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国和印度用柳木制成的。
A bat is the long stick cricket players use to hit the ball .
球拍是板球运动员用来击球的长棍。
The bats from India are in especially high demand .
印度生产的球拍需求尤其旺盛。
That is because they are much less costly than the English bats .
这是因为它们比英国球拍便宜得多。
Bats from India cost between $50 and $500 , while the ones made in England cost three to four times more .
印度球拍的价格在50美元到500美元之间，而英国制造的要贵三到四倍。
The bat factories are in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir and they employ about 100,000 people .
这些球拍厂位于印度控制的克什米尔地区，雇用了约10万人。
The area makes about 3 million bats each year .
该地区每年生产约300万支球拍。
The factories have customers in 125 countries .
这些工厂的客户遍及125个国家。
The cricket bat business brings in about $12 million to the Indian economy .
板球拍产业为印度经济带来约1200万美元的收入。
The Kashmir bats make up about 70 percent of the world market because of their lower cost .
克什米尔球拍因价格较低，占据了全球市场约百分之七十的份额。
Many of the area's factories , however , have closed because of a serious lack of willow trees .
然而，由于柳树严重短缺，该地区许多工厂已经关闭。
As Indian-made bats became more popular around the world , more and more willow trees were cut down .
随着印度制造的球拍在全球越来越受欢迎，越来越多的柳树被砍伐。
New willow trees were not planted to replace them .
人们没有种植新的柳树来补充。
Wood farmers chose to grow different kinds of wood that grow more quickly than willow trees .
木材种植户选择种植比柳树长得更快的其他树种。
He is one of the skilled workers involved in making cricket bats .
他是参与制作板球拍的熟练工人之一。
He takes a piece of willow and cuts it with a motorized saw .
他拿起一块柳木，用电锯切割。
He then passes it on to another worker for the next part of the bat-making process .
然后他把木块交给另一名工人，进行制拍流程的下一步。
Dar followed his father into the business when he was a young man .
达尔年轻时就跟随父亲进入了这一行。
He told VOA that , for the first time , he is worried about losing his job .
他告诉美国之音，他第一次担心自己会失业。
“In the last couple of years ,” he said , “bat production has decreased .”
他说：“最近这几年，球拍产量下降了。”
He said about six workers recently lost their jobs at his factory .
他说，最近他所在的工厂约有六名工人失业。
On the main highway that connects Kashmir with the main part of India , there are 400 cricket bat factories .
在连接克什米尔与印度本土的主要公路沿线，有400家板球拍工厂。
Drivers see the pieces of willow trees gathered along the road .
司机们能看到路边堆放着一块块柳木。
Fifty of the factories have closed because they do not have the wood they need .
其中有50家工厂因缺乏所需的木材而关闭。
The workers who lose their jobs do not have many other choices for work .
失业的工人没有太多其他工作可选。
Dar said they can become day laborers , work in agriculture or become sand diggers .
达尔说，他们可以去做日薪工、务农或挖沙。
Fayaz Ahmad Dar is president of the Kashmir Cricket Bat Manufacturers Union .
法亚兹·艾哈迈德·达尔是克什米尔板球拍制造商联合会的主席。
He said the willow tree shortage started about five years ago .
他说，柳树短缺大约从五年前开始。
He said the business is almost “extinct due to complete negligence .”
他说，这个行业几乎已经“因为完全无人过问而消亡”。
Area factories , he said , receive just half the supply they used to .
他说，当地工厂收到的木材只有过去的一半。
Wood from those trees can be used in making plywood , which is used in the building industry .
这些树的木材可以用来制造建筑业使用的胶合板。
Those trees grow faster and their wood can be sold sooner .
这些树长得更快，木材也能更早卖出。
The willow trees grow more slowly .
柳树则长得比较慢。
Ahmad Dar said he has talked with the director of commerce and industries for the Kashmir area .
艾哈迈德·达尔说，他已经和克什米尔地区的工商主管谈过。
He told her about cricket's growth around the world and how important the area's factories are for the sport .
他向她介绍了板球在全球的发展，以及当地工厂对这项运动有多重要。
After the meeting , the Sher-e-Kashmir University's department of agriculture sent the bat manufacturers 1,500 small willow trees to plant .
会面后，谢尔-克什米尔大学农业系给球拍制造商送去了1500棵柳树苗种植。
Ahmad Dar , however , said that was not nearly enough .
不过，艾哈迈德·达尔说，这远远不够。
The bat-makers need many more trees than that .
球拍制造商需要的树木远不止这些。
He said just one bat company needs the wood from 10,000 to 15,000 trees each year in order to meet demand .
他说，单单一家球拍公司每年就需要1万到1.5万棵树的木材才能满足需求。