PBS高端访谈:如何决定商家何时开业

JUDY WOODRUFF: As cities and states struggle to find the right balance between reopening and keeping people safe, the weight of those decisions fall squarely on small business owners. According to a new survey that the Census¹ Bureau is taking weekly, almost half of small business owners say that the coronavirus is having a large negative impact on their business. Shops that are not considered essential have had to close. Anna Kahoe owns a furniture and clothing store in Washington, D.C. And, tonight, she shares her Humble² Opinion on determining when is the right time to open back up.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：在许多州和城市都还在努力寻找重新开放和保证安全的平衡时，这些决策的重量实实在在地落在了小企业老板的身上。根据人口统计局每周展开的一项新调查，近半数小企业老板都说新冠对他们的企业产生了负面影响。非必要企业都不能开业。安娜在华盛顿特区有一家家具服装店。今晚，她分享了对于判断开业何时时机的看法。

ANNA KAHOE, Owner, GoodWood: On March 15, I began tumbling down the staircase of grief. We closed our shop for what we thought would be two weeks to flatten³ the curve. I was in denial. I didn't know we would lose our employees, that we would ask our landlord for help, that I would yell like a banshee at the bank because they ran out of funds before they reached our loan application. I bargained. If we paint, move fixtures⁴ and deep-clean the shop, we'd come back better than ever. Now, while states lift stay-at-home orders, I am scared. We want to open, but at what cost? I'm now on the bottom step known as acceptance, asking, why, in the throes of a global pandemic, does my business matter? There is no model that illustrates⁵ the intimate ways small businesses form the backbone⁶ of our communities. See, it happens when someone comes out of the dressing⁷ room, twirling like a child at their first recital⁸. Finally they have a dress that allows them to see themselves as they truly are. I can't believe how good this looks on me, they say. Or a gentleman of a certain age who comes by daily. He always reports which art exhibits are a must-see. He says our shop is a part of a ritual that keeps him healthy. These days, I wake up traumatized. I know it's not going back to normal. It's unlikely I will be able to rehire our staff. Best-case scenario⁹, it will be me, my husband, abbreviated¹⁰ hours and a handful of customers. I am not sure what happens when you go from full speed to full stop, then to puttering along. I don't have a job I can work from home. I want to look my customer in the eye, shake their hand, even hug them. Walking to my shop, I pass shops whose owners I know. I say a prayer, See you on the other side. I have to figure out how to climb back up the steps of my shuttered shop, because there is nothing small about small business.

安娜，优质木材的老板：3月15日，我开始饱尝难受之苦。我们关店了，本以为2周后曲线就能曲平。我不肯接受现实。我不知道我会失去一些员工，也不知道会求助于房东，也不知道自己会疯了般向银行大喊大叫，只因银行在收到我们的贷款申请前就用光了资金。我据理力争。我说如果我们刷漆、移动设备、深度清理店子，就能比以往任何时候都要好。现在，虽然很多州还没有解封，我也很害怕。我们想重新开业，代价是什么呢？我已经走到了妥协的境地，我问：在疫情席卷全球之际，我的企业开不开张对大家有什么影响吗？没有任何模型表明小企业以密不可分的方式组成了社群的脊梁。这会在某人从更衣室里出来，在第一次朗诵会上像孩子一样转圈的时候发生。他们最终有一条连衣裙，允许他们看到自己真正的样子。他们说，我无法相信这在我看来有多美好。或者每天都来的某个年龄的绅士。他总是会告诉大家哪些艺术展是必看的。他说我们的商店是他流程的一部分，来我们店里会让他保持健康。近来，我如梦初醒，心里很难受。我知道不会恢复正常了。我知道自己不可能重新雇回我的员工们了。最好的情况也是我和我丈夫缩短工作时间，而且开店期间也只有门可罗雀的顾客。我不知道从火力全开到戛然而止再到无所事事会发生什么。我没有工作，我可以在家工作。但我想看到顾客们的眼睛、跟他们握手甚至拥抱他们。在去商店的路上，我经过了一些商店，这些商店的老板我都认识。我会默默祈祷，希望在另一边能看到他们。我不知道如何让我摇摇欲坠的商店重新回到以往的样子，因为小企业来说，疫情影响很大。

JUDY WOODRUFF: Anna Kahoe, we thank you. And we wish you and all the small business owners well.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：安娜，谢谢你的分享，希望你和所有小企业的老板都一切安好。

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。

4 fixtures   

（房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动

参考例句：

• The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
• The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了，钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

6 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

7 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

8 recital   

n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会

参考例句：

• She is going to give a piano recital.她即将举行钢琴独奏会。
• I had their total attention during the thirty-five minutes that my recital took.在我叙述的35分钟内，他们完全被我吸引了。

9 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

10 abbreviated   

adj. 简短的，省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He abbreviated so much that it was hard to understand his article. 他的文章缩写词使用太多，令人费解。
• The United States of America is commonly abbreviated to U.S.A.. 美利坚合众国常被缩略为U.S.A.。