With over a billion people, a booming economy and one of the most ancient and rich cultures in the world, India is a new focus of attention across the globe. Come take a closer look at the world's most populous democracy.
擁有逾十億人口，蓬勃的經濟與世界上最古老豐富的文化，印度是全球矚目的新焦點。一同來深度探索這個全球人口最多的民主國家。
PHOTO: AP
A closer look 說古論今
People have been living in India since at least the Stone Age, and cave paintings from this time can still be found in India. The first permanent settlements appeared about 9,000 years ago, and by around 550BC, many separate kingdoms began to crop up within what is now India.
PHOTO: AFP
These kingdoms split and merged for centuries as infighting and invasions changed the political landscape. Europeans arrived in the 1500s and by the mid 1800s, most of the country was under British control.
India struggled for decades to win independence using a strategy of non-violent resistance. This movement and its leader, Mahatma Gandhi, became an inspiration for civil rights and independence movements across the world. India finally won independence from Britain in 1947, but Muslim-majority areas formed their own country of Pakistan.
India is culturally and linguistically diverse, with 23 official languages (Hindi and English being the two most widely spoken) and over 1,500 dialects. While Hinduism is the most common religion, Islam, Christianity and smaller religions like Zoroastrianism and Sikhism still thrive even as these less common faiths struggle to survive elsewhere.
India is traditionally an agricultural society where 60 percent of people are employed in agriculture or related industries. But the English language education and skills of Indians have also attracted foreign investment.
Investors have set up call centers and software development companies while offering financial and research services. Textiles and jewelry are major exports.(Jason Cox, Staff Writer)
印度最早自石器時代起即有人居住，當時的石洞壁畫現今仍可目睹。第一次大規模定居的出現約在九千年前，到了西元前五百五十年左右，盤據各地的王國開始群雄並起。
數世紀以來，這些王國歷經混戰與侵略，政局動盪不安，分合不斷。歐洲人在十六世紀抵達，到了十九世紀中葉時，大多數地區都落入英國統治。
印度人抗爭數十年，用非暴力的反抗策略贏得獨立。這項運動及其領導者甘地啟發了世界各地爭取公民權與獨立運動。印度終於在一九四七年脫離英國獨立，但境內以伊斯蘭教為主的地區則建立了自己的國家巴基斯坦。
印度在文化及語言上豐富多元，官方語言有二十三種（以印度語與英語最為普及），還有一千五百多種方言。印度教是最普遍的宗教，但伊斯蘭教、基督教、與規模較小的祆教與錫克教在印度仍然興盛；即便這些宗教在世界各地已走上遲暮之途。
印度傳統以農立國，六成人口從事農業或相關產業。但英語教育與當地人民的技術也吸引了不少外資。
投資者已設立了客服通訊中心與軟體發展公司，也提供金融與研究服務。紡織品與珠寶則是主要出口品。（翻譯：賴美君）
WHO KNES? 你知道嗎?
Hinduism is the largest religion in India though practices remain diverse. A Hindu may worship one or many different gods, not unlike Daoist practice in Taiwan.
Many near-naked sadhus, men who have given up material belongings in their quest for spirituality, can be seen on the streets, even in major cities.
Few Hindus are willing to kill cows, which are considered sacred, so old cows that can no longer work on the farm can be seen wandering the streets and eating whatever food is offered to them in many parts of India. The cows, cars, motorcycles, pedestrians and rickshaws all on the same streets create interesting traffic situations.
The ethics of non-violence and non-killing are so strong in India that 30-40 percent of people are vegetarians. Still others may still eat eggs or fish but avoid meat or at least beef. There are even rat shelters that provide rats with a safe place and food to eat.
印度教是印度最大的宗教，然而修行的方式各異。印度人信仰一位或多位神祇，與台灣道教修行方式相似。
印度街頭處處可見體的薩圖（放棄物質而追求靈性的修行者），即便在大城市亦然。
印度人鮮少宰殺被視為神聖的牛隻，因此印度各地都可看見自農場退休、在街頭遊走的老牛，吃著人們給牠們的食物。一條路上還可同時看到牛隻、汽車、摩托車、行人與黃包車，組成了相當有趣的交通景象。
印度非暴力與非殺戮的倫理相當根深蒂固，有三至四成民眾吃素。有人食用蛋類或魚類，但肉類不吃，或至少不吃牛肉。甚至有老鼠避難所，讓老鼠有安身之所，飲食不匱乏。
A LOOK AT CONTEXT 思前想後猜字義
1. We ask our students to follow our guide to student ethics. Do not cheat, help others cheat or hide any cheating you see.
An ethic is ...
a. a moral principle.
b. a school principle.
c. a major scene.
d. a minor distraction.
2. The German army met resistance when marching into Russia. Even farmers fought them.
Resistance is ...
a. the act of opposing.
b. the act of withdrawing.
c. the act of warping.
d. the act of ignoring.
3. My uncle is a real inspiration to me. I always ask myself what he would do and do my best to live up to his standard.
An inspiration is ...
a. something that animates or influences.
b. something that frightens or confuses.
c. something that deviates or divides.
d. something that imitates or stifles.
4. Women struggled for years in the US before getting the legal right to vote, organizing protests, sit-ins and lectures to gain support for the cause.
To struggle against means ...
a. to contend with something.
b. to confound something.
c. to complicate something.
d. to confiscate something.
Ans: 1.a 2.a 3.a 4.a
ABOUT INDIA
Size: about 3.1million km2, or about 98 times the size of Taiwan
Location: South Asia
Border countries: Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar
Capital: New Delhi
Population: about 1.1 billion
Languages: Hindi, English and 21 other official languages
Government: Federal republic
Currency: NT$1 = 1.2 Indian Rupees
面積︰約三百一十萬平方公里，約台灣的九十八倍
位置︰南亞
鄰國︰巴基斯坦、中國、尼泊爾、不丹、孟加拉、緬甸
首都︰新德里
人口︰約十一億人
語言︰印度語、英語與其他二十一種官方語言
政體︰聯邦共和國
貨幣︰新台幣一元等於一點二印度盧比
WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? 現在那裡幾點?
India is two and a half hours behind Taiwan, so if it is 4pm in Taiwan it is 1:30pm in India.
印度比台灣晚兩個半小時，假如台灣是下午四點半，印度就是下午一點半。
FLAG 國旗
The top stripe of the flag is officially "deep saffron" but often a bright orange. It symbolizes renunciation. The white stripe represents light and truth, and the green stripe mankind's dependence to plant life. The wheel is the Ashoka Chakra or wheel of the law of dharma and movement.
國旗最上方的橫條象徵出世，正式應為「深番紅花色」，但往往繪為鮮橙色。白色區塊代表光明與真理，綠條帶則象徵人類對農業的依賴。中央的為印度教的「Ashoka Chakra」佛法法輪。
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