According to the New York Times, US foreign allies "were blindly dialling in to Trump Tower" in the days after the national election.

　　据《纽约时报》报道，在美国大选后的这些日子里，美国的海外盟友们都“不假思索的往特朗普大厦打电话”。

　　Further upset was caused when Mr Trump announced he had spoken directly to the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, even though formal relations between the US and Taiwan were cut almost 40 years ago at China’s behest.

　　当特朗普宣布他和台湾领导人蔡英文通过电话后——尽管由于支持一个中国，美国和台湾已断交40年——这令人不悦。

　　But what is normal procedure for conversations between world leaders? Here are some of the steps taken to smooth out the process and avoid potential pitfalls, from linguistic misunderstandings to prank callers.

　　那么，世界各国领袖之间通电话的正常程序是怎样的?以下是保证通话能顺畅进行所采取的一些步骤，它们还能避免出现从语言不通造成误会到恶作剧电话等各类潜在的外交陷阱。

　　Hi, it’s Putin, is Obama in?

　　嗨，我是普京，奥巴马在吗?

　　"Hello, can I speak to the president?" is not an off-the-cuff request an operator is ever likely to hear from a world leader.

　　电话接线员不太可能有机会从一国领袖那里听到“哈啰，麻烦找一下总统”这样的随意请求。

　　By the time the initial pleasantries are exchanged between heads of state, the groundwork will have been done behind the scenes by the leaders’ respective staff.

　　在两国政府首脑相互寒暄之前，他们各自的团队就已经在幕后做好了铺垫工作。

　　"When there is an established relationship between two countries, it might be as simple as one situation room calling its counterpoint and saying my head of state wants to speak to yours," says Stephen Yates, who worked as deputy national security adviser to former US Vice-President Dick Cheney.

　　曾担任前美国副总统迪克.切尼助理国家安全顾问的叶望辉说， “当两国有已确立的关系时，通话就可能简单到一国的特情室致电给另一国的特情室，说我们的元首想和你们的元首通话。”

　　When countries are in less frequent contact, an ambassador may make the first formal request on their leader’s behalf. They will set out the proposed agenda and reasons for the call and, if agreed, the reciprocal team would then work it into busy schedules.

　　如果两国之间的联系不是那么频繁的话，可能会先由一国大使代表国家领导人提出正式的请求。他们会列出有关的联系日程以及通话原因，如果双方同意，接听一方将会把通话列入忙碌的日程中。

　　A helping hand for big issues and small talk

　　重大问题与简短谈话中的帮手

　　World leaders are typically well briefed before speaking to each other.

　　通常在通话之前，领导人都已经收到了简要的情况汇报。

　　In the US, the president is given a dossier from the National Security Council (NSC), the principal US advisory body on national security and foreign policy.

　　在美国，总统会从国家安全委员会那里得到一份档案汇编，这是美国最要的安全及外交事务顾问部门。

　　If it is a simple courtesy call, the information provided may be basic, including details on who initiated contact, and two or three recommended talking points. There may also be some need-to-know personal information, such as a reminder to ask after a sick husband or wife.

　　如果只是一次简单的礼节性交流，事前所汇报的可能就只是一些基本的信息，包括是谁先提请进行联络，以及两到三个推荐的话题。此外，还可能包括一些需要知道的私人信息，比如提醒总统问候对方最近抱恙在身的丈夫或夫人。

　　If the topic is sensitive, the NSC will offer the president an additional short briefing, and then listen in on the call.

　　如果通话的议题比较敏感，国家安全委员会将会为总统提供一个额外的简报，然后会在通话中旁听。

　　Are we alone now?

　　只有我们俩吗?

　　World leaders usually have various people listening in on their conversations, including aides and interpreters.

　　世界领导人的通话通常都会有很多人旁听，包括副手和翻译等等。

　　Even when leaders speak another language fluently, they often choose to conduct official calls in their mother tongue.

　　哪怕领导人本身能够流利地说另一国的语言，在官方通话中，他们通常使用母语。

　　"Sometimes that is down to national pride, but it’s also to avoid misunderstandings and protect nuance," says Kevin Hendzel, a former White House linguist.

　　“有时候这是一个国家尊严的问题，但是更多的是为了避免误会和保障沟通当中的微妙信息，”前白宫语言顾问凯文.亨塞尔说。

　　US presidential translators will have passed security clearances, background checks and even sat polygraph tests, before they become privy to sensitive information involved in high-level diplomacy.

　　美国总统的翻译必须经过安全调查、背景审核，甚至测谎测试，然后才能获准在高层外交当中有对敏感信息的知情权。

　　"There are no novices that work at the presidential level," says Mr Hendzel. "It takes a great deal of time for an interpreter to reach this stage. They are also experts in the subject matter, and they know getting a form of address wrong can be a deal breaker."

　　“在总统级别的工作中不会有新手存在，”亨塞尔说，“翻译要达到这个级别需要花大量的时间。他们同时还是某些具体议题的专家，并且知道哪怕搞错一个称呼都可能坏事。”

　　I am Hillary Clinton, honestly, I am’

　　“我是希拉里.克林顿，我真的是”

　　"It’s apples and oranges when you are comparing transitional calls by a president-elect to those of a head of state in the Oval Office," says Mr Yates.

　　“如果你把总统当选人在过渡期的电话通话拿来与国家元首在白宫椭圆形办公室的电话做比较，就是在拿苹果和桔子做比较。”叶望辉说。

　　Once Mr Trump is in the hot seat, all his calls will be highly secure and heavily vetted.

　　一旦特朗普坐上了那把交椅，他的所有电话通话都将会是高度加密并且有着重重过滤的。

　　"The president will feel like he has just picked up the phone, like any other call, but the call will have been through multiple checks to ensure its fidelity," says Mr Yates.

　　“总统会感觉好像他只不过是拿起了电话，就像其他电话一样，但是通话是已经通过了多重检查以保证正确性。”叶望辉说。

　　Sometimes this vetting process can be so tight, the wrong people get cut off. "I am fighting w[ith] the WH [White House] operator who doesn’t believe I am who I say," wrote exasperated Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a 2010 email.

　　有时候，这个过滤的过程会严密到把一些不该排除的人排除。前国务卿希拉里.克林顿在2010年的一封电邮当中，就曾气急败坏地写道：“我在和一个白宫接线员争吵，我说我是谁，那个人不信。”

　　Presidents get pranked, too

　　总统也会被玩

　　Prank calls to presidents are rare, but not unheard of.

　　打给元首的恶作剧电话很少见，但也并非从未有过。

　　Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy fell victim to hoax in January, when a radio presenter phoned imitating the new separatist leader of Catalonia.

　　今年1月，西班牙总统马里亚诺.拉霍伊就曾被耍过，当时一个电台主持人打给他，假装自己是加泰罗尼亚的分离派新领袖。

　　Different radio DJs have also fooled Evo Morales, when he was Bolivia’s president-elect in 2005 (pretending to be then Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero), and the Queen (pretending to be Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien in 1995).

　　另一些电台DJ则曾耍过埃沃.莫拉莱斯，当时是2005年，后者是玻利维亚总统当选人，恶作剧者假装是西班牙时任总理何塞.路易斯.罗德里格斯.萨帕特罗。此外，还有人在1995年假装是加拿大总理让.克雷蒂安打给了英女王。

　　The hotline that is not a phone

　　一条不是电话的热线

　　The Moscow-Washington hotline, often referred to the "red telephone", is a special, highly secure system that allows direct communication between the leaders of the United States and Russia.

　　莫斯科与华盛顿之间的热线，常常被称为“红色电话”，是一个特殊的、高度加密的系统，让美国与俄罗斯的领袖进行直接沟通。

　　"Contrary to the myths, it’s not actually a phone," explains Kevin Hendzel, who worked as senior technical linguist on the project in the 1980s.

　　“与外界的讹传不同，它事实上根本不是一个电话，”曾在上世纪80年代担任该项目资深技术语言学家的凯文.亨塞尔说。

　　The line, used to send text and images (maps, diagrams etc), was developed after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when the two countries came close to a nuclear war.

　　那条热线是用来发送文字和图片(地图和图表等)的，它在1962年古巴导弹危机之后开设，当时美苏两国之间差点爆发一场核战争。

　　It remains an open channel, allowing instant communication if needed. "Because when it comes to nuclear missiles, everything is measured in minutes," says Mr Hendzel.

　　它的线路一直以来都是开通的，在必要时可以进行即时沟通。亨塞尔说，“因为在说到核导弹的时候，一切事情都是以分钟计算的。”

（编辑：何莹莹）