美国国家公共电台 NPR--The story of a war, a wedding dress and a business opportunity

The story of a war, a wedding dress and a business opportunity

Transcript¹

The Russian invasion is destroying much of Ukraine's economy. In some cases, however, companies that adapted are not just surviving but thriving.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Now we're going to hear the story of a war, a wedding dress and an opportunity. Here's NPR's Eleanor Beardsley.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE²: This story begins with a Ukrainian wedding dress bought by an American bride living in Dublin. Nona Griffin says she first fell in love with the dress online.

NONA GRIFFIN: And then I went into the store and tried it on and just was like, yes, this is the dress. Just, like, the details are just really special.

BEARDSLEY: Griffin had brought her mom along, who wanted to make sure the dress wasn't made in China. That's when they found out it was from Ukraine. It was the last week of December.

GRIFFIN: She was like, I don't know what we're going to do if Russia invades Ukraine. The dress shop owner was like, that's not going to happen. Like, you're crazy basically. And we just kind of laughed it off.

BEARDSLEY: Griffin says she was seized with guilt³ when the invasion did happen. She felt superficial for worrying about whether she'd get her dress on time when Ukrainians were fighting a war.

YANA BASHMAKOVA: It's normal. It's the - only one day in the life of the bride. And it's very important to receive the dress in time, so we understand everything.

(SOUNDBITE OF BABY COOING)

BEARDSLEY: That's wedding dress designer Yana Bashmakova, who - along with her husband Alexander Marandyuk and baby Adam - runs a dressmaking business in the Ukrainian town of Chernivtsi, once a hub of wedding dress makers⁴.

(SOUNDBITE OF SEWING MACHINE HUMMING)

BEARDSLEY: At their factory workshop in this town near the Romanian border, seamstresses lean over tables piled with white satin and lace. Sewing machines hum. The couple's company, Giovanna Alessandro, an Italianized combination of their first names, exports all over the world.

ALEXANDER MARANDYUK: Africa, South America, Europe, Asia, China.

BEARDSLEY: That wasn't always the case. When they founded the company in 2009, the former Soviet⁵ Union was their market. That changed in 2014, the year of the Maidan Uprising in Kyiv, where Ukrainians ousted⁶ their pro-Kremlin president. Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by annexing⁷ Crimea and fomenting⁸ a separatist revolt in Ukraine's Donbas region.

MARANDYUK: (Speaking Ukrainian).

BEARDSLEY: Marandyuk says Russia spread propaganda about Ukraine becoming fascist⁹. He says their Russian clients became aggressive, asking them about Nazis¹⁰. The couple says that's when this war really began. Bashmakova remembers going to a bridal show in Moscow in 2015 and how difficult things were, like checking into her hotel.

BASHMAKOVA: When I give my Ukrainian passport, I can stay there three hours, waiting for my key or the room number or something like...

BEARDSLEY: The Russian ruble also crumbled¹¹ in 2014, making their Ukrainian dresses too expensive. The couple pulled out of 88 of their 90 Russian stores and decided¹² to pivot¹³ to the West. It wasn't easy. Their cheaper fabrics¹⁴ and glued-on beads¹⁶ didn't cut it. Another problem - name recognition.

MARANDYUK: (Speaking Ukrainian).

BEARDSLEY: No one knew where or even what Ukraine was. Marandyuk says now they source quality fabrics, and every bead¹⁵ is sewn by hand. He says each dress is a couture creation priced lower than Western designers. Diana Lupascu, who's originally from Romania, is the owner of the Dublin shop where American bride Griffin got her dress. Lupascu says Ukrainian designers are unique.

DIANA LUPASCU: There is a big, big, now, interest in Ukrainian designers. And we seen how beautiful, comparing to other designers, the Ukrainian are working in our shop.

BEARDSLEY: The full-on Russian invasion this winter stunned¹⁷ these Chernivtsi dressmakers, and they closed, but only for a week. Seventy percent of their employees who fled returned. Today, they're operating at full steam in a post-COVID wedding boom, turning out 350 dresses a month. Bashmakova says they're working for more than their own success.

BASHMAKOVA: That's why we are not leaving. We are not leaving our production, our manufacturing to another country - to Poland or Romania. We are staying in Ukraine. We will build our economy.

BEARDSLEY: And now, she laughs, everyone knows Ukraine.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Chernivtsi, Ukraine.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

7 annexing   

并吞( annex的现在分词 )； 兼并； 强占； 并吞（国家、地区等）

参考例句：

• In addition to annexing territory, they exacted huge indemnities. 割地之外，又索去了巨大的赔款。
• He succeeded in annexing all the property of Hindley's and the Linton's. 他成功的占有了亨得利和林顿的所有财产。

8 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

10 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

14 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

15 bead   

n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠

参考例句：

• She accidentally swallowed a glass bead.她不小心吞下了一颗玻璃珠。
• She has a beautiful glass bead and a bracelet in the box.盒子里有一颗美丽的玻璃珠和手镯。

16 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

17 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。