1. 他讨厌繁文缛节。
   He hated red tape.
2. 澳大利亚的合资企业由于政府的繁文缛节而被耽搁。
   The Australian joint venture has be hold up by government red tape.
3. 我觉得这种场合的繁文缛节十分讨厌。
   I found the formality of the occasion irritating.

其实red tape的意思是“官僚习气、繁文缛节”。这个说法源自用红色或粉红色的带子捆扎公文的习俗。

Management allowed engineers to take equipment home whenever they needed to, withouthaving to go through a lot of red tape. 

管理层允许工程师在他们需要的任何时候把设备带回家而不需要通过任何繁文缛节。