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.

电话接线员不可能从世界领导人那里听到像是“你好，我能和总统讲话吗？”这样冒失的请求的。

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.

在元首们互相寒暄之前，各方的工作人员要做好准备工作。

"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.

前美国副总统迪克.切尼的副国家安全顾问史蒂芬.耶茨表示，“如果两国建立了外交关系，那么元首间通电话可能就和战情室的通话一样简单，可以说我国领导人希望和贵国领导人通话。”

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.

当两国接触不频繁时，一国大使可能会代表本国领导人首先提出正式请求。他们将提出议程安排和通话理由，如果获得同意的话，双方团队就会将通话排进繁忙的日程表。

A helping hand for big issues and small talk

重大问题和闲谈都需要助手

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

世界领导人在互相交谈之前通常都详细了解了情况。

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，为总统提供相关材料的是国家安全委员会，这是美国国家安全和外交政策的主要咨询机构。

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.

如果只是简单的问候电话，可能需要提供的基本信息包括通话发起人是谁以及两三个建议的话题。有时也可能要了解一些个人信息，例如，如果对方丈夫或妻子生病了，需要提醒本国元首问候一下。

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

如果通话话题很敏感，国家安全委员会将为总统额外提供一份简报，然后在总统旁边听他们通话。

Are we alone now?

现在只有我们吗？

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

通常会有很多人在世界领导人对话时在旁边听着，其中包括总统助手和翻译。

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

即使领导人能够流利地说另一种语言，他们也会在正式的通话中使用母语。

"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.

前白宫语言专家凯文.亨德尔表示，“这关系到民族自豪感，也是为了避免误解，同时保留语言中的细微差别。”

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.

美国总统的翻译在获准接触高层外交中的敏感信息之前，必须通过安全审查、背景调查，甚至还包括谎言测试。

"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."

亨德尔称，“为总统工作的没有新手，一名翻译要经过很久才能做到这个级别。他们是这方面的专家，他们很清楚差之毫厘，谬以千里。”

'I am Hillary Clinton, honestly, I am'

“我真的是希拉里。”

"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.

耶茨称，“对比过侯任总统在交接期间的通话过程和成为总统后的通话后，你会发现两者完全没有可比性。”

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

一旦特朗普坐上这个责任重大的位置，他所有的通话都将高度保密、严加审查。

"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.

“总统会觉得他刚接起的电话和所有电话一样，但这通电话的真实性将会得到多次确认。”

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

有时，这个审查程序可能过于严格，以至于会挂错电话。国务卿希拉里曾在2010年的一封电邮中愤怒地写道：“我正在和不相信我是谁的白宫电话接线员吵架。”

Presidents get pranked, too

总统们也会被整

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

总统很少收到恶作剧电话，但也不是没有。

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

西班牙首相马里亚诺.拉霍伊今年一月就上当受骗了，当时一个电台主持人模仿加泰罗尼亚的分离主义新领导人打电话给他。

In 2003, a US radio station based in Miami scored the double, when it tricked both the then Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his close ally, the former leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro.

2003年，迈阿密的美国电台更加厉害，他们同时骗到了时任委内瑞拉总统乌戈.查韦斯和他的亲密盟友前古巴领导人菲德尔.卡斯特罗。

Radio El Zol first called Chavez, pretending to be Castro, and then called Castro masquerading as Chavez. When the Cuban realised he had been tricked, he unleashed a torrent of swearwords.

El ZOL电台首先假扮卡斯特罗给查韦斯打电话，然后冒充查维斯打给卡斯特罗。当卡斯特罗意识到自己被骗之后，他破口大骂。

The hotline that is not a phone

热线电话不是一部电话

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-华盛顿热线通常被称为“红色电话”，它是允许美俄领导人直接沟通的高度安全的特殊系统。

"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.

上世纪80年代曾担任高级技术语言专家的凯文.亨德尔解释道，“与传说不同，实际上热线电话不是一部电话。”

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.

1962年古巴导弹危机让美俄两国走向了核战争的边缘，此后，两国开通了这条用于发送文字和图像（地图，图表等）的专线。

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.

“热线电话”是在必要情况下可以进行即时通信的开放渠道。 亨德尔说：“因为涉及到核导弹时，一切都是按分钟计算的。”