987. Bob Gaskins was the man behind it.
句段四
原文：
Gaskins was onto something, but it was a hard sell at the time. The software wouldn’t run on any existing personal computers. Anyone wanting to use it had to buy a new machine.
参考译文：
加斯金斯当时开发了一款软件，但是销路却很不好。这款软件不能兼容当时已有的任何个人电脑。要想使用这款软件，就必须购买一台新电脑。
重点词汇：
be onto something: 想到点儿什么东西；有些想法；懂得; to have information that will help to you make an important discovery
run:运行；运作，操作；
a hard sell: 很难卖的东西
翻译要点：
原文的 buy a new machine，字面意思是购买一台新机器/设备；考虑到这里的语境，machine 只能是电脑的意思。翻译成电脑，更便于读者的阅读以及理解。
断句：
Gaskins was onto something, but it was a hard sell at the time./ The software wouldn’t run on any existing personal computers. Anyone wanting to use it had to buy a new machine.
句段五
原文：
Davies explains that before PowerPoint, people used slides, overhead projectors and acetate films to convey information to groups – but anyone creating a presentation had to send away to get their materials made. It took a long time to do, was difficult to make changes.
参考译文：
戴维斯解释说，在 PowerPoint 出现之前，人们使用幻灯片、投影仪和胶片向观众演示信息 — 但是他们无法自己制作展示文档，必须把材料外发请人制作。这要花费很长时间，而且修改文档也很麻烦。
重点词汇：
slide:幻灯片；A slide is a small piece of photographic film which you project onto a screen so that you can see the picture. eg.: a slide show.
overhead projector:投影仪
acetate film:胶片
convey: 表达，传递（思想、感情等）to make ideas, feelings, etc. known to sb
send away: 把…送到远处
翻译要点：
1. 有些同学可能从来没有见过老式的幻灯机，投影仪。那么在翻译中，遇到类似的名词，可能就拿不准具体是什么意思，如何翻译。这种情况下，可以利用搜索引擎检索相关的图片，来帮助理解。
2. send away 的字面意思是“把…送到远处”。英语原文写作不规范，没有给出宾语。根据上下文，可以理解，是把自己的需要做幻灯片的需求以及素材发送出去，比如照片，打印出来的报表等，然后再让专业的认识做成幻灯片。这个意思，也能从 to get their materials made 看出来。
断句：
Davies explains that before PowerPoint, people used slides, overhead projectors and acetate films to convey information to groups –/ but anyone creating a presentation had to send away to get their materials made. It took a long time to do, was difficult to make changes.
句段六
原文：
But while PowerPoint revolutionised and democratised the way we work, it also had another unexpected result. Around the same time as PowerPoint was gaining popularity, middle management was becoming massively criticised, says Matthew Fuller, professor of cultural studies at Goldsmiths at the University of London.
参考译文：
然而，虽然 PowerPoint 极大地改变了人们的工作方式并给予人们自主权，但也产生了意想不到的结果。伦敦大学金史密斯学院文化研究教授马修·富勒（Matthew Fuller）表示，大约就在 PowerPoint 受到追捧的同时，中层管理人员则备受批评。
重点词汇：
while:尽管 revolutionise: 彻底改变；变革
democratise: 使民主化；使 xxx 变得大众化
management: 经营者；管理部门/人员；the people who run and control a business or similar organization
翻译要点：
1. democratise: 的字面意思是“使民主化；使 xxx 变得大众化”。根据上下文可以得知，在 PPT 出现之前，人们制作幻灯片演示文档非常困难，而且成本很高。普通的员工或者中低层的管理人员，很难使用上幻灯片。而 PPT 的出现，使幻灯片变得普及，普通人员也能使用。
2. management 在和表示职位级别的词放在一起的时候，通常表示管理人员，管理层的意思，例如 senior management；middle management
断句：
But while PowerPoint revolutionised and democratised the way we work, it also had another unexpected result. /Around the same time as PowerPoint was gaining popularity, middle management was becoming massively criticised, says Matthew Fuller, professor of cultural studies at Goldsmiths at the University of London.
句段七
原文：
Fuller suggests there’s a connection: because PowerPoint let more people share their ideas, it exposed the failings of middle management and inadvertently led to an exodus of people from these roles, he says. “Perhaps their ideas could be seen for the trivia they were, to some extent.”
参考译文：
富勒认为，这之间有一定的联系：由于 PowerPoint 让更多人可以分享自己的想法，所以暴露了中层管理人员的缺点，而且无意间导致担任这些职位的人大批离职。"从某种程度上讲，他们的想法会因为他们未能身居高位而受到忽视。"他说。
重点词汇：
failing:缺点
inadvertently: 无意地；不经意地
exodus: （大批人同时）离开
to some extent: 在一定程度上；从某种程度上讲；从某种程度来讲
be seen for:被视作
翻译要点：
这段话的最后一句 Perhaps their ideas could be seen for the trivia they were, to some extent.的翻译是个难点。要理解并翻译好这句话，be seen for 是个关键的词组。
下面是一个类似的用法：By what he told people and sheerly by what he radiated, he caused structures of power to be seen for what they truly were.通过他的话语，与他所散发出来的特质，世人看到了权力结构的真相。
根据这个类似的用法，从而可以更好地把握最后一句话的意思：相对于之前已经熟练使用幻灯片的公司的高级管理人员，中层管理人员人轻言微，因此，当他们也用上幻灯片的时候，人们就很容易聚焦于他们的 PPT 文档中的一些细枝末节，放大他们的缺点，而对于他们的 PPT 文档所要展示的想法，却并不怎么关
断句：
Fuller suggests there’s a connection: because PowerPoint let more people share their ideas, it exposed the failings of middle management and inadvertently led to an exodus of people from these roles, he says./ “Perhaps their ideas could be seen for the trivia they were, to some extent.”
句段八
原文：
PowerPoint has empowered us – bringing creativity into offices and classrooms and has helped turn us all into presenters – but it’s also been accused of over-simplifying ideas and distracting us from clear thinking.
参考译文：
PowerPoint 赋予我们力量 — 给办公室和教室带来了创造力，并且把我们都变成了演示者 — 但也有人批评它过度简化想法，令我们无法集中于清晰的思维方式。
重点词汇：
empower: 授权；给（某人）权力；增加（某人的）自主权
over-simplify:过度简化
distract: 转移（注意力）；分散（思想）；使分心
翻译要点：
这段话的理解以及翻译没有什么难点。主要是注意 but it’s also been accused of…这部分的译文，句式要根据中文的阅读和写作习惯进行调整，让句子的衔接更顺畅。
断句：
PowerPoint has empowered us – bringing creativity into offices and classrooms and has helped turn us all into presenters – /but it’s also been accused of over-simplifying ideas and distracting us from clear thinking.