The best cricket bats in the world are made in England and India from willow trees .
世界上最好的板球拍是在英國和印度用柳木製成的。
A bat is the long stick cricket players use to hit the ball .
球拍是板球選手用來擊球的長棍。
The bats from India are in especially high demand .
印度生產的球拍需求尤其旺盛。
That is because they are much less costly than the English bats .
這是因為它們比英國球拍便宜得多。
Bats from India cost between $50 and $500 , while the ones made in England cost three to four times more .
印度球拍的價格在50美元到500美元之間，而英國製造的要貴三到四倍。
The bat factories are in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir and they employ about 100,000 people .
這些球拍廠位於印度控制的喀什米爾地區，僱用了約10萬人。
The area makes about 3 million bats each year .
該地區每年生產約300萬支球拍。
The factories have customers in 125 countries .
這些工廠的客戶遍及125個國家。
The cricket bat business brings in about $12 million to the Indian economy .
板球拍產業為印度經濟帶來約1200萬美元的收入。
The Kashmir bats make up about 70 percent of the world market because of their lower cost .
喀什米爾球拍因價格較低，占據了全球市場約百分之七十的份額。
Many of the area's factories , however , have closed because of a serious lack of willow trees .
然而，由於柳樹嚴重短缺，該地區許多工廠已經關閉。
As Indian-made bats became more popular around the world , more and more willow trees were cut down .
隨著印度製造的球拍在全球越來越受歡迎，越來越多的柳樹被砍伐。
New willow trees were not planted to replace them .
人們沒有種植新的柳樹來補充。
Wood farmers chose to grow different kinds of wood that grow more quickly than willow trees .
木材種植戶選擇種植比柳樹長得更快的其他樹種。
He is one of the skilled workers involved in making cricket bats .
他是參與製作板球拍的熟練工人之一。
He takes a piece of willow and cuts it with a motorized saw .
他拿起一塊柳木，用電鋸切割。
He then passes it on to another worker for the next part of the bat-making process .
然後他把木塊交給另一名工人，進行製拍流程的下一步。
Dar followed his father into the business when he was a young man .
達爾年輕時就跟隨父親進入了這一行。
He told VOA that , for the first time , he is worried about losing his job .
他告訴美國之音，他第一次擔心自己會失業。
“In the last couple of years ,” he said , “bat production has decreased .”
他說：「最近這幾年，球拍產量下降了。」
He said about six workers recently lost their jobs at his factory .
他說，最近他所在的工廠約有六名工人失業。
On the main highway that connects Kashmir with the main part of India , there are 400 cricket bat factories .
在連接喀什米爾與印度本土的主要公路沿線，有400家板球拍工廠。
Drivers see the pieces of willow trees gathered along the road .
司機們能看到路邊堆放著一塊塊柳木。
Fifty of the factories have closed because they do not have the wood they need .
其中有50家工廠因缺乏所需的木材而關閉。
The workers who lose their jobs do not have many other choices for work .
失業的工人沒有太多其他工作可選。
Dar said they can become day laborers , work in agriculture or become sand diggers .
達爾說，他們可以去做臨時工、務農或挖沙。
Fayaz Ahmad Dar is president of the Kashmir Cricket Bat Manufacturers Union .
法亞茲·艾哈邁德·達爾是喀什米爾板球拍製造商聯合會的主席。
He said the willow tree shortage started about five years ago .
他說，柳樹短缺大約從五年前開始。
He said the business is almost “extinct due to complete negligence .”
他說，這個產業幾乎已經「因為完全無人聞問而消亡」。
Area factories , he said , receive just half the supply they used to .
他說，當地工廠收到的木材只有過去的一半。
Wood from those trees can be used in making plywood , which is used in the building industry .
這些樹的木材可以用來製造建築業使用的夾板。
Those trees grow faster and their wood can be sold sooner .
這些樹長得更快，木材也能更早賣出。
The willow trees grow more slowly .
柳樹則長得比較慢。
Ahmad Dar said he has talked with the director of commerce and industries for the Kashmir area .
艾哈邁德·達爾說，他已經和喀什米爾地區的工商主管談過。
He told her about cricket's growth around the world and how important the area's factories are for the sport .
他向她介紹了板球在全球的發展，以及當地工廠對這項運動有多重要。
After the meeting , the Sher-e-Kashmir University's department of agriculture sent the bat manufacturers 1,500 small willow trees to plant .
會面後，謝爾-喀什米爾大學農業系給球拍製造商送去了1500棵柳樹苗種植。
Ahmad Dar , however , said that was not nearly enough .
不過，艾哈邁德·達爾說，這遠遠不夠。
The bat-makers need many more trees than that .
球拍製造商需要的樹木遠不止這些。
He said just one bat company needs the wood from 10,000 to 15,000 trees each year in order to meet demand .
他說，單單一家球拍公司每年就需要1萬到1.5萬棵樹的木材才能滿足需求。