In 1956, during a diplomatic reception in Moscow, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev told Western Bloc ambassadors, "My vas pokhoronim!"
1956年，赫鲁晓夫在莫斯科接见西方诸国大使时如此说道："My vas pokhoronim！"
His interpreter rendered that into English as, "We will bury you!"
译员把这句话翻译成“我要埋葬你们！”
This statement sent shockwaves through the Western world,
这句话引起西方世界的一片哗然，
heightening the tension between the Soviet Union and the US who were in the thick of the Cold War.
美俄本就处在冷战白热化阶段，如此一来局势更为紧张。
Some believe this incident alone set East/West relations back a decade.
有人认为仅此次事件就让美俄关系倒退10年。
As it turns out, Khrushchev's remark was translated a bit too literally.
后来人们发现，这句话的翻译太拘泥于原文。
Given the context, his words should have been rendered as, "We will live to see you buried,"
结合上下文，这句话应该译成“我们会亲眼看着你们被埋葬”，
meaning that Communism would outlast Capitalism, a less threatening comment.
意思是共产主义会比资本主义长久，这样一来威胁意味就没有那么强烈。
Though the intended meaning was eventually clarified,
虽然赫鲁晓夫这句话的本意最终得以澄清，
the initial impact of Khrushchev's apparent words put the world on a path that could have led to nuclear armageddon.
但最初字面意思所造成的影响，险些导致世界核武器大决战。
So now, given the complexities of language and cultural exchange, how does this sort of thing not happen all the time?
既然语言和文化交流如此复杂，那为何此类事件没有经常发生？
Much of the answer lies with the skill and training of interpreters to overcome language barriers.
答案在于译员经受训练并运用技巧克服语言障碍。
For most of history, interpretation was mainly done consecutively, with speakers and interpreters making pauses to allow each other to speak.
古往今来，翻译是以交替传译为主，演讲者和译员时不时停下来让对方发言。
But after the advent of radio technology, a new simultaneous interpretations system was developed in the wake of World War II.
无线电技术诞生后，前所未有的同传体系在二战中建立起来。
