The Problem 问题
　　One of our most important suppliers is extremely difficult. I thought I was forwarding a particularly tiresome e-mail from her to a colleague and headed my message "VILE BITCH" followed by a string of (actually not unreasonable) criticism. Tragically, I sent it back to her instead. We need to continue working with her. Oh God, it's so embarrassing and difficult. I need some help.
　　我们最重要的供应商之一是个极难相处的人。我以为自己是在把她的一封特别烦人的电子邮件转发给同事，在标题栏写上了"可恶的泼妇"，然后还写了一串（实际上并非没有道理的）批评。悲惨的是，我没有把邮件发给同事，而是发回给了她。我们需要继续与她合作。天呐！这太难堪了！而且很棘手。我需要帮助。
　　THE ANSWER 回答
　　Oh God, indeed. I know how embarrassing and difficult this is, as I've done it myself. I once mistakenly sent an e-mail to the then editor of the FT in which I cruelly and unfairly parodied a conversation we had just had, making him look weak and dithering. In the split second after I pressed send I aged 10 years. I propelled myself straight into his office and grovelled. In the end, I think he found my beetroot face and pathetic jabbering so dreadful he felt sorry for me.
　　哦，天呐！我知道这有多难堪，多棘手，因为我自己也干过同样的事。我曾将一封电子邮件错发给英国《金融时报》当时的编辑。在那封邮件中，我刻毒而且不公平地模仿了我们刚刚进行的一次谈话，使他看上去既软弱，又优柔寡断。按下发送键后的一瞬间，我老了10岁。我强迫自己走进他的办公室，低声下气地认错。最后，我估计他是觉得我的面红耳赤和可怜巴巴的絮叨是如此可怕，于是反过来开始同情我。
　　In a way your situation is less bad as she isn't your boss (most suppliers can be replaced), though "vile bitch" is a touch extreme and will take some apologising for.
　　在某种程度上，你的情况还没有那么糟糕，因为她不是你的老板（多数供应商是可以替换的），不过"可恶的泼妇"这种说法有些极端，需要为此道歉。
　　Don't dream of doing it via e-mail; pick up the phone and ring the VB herself. Be careful how you do it, though. I detect from the tone of your message a tiny note of glee, as if you think she got what she deserved and the whole thing was hilarious in a gruesome sort of way. Squash those thoughts at once, and get grovelling. There is a (tiny) chance that she will be nice about it, and you'll realise that she isn't such a VB after all.
　　不要妄想通过电子邮件道歉；拿起电话，给"可恶的泼妇"本人打电话，但要小心行事。从你的来信中，我察觉到一丝得意，好像你认为她罪有应得，整件事既可怕又好笑。马上丢掉这些想法，夹起尾巴做人。她有（微小的）可能会善待此事，那么你会意识到，她压根儿就不是一个"可恶的泼妇"。
　　I should warn you against some of the advice below. Don't pretend someone else did it. That will make you look worse. Don't do as some do and send another e-mail with the subject line "VILE BITCH recalled". When I get these I read the original one with greater zeal.
　　我应当警告你，不要听从以下的一些建议。不要假装这件事是别人做的，那会让你看上去更糟。不要像某些人那样，重新发送一封电子邮件，在标题栏写上"收回可恶的泼妇"。如果收到这样一封邮件，我就会对最初那封邮件更上心。
　　And don't use this debacle to start a general discussion about the difficulties in your relationship. Given the hand grenade you've just thrown at it, you should apologise and then take cover and hope that things settle down.
　　另外，不要利用这次意外，对你们关系中的症结发起一场大讨论。鉴于你刚刚投出了手榴弹，你应当道歉，然后躲起来，希望事情可以平息。
　　It goes without saying that you should never do anything like this again. The golden rule is not to send any e-mail unless you would be happy to see it made public. But I sense you gaily disregard this rule daily, as indeed do I. Yours sounds like the sort of organisation where loose communication such as this is part of the culture. I bet you won't ever reform, but at least try to be more careful.
　　不用说，你永远都不该再做类似的事情。不要发送任何你不愿意被公开的电子邮件，这是金科玉律。但我感到，你每天都在快乐地忽略这一点，就像我一样。听起来，这种宽松的沟通方式似乎是你们企业文化的一部分。我打赌你永远也不会对它进行改革，但至少你要更谨慎一些。