2022年12月19日 VOA慢速英語：印度的板球拍業(yè)務(wù)處于危險之中

 

The best cricket bats in the world are made in England and India from willow trees. A bat is the long stick cricket players use to hit the ball.
世界上最好的板球拍是在英國和印度用柳樹制成的。球棒是板球運動員用來擊球的長棍。
 
The bats from India are in especially high demand. That is because they are much less costly than the English bats.
來自印度的球棒需求特別高。那是因為它們比英國蝙蝠成本低得多。
 
Bats from India cost between $50 and $500, while the ones made in England cost three to four times more.
來自印度的球棒需求特別高。那是因為它們比英國蝙蝠成本低得多。
 
The bat factories are in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir and they employ about 100,000 people.
蝙蝠工廠位于印度控制的克什米爾地區(qū)，雇傭了大約 10 萬人。
 
The area makes about 3 million bats each year. The factories have customers in 125 countries. The cricket bat business brings in about $12 million to the Indian economy. The Kashmir bats make up about 70 percent of the world market because of their lower cost.
該地區(qū)每年生產(chǎn)約 300 萬只蝙蝠。這些工廠在 125 個國家/地區(qū)擁有客戶。板球拍業(yè)務(wù)為印度經(jīng)濟帶來了約 1200 萬美元的收入。由于成本較低，克什米爾蝙蝠約占世界市場的 70%。
 
Many of the area's factories, however, have closed because of a serious lack of willow trees.
然而，由于嚴重缺乏柳樹，該地區(qū)的許多工廠已經(jīng)關(guān)閉。
 
As Indian-made bats became more popular around the world, more and more willow trees were cut down. New willow trees were not planted to replace them. Wood farmers chose to grow different kinds of wood that grow more quickly than willow trees.
隨著印度制造的蝙蝠在世界范圍內(nèi)越來越受歡迎，越來越多的柳樹被砍伐。沒有種植新的柳樹來取代它們。林農(nóng)選擇種植比柳樹生長速度更快的不同種類的木材。
 
Mohammad Shafi Dar is 55 years old. He is one of the skilled workers involved in making cricket bats. He takes a piece of willow and cuts it with a motorized saw. He then passes it on to another worker for the next part of the bat-making process.
Mohammad Shafi Dar 今年 55 歲。他是參與制作板球拍的技術(shù)工人之一。他拿起一根柳樹，用電動鋸將其鋸斷。然后，他將其交給另一名工人，以進行蝙蝠制作過程的下一部分。
 
Dar followed his father into the business when he was a young man. He told VOA that, for the first time, he is worried about losing his job.
達爾年輕時跟隨他的父親進入這個行業(yè)。他對美國之音說，這是他第一次擔心失去工作。
 
"In the last couple of years," he said, "bat production has decreased." He said about six workers recently lost their jobs at his factory.
“在過去的幾年里，”他說，“蝙蝠產(chǎn)量下降了。”他說他的工廠最近有大約六名工人失業(yè)。
 
On the main highway that connects Kashmir with the main part of India, there are 400 cricket bat factories. Drivers see the pieces of willow trees gathered along the road. Fifty of the factories have closed because they do not have the wood they need.
在連接克什米爾和印度主要地區(qū)的主要公路上，有 400 家板球棒工廠。司機們看到路邊成片的柳樹。五十家工廠因為沒有所需的木材而關(guān)閉。
 
The workers who lose their jobs do not have many other choices for work. Dar said they can become day laborers, work in agriculture or become sand diggers.
失去工作的工人沒有太多其他工作選擇。達爾說，他們可以成為臨時工、從事農(nóng)業(yè)工作或成為挖沙工。
 
Fayaz Ahmad Dar is president of the Kashmir Cricket Bat Manufacturers Union. He said the willow tree shortage started about five years ago. He said the business is almost "extinct due to complete negligence." Area factories, he said, receive just half the supply they used to.
Fayaz Ahmad Dar 是克什米爾板球棒制造商聯(lián)盟的主席。他說柳樹短缺大約在五年前開始。他說，這家公司幾乎“由于完全疏忽而滅絕”。他說，地區(qū)工廠收到的供應(yīng)量只有過去的一半。
 
Ahmad Dar said the tree-growers in the area are planting cottonwood and poplar. Wood from those trees can be used in making plywood, which is used in the building industry. Those trees grow faster and their wood can be sold sooner. The willow trees grow more slowly.
艾哈邁德達爾說，該地區(qū)的樹木種植者正在種植棉白楊和楊樹。來自這些樹木的木材可用于制造用于建筑行業(yè)的膠合板。那些樹長得更快，它們的木材也能更快賣掉。柳樹長得更慢了。
 
Ahmad Dar said he has talked with the director of commerce and industries for the Kashmir area. He told her about cricket's growth around the world and how important the area's factories are for the sport.
艾哈邁德達爾說，他已經(jīng)與克什米爾地區(qū)的工商主管進行了交談。他向她講述了板球在世界各地的發(fā)展以及該地區(qū)的工廠對這項??運動的重要性。
 
Ahmad Dar said he asked that the government set aside land that could only be used for planting willow trees so that Kashmir's cricket bat business can survive.
艾哈邁德達爾說，他要求政府留出只能用于種植柳樹的土地，以便克什米爾的板球拍業(yè)務(wù)能夠生存。
 
After the meeting, the Sher-e-Kashmir University's department of agriculture sent the bat manufacturers 1,500 small willow trees to plant.
會議結(jié)束后，謝爾克什米爾大學(xué)農(nóng)業(yè)部向蝙蝠制造商發(fā)送了1500棵小柳樹進行種植。
 
Ahmad Dar, however, said that was not nearly enough. The bat-makers need many more trees than that. He said just one bat company needs the wood from 10,000 to 15,000 trees each year in order to meet demand.
然而，Ahmad Dar 說這還遠遠不夠。蝙蝠制造商需要的樹比這多得多。他說，僅一家蝙蝠公司每年就需要 10,000 到 15,000 棵樹來滿足需求。