No doubt we soon will move beyond the rudimentary apps and computer programs that help us bumble through communication with speakers of languages we don’t know well.

不成熟的应用程序和计算机程序帮助我们使用自己不太懂的语言勉强交流。毫无疑问，我们很快就会对这些程序升级。

The mistakes created using today’s programs are epic, and the risks are increased exponentially by slang or regional expressions.

当下的应用程序出现的翻译错误犹如史诗般壮观，而且俚语和方言表达将会使错误风险呈指数倍增。

rudimentary: /ˌrudəˈmɛntəri / 发育不完全的

bumble: /ˈbʌmbəl / 犯错误; 杂乱无章地说; 笨拙地进行

epic: /ˈɛpɪk/ 史诗般的；宏大的

exponentially: /ˌekspə'nenʃəlɪ/ 以指数方式地

Marketing is where translation can turn into hilarity or even failure for a business.

在销售领域，翻译可以成为笑料，或者甚至导致生意失败。

One example that has always given me a chuckle is Colgate, the name of a famous toothpaste produced by a US giantconsumer products company, Colgate-Palmolive.

一直总是让我发笑的例子是著名牙膏高露洁，它由美国一家大型消费品公司高露洁棕榄生产。

The toothpaste is also marketed in Latin America, which for the most part raises no eyebrows. But in some parts of South America, especially in Argentina and Uruguay, a nonstandard verb form is used that turns the name of the toothpaste into “Go hang yourself”.

高露洁牙膏也在拉丁美洲市场销售，这里的绝大部分地区是不会出现问题。但是在南美洲的一些地区，尤其是阿根廷和乌拉圭，由于使用不标准的动词形式，使得牙膏的名字变成了“Go hang yourself（吊死自己）”。

The Coca-Cola Co explains on its website that when the company began selling their flagship soft drink in China in 1927, they found shopkeepers had used a variety of Chinese characters that sounded like the brand — without considering the meaning. One meant “female horse fastened with wax,” and another, “bite the wax tadpole”. A myth grew that the company had used those names, it says.

可口可乐公司在其网站上解释说，1927年，当公司开始在中国销售招牌软饮时，他们发现店主们使用了听起来像品牌的各种各样的汉字，并不考虑其含义。一种是“骒马口蜡”，另一种是“蝌蝌啃蜡”。据称，可口可乐公司还曾使用了这些名字。

flagship: /ˈflæɡˌʃɪp/ 旗舰

tadpole: /ˈtædpoʊl / 蝌蝌