Four years ago, Tim Cook became the first CEO of a major company to come out as gay. He says he’s happy about that distinction — and his decision.

　　四年前，蒂姆.库克成为第一个公开同性恋身份的大型公司首席执行官。他说，很高兴自己做出了这样的决定。

　　I’m very proud of it, the Apple (AAPL) CEO told Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday in an exclusive interview for her program on CNN International and PBS. Being gay is "God’s greatest gift to me," he said.

　　“我非常自豪，”这位苹果公司的首席执行官周三在接受美国有线电视新闻网国际频道和美国公共广播公司节目独家采访时对克里斯蒂安.阿曼普尔说，身为同性恋是“上帝赐予我的最好礼物”。

　　Cook came out on October 30, 2014. His sexual orientation had been widely rumored beforehand though he had not confirmed it publicly.

　　库克于2014年10月30日出柜。尽管之前他没有公开证实自己的性取向，但他的同性恋取向已被广泛谣传。

　　I was public because I started to receive stories from kids who read online that I was gay, he told Amanpour.

　　他告诉阿曼普尔：“我之所以公开是因为我开始收到一些孩子的询问，说他们在网上读到我是同性恋的故事。”

　　He said the emails and letters came from children who said they had been ostracized, bullied or abused because of their sexual orientation.

　　他说，这些电子邮件和信件来自同性恋儿童，他们说他们因为性取向而遭到排斥、欺凌或虐待。

　　Cook said he is a private person but ultimately decided that he was being "selfish" by keeping quiet about his identity when he could help people by coming out.

　　库克说，他是一个注重隐私的人，但最终他还是认为自己是“自私的”。因为当他可以发声帮助别人出柜时，他对自己的身份保持了沉默。

　　I needed to do something for them, Cook said. He wanted to demonstrate to gay children that they "can be gay and still go on and do some big jobs in life."

　　“我需要为他们做点什么，”库克说。他想向同性恋儿童证明，他们“可以是同性恋，但仍可以继续做一些重要的工作。”

　　Cook said he was shocked that he was the first out CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He said he is glad other CEOs have come out since, although that wasn’t his goal.

　　库克说，他很震惊自己是《财富》500强公司第一位公开出柜的首席执行官。他说，尽管这不是他的目的，但他很高兴自从他出柜后，以后其他CEO相继出柜了。

　　Coming out has also helped Cook as a leader, he said.

　　出柜也让库克成为一名同性恋领袖。

　　I learned what it was like to be a minority, Cook told CNN. "The feeling of being in a minority gives you a level of empathy for other people who are not in the majority."

　　库克在接受美国有线电视新闻网采访时表示： “我明白了成为少数人的感觉。处于少数群体的感觉让你对其他不占多数的人产生了一定程度的同情。”

　　Prejudicial comments have also given him a thick skin, Cook said.

　　库克说，偏见的言论也使他无所畏惧。

　　That turns out to be pretty beneficial from this role as well.

　　“事实证明，这一角色也对我很有帮助。”