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As his health deteriorated throughout the summer, Jobs slowly began to face the inevitable: He would not be returning to Apple as CEO.
随着整个夏天健康状况不断恶化，乔布斯开始慢慢地面对一个不可回避的现实：他不会再回苹果做CEO了。
So it was time for him to resign.
他辞职的时间到了。
He wrestled with the decision for weeks, discussing it with his wife, Bill Campbell, Jony Ive, and George Riley.
他为这个决定斟酌了几个星期，其间跟他妻子、比尔·坎贝尔、乔尼·艾弗和乔治·莱利都讨论过这个问题。
"One of the things I wanted to do for Apple was to set an example of how you do a transfer of power right," he told me.
“我期望为苹果做的事情之一，就是为如何正确地移交权力做出一个榜样。”他告诉我。
He joked about all the rough transitions that had occurred at the company over the past thirty-five years.
他拿公司过去35年间历次艰难的过渡开着玩笑。
"It's always been a drama, like a third-world country.
“一直都是惊天动地的，像是在第三世界国家一样。
Part of my goal has been to make Apple the world's best company, and having an orderly transition is key to that."
我的一个目标就是把苹果建设成全球最好的公司，一个有序的过渡对此非常关键。”
The best time and place to make the transition, he decided, was at the company's regularly scheduled August 24 board meeting.
他决定作出这一过渡的最佳时机和地点就是8月24日公司董事会的例会。
He was eager to do it in person, rather than merely send in a letter or attend by phone, so he had been pushing himself to eat and regain strength.
他非常想亲自到场宣布，而不是发封电子邮件或电话接入会议，所以之前他一直强迫自己吃东西以恢复体力。
The day before the meeting, he decided he could make it, but he needed the help of a wheelchair.
会议前一天，他决定可以参加，但是需要轮椅的帮助。
Arrangements were made to have him driven to headquarters and wheeled to the boardroom as secretly as possible.
公司作好安排，把他接到总部，然后尽量秘密地用轮椅把他推到董事会的会议室。
He arrived just before 11 a.m., when the board members were finishing committee reports and other routine business.
他在11点前到达，董事会正在收尾各种委员会报告和其他例行事宜。
Most knew what was about to happen.
大多数人都知道要发生什么事情。
But instead of going right to the topic on everyone's mind,
但是大家并没有直人主题，
Tim Cook and Peter Oppenheimer, the chief financial officer, went through the results for the quarter and the projections for the year ahead.
而是由蒂姆·库克和首席财务官彼得·奥本海默先介绍了本季度业绩和未来一年的展望。
Then Jobs said quietly that he had something personal to say.
之后乔布斯平静地说，他有些个人的事情要宣布。
Cook asked if he and the other top managers should leave, and Jobs paused for more than thirty seconds before he decided they should.
库克问，自己和其他高管是否应该离开，乔布斯停顿了30多秒钟，最后决定让他们离开。
Once the room was cleared of all but the six outside directors, he began to read aloud from a letter he had dictated and revised over the previous weeks.
会议室里只剩下6位外部董事，他开始大声朗读由他口授写成并反复修改了几星期的一封信。
"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know," it began. "Unfortunately, that day has come."
“我总是说，假如某天自己无法继续履行苹果CEO的义务、无法满足大家对这一职位的期待，我会第一个告诉你们，”信这样开头。“不幸的是，这一天来了。”
The letter was simple, direct, and only eight sentences long.
这封信的内容简单直接，只有8个句子。
In it he suggested that Cook replace him, and he offered to serve as chairman of the board.
信中，他建议由库克接替他，并提出自己继续担任董事会主席。
"I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role."
“我相信苹果最灿烂最有创造力的日子还在前面。我期待着以一个新的角色注视着它的成功，并为之作出贡献。”
There was a long silence. Al Gore was the first to speak, and he listed Jobs's accomplishments during his tenure.
现场长时间的沉默。阿尔·戈尔第一个讲话，他历数了乔布斯在任期间的种种成就。
Mickey Drexler added that watching Jobs transform Apple was "the most incredible thing I've ever seen in business,"
米基·德雷克斯勒补充说，看着乔布斯对苹果的变革是“我在商界看到的最不可思议的事情”，
and Art Levinson praised Jobs's diligence in ensuring that there was a smooth transition.
亚瑟·莱文森称赞了乔布斯为平稳过渡作出的努力。
Campbell said nothing, but there were tears in his eyes as the formal resolutions transferring power were passed.
坎贝尔什么都没说，但在移交权力的正式决议通过后，他眼睛里闪着泪光。
