動植物名詞的翻譯是翻譯過程中所要面對的諸多問題之一環。大多數譯者只能向英漢詞典中去求解。不幸的是，國內的英漢詞典在這方面可信度不高，翻譯工作者如果不察，貿然據以參考，往往會闖出笑話。舉例來說，green bean是「四季豆」，但常被誤解為「綠豆」(mung bean) ; linden你「根樹」，但在台灣卻被當作「菩提」;oak 1.在「機樹」但被譯成「橡樹」'幾使「機樹」真名不彰;olive與
中國橄欖」，date與「棄子」都是完全不同的植物，卻因誤譯而被以為是相同的 東西。至於動物方面baldeagle (白頭海雕)頭並不禿，卻被譯成「禿鷹」，killer whale(虎鯨)並不吃人，卻被冠以「殺人鯨」的惡名。這樣的例子不勝枚舉。筆 者擬以這方面的問題提出探討，並指出如欲由英文通名查證中文通名，可先透過大學詞典找出學名，再由學名與中文名稱的對照表來找中文通名的辦法以解決這類問題。

When translators have problems rendering an English plant or animal name into Chinese or vice versa， they usually consult an English-Chinese or a Chinese-English dictionary. This paper brings to light the inherent problems in relying on bilingual dictionaries for such a task. The author offers numerous examples of mistakes he has discovered as evidence: green bean as mung bean， linden as pipal， date as jujube， oak as acorn tree， and more comically， killer whale as manslaugter whale， to name just a few examples of inaccurate translation. While dealing with some classical mistakes in translating plant and animal names， the author will present an effective method of cross-reference through the aid of scientific names. Itis hoped that such a method will reduce the imprecise translation of Chinese and English common names for plants and animals and provide a consistent means of translation others can trustfully emulate.