What is unimaginable in other areas of the world is part of everyday life in Hindu▼ India.
在世界其他地方是令人難以想像的情景，而在信奉印度教的印度卻是日常生活中的一部份。
（右鍵可另存）
You can buy just about anything online these days. Major online retailers▼ in China, India, and the West are doing a booming business taking orders from Internet customers and having them delivered directly to their homes. Though India is still a poor country, it hasn't stopped the boom▼ of using online services to place orders, especially for city residents. That includes, of all things, cow dung▼ patties.
If you know anything about Hindu India, you shouldn't be surprised, though. Cows have been worshipped by Hindus for millennia▼. The sacredness▼ of cows even includes their poop, which is an environmentally friendly source of fertilizer▼ and can be used to light fires for cooking. Raw dung is mixed with dry hay▼ and then pounded into a hamburger-patty shape. Hundreds of millions of cattle wander around the country, unbothered by this religious nation, and millions more are raised for transportation, milk, and dung. Cows feature prominently in many religious ceremonies, such as Diwali and Lohri. Many Indians are vegetarians, so, unlike most other countries, cattle are normally not slaughtered for their meat or skin. Some Hindu castes▼ and Muslims are free from this restriction, though.
Most of the orders for dung cakes come from city residents, who are too busy to scavenge for cow poop in the streets or who have too little space to raise such a huge animal. Many were born and raised in the countryside, where religious traditions are greatly respected. They want to continue observing their childhood festivals, most of which include the burning of cow patties. Thus, they turn to online retailers to meet their needs. Imagine receiving a Lohri New Year's present of cow dung patties, gift-wrapped▼, no less, from Amazon or eBay!
1. What is this reading mainly about?
(A) Important religious festivals in India.
(B) The use of cow dung by Hindus.
(C) The online retailing business in India.
(D) Differences between rural and urban Indians.
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2. What is said about online retailing in India?
(A) Because India is a poor country, there is little of it.
(B) Only urban residents can take advantage of it.
(C) It is available only during religious festivals.
(D) It is growing very quickly.
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3. Which of the following is true about Hindus, according to the reading?
(A) They specialize in making leather crafts.
(B) They practice the same traditions as Muslims.
(C) They have made and eaten cow dung patties for millennia.
(D) They worship and protect their cattle.
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4. Why do many city residents in India rely on the Internet to buy cow dung patties?
(A) They want to show others how technically proficient they are.
(B) They want to show others how rich they are.
(C) It is much more convenient to do so.
(D) They refuse to approach cows because of their religion.
片語小舖
- go to waste 被浪費掉
I always eat everything on my plate because I was taught not to let food go to waste.
我總是會把盤內所有東西吃完，因為我被教導不能浪費食物。 - just about... 幾乎……；差不多……
Teenagers tend to disagree with their parents on just about everything.
青少年往往每一件事都和父母唱反調。 - take an order 接受訂單
order n. 訂貨；訂購
衍: place an order 下訂單
We took an order for a jacuzzi at the store today.
今天我們店裡接到一組按摩浴缸的訂單。
＊jacuzzi n. 按摩浴缸
Laura placed an order for bathroom furniture one month ago.
蘿拉在一個月前訂購了浴室用的傢俱。 - wander around(...) （在……附近）閒晃
It is dangerous to wander around the city at night.
晚上在城市中閒晃是很危險的。 - be free from / of... 免於∕沒有……
No one is free from faults.
人非聖賢，孰能無過。 - turn to... 求助於……；轉而（做）……
Some of my friends are turning to private tutors to get ahead at school.
為了要贏過班上其他同學，我的一些朋友正求助於家教。
＊get ahead 領先 - no less 還是，竟是
The award was presented by the president, no less.
這個獎項竟是由總統頒發的。 - take advantage of... 利用……
同: make use of...
The wise take advantage of mistakes, whereas the stupid only regret mistakes they have made.
聰明的人從錯誤中學習，而愚者只知後悔犯下的錯。 - specialize in... 專攻∕專門從事……
specialize vi. 專攻
Our society specializes in helping children from underprivileged homes.
我們協會專門幫助弱勢家庭的孩童。
＊underprivileged a. 弱勢的
精解字詞
- booming a. 蓬勃發展的
衍: boom vi. 繁榮，蓬勃發展
The booming business led the manager to believe he needed to hire more employees.
蒸蒸日上的生意讓經理相信需要招募更多員工。
Our restaurant business is still booming despite the economic slowdown this year.
儘管今年經濟趨緩，我們餐館的生意仍蓬勃發展中。 - patty n. 肉餅
The fast food restaurant announced a new sandwich that is a fried chicken patty served between two pancake buns with maple syrup.
這間漢堡連鎖店宣佈了一道新的三明治，也就是兩片鬆餅麵包中夾著一塊炸雞排並且搭配楓糖漿。
＊bun n. 小圓麵包（可數）
maple syrup 楓糖漿
syrup n. 糖漿 - worship vt. 敬奉（神）；景仰 & n. 信奉
Muslims worship five times a day in the direction of Mecca.
回教徒一天會朝著麥加的方向來膜拜五次。 - environmentally friendly 環保的
The toy factory is phasing out petroleum-based plastic toys in search of an environmentally friendly alternative.
該玩具工廠逐漸淘汰石化物的玩具，並尋找環保性的替代品。
＊phase out... 逐漸淘汰……，逐步撤出……
petroleum-based 石油製造的，石化的
alternative n. 替代方案 - raw a. 生的，未煮熟的
Some vegetables can be eaten raw.
有些蔬菜可以生吃。 - pound vt. & vi. 猛打∕擊 & n. 磅（重量單位）；英鎊（貨幣單位）
The boxer pounded his opponent again and again.
那名拳擊手一次又一次地重擊他的對手。
My brother pounded on the door with his fists because he was locked outside.
我弟弟因被鎖在門外而用雙拳猛捶房門。 - cattle n. 牛群（cattle 如同 people，視作複數名詞，可被 two 以上的數詞如 three、four、many 等修飾）
衍: a herd of cattle 一群牛
There are many cattle in the field.
牧場裡有許多頭牛。
Due to mad cow disease, many cattle ranches have suffered great losses.
由於狂牛症的緣故，許多牛牧場都蒙受嚴重損失。
＊mad cow disease 狂牛病
ranch n. 牧場，農場 - prominently adv. 顯著地
My photo features prominently on the cover of the magazine.
我的照片被刊登在這本雜誌封面上很醒目的位置。 - slaughter vt. 屠宰 & n. 屠殺，殺戮
Greenpeace condemned those people for slaughtering whales.
綠色和平組織譴責那些濫殺鯨魚的人。
＊condemn vt. 譴責，指責 - scavenge vi. & vt. 尋找（食物）；在廢棄中找尋（可食用或可用的東西）
The stray dog scavenged the garbage pile looking for food.
這隻流浪狗在垃圾堆裡翻找食物。 - observe vt. 遵守（規則、習俗等）；慶祝（節日等）
It's our duty to observe the law. No one should be an exception.
遵守法律是我們的職責。沒有人可以例外。
Most people observe Thanksgiving by having a feast.
大多數的人會吃一頓大餐來慶祝感恩節。 - proficient a. 精通的
衍: be proficient in / at N/V-ing 精通……
= be adept in / at N/V-ing
It took Peter years of hard work to be proficient in Mandarin and Japanese.
彼得花了多年的努力才精通中文和日文。
▼ Hindu a. 印度（教）的 & n. 印度教徒
▼ online retailer 線上零售商
retailer n. 零售商
▼ boom n. 繁榮，興旺（本文喻為熱潮）
▼ dung n.（動物的）糞便
▼ millennia n. 千禧年（複數形）
衍: millennium n. 千禧年（單數形）
▼ sacredness n. 神聖
衍: sacred a. 神聖的
a sacred cow 不容質疑的信念∕習俗
▼ fertilizer n. 肥料
衍: fertilize vt. 施肥於；使受孕
▼ hay n. 乾草
▼ caste n. 種姓；種姓制度；社會階級
▼ gift-wrapped a. 包裝成禮品的
wrap vt. 包；裹 & n. 包裝紙；保鮮膜（不可數名詞）
注意
have 當使役動詞時，有下列三種用法：
have + 受詞 + 過去分詞 把……（被）……
have + 人 + 原形動詞 叫∕使某人（做）……
have + 受詞 + V-ing 使∕讓……一直（做）……
Last week, I had a tooth taken out at the dentist's.
上星期我去牙醫那拔了一顆牙。
I will have Rick wash my car.
我會叫瑞克去洗我的車。
The language teacher has his students speaking English through the entire class.
該語文教師要學生整堂課都說英文。
物盡其用
在世界其他地方是令人難以想像的情景，而在信奉印度教的印度卻是日常生活中的一部份。
當今，你可以在線上購買到幾乎任何一樣東西。中國、印度和西方國家的主要線上零售商正在從事一項蓬勃發展的生意，也就是從網路顧客接收訂單並且將貨品直接寄送至他們的住所。儘管印度仍是一個貧困的國家，但這並未讓使用線上服務進行訂購的這股熱潮就此停頓，尤其是城市居民。在所有訂購的物品當中還包含了牛糞餅。
如果你對信奉印度教的印度有所了解，你應該就不會感到詫異了。印度教徒敬奉牛已有數千年之久。牛的神聖地位就連牠們的糞便也包含在內，牛糞是一種環保的肥料來源，還能用於生火做飯。生牛糞與乾草混合，隨後便被拍打成漢堡排的形狀。數億頭牛在該國四處漫步，不受這虔誠的民族所打擾，人們還飼養多出幾百萬頭的牛以作為運輸及取其牛奶和糞便之用途。在許多像是排燈節和豐年祭等宗教儀式上，牛隻顯得格外重要。許多印度人茹素，所以不像其他國家，他們不會為了牛肉或其毛皮而宰殺牠們。不過有些印度種姓和回教徒卻不受此限制。
大多數的牛糞餅訂單來自城市居民，他們通常太忙碌而無暇撿拾街上的牛糞，抑或是他們沒有足夠的空間飼養如此龐大的動物。許多人生長在對宗教傳統相當敬重的鄉下。他們想要繼續奉行童年時的節慶，而大部份的節慶皆包含燃燒牛糞餅。因此，他們求助於線上零售商來滿足他們的需求。想像一下你收到包裝成禮品的牛糞餅作為豐年祭新年禮物，且竟是從 Amazon 或 eBay 寄來的！
1. 本文的主旨為何？
(A) 印度重要的宗教節慶。
(B) 印度教徒對牛糞的使用。
(C) 印度的線上零售業。
(D) 鄉下與城市印度人的不同。
題解：全文皆在描述印度教徒對牛糞的使用，故 (B) 項應為正選。
2. 本文對印度線上零售業的敘述為何？
(A) 因為印度是個貧窮國家，所以幾乎沒有。
(B) 僅有城市居民可以使用它。
(C) 僅在宗教節日期間可以使用。
(D) 它發展得相當迅速。
題解：根據本文第一段，儘管印度仍是一個貧困的國家，但這並未讓使用線上服務進行訂購的這股熱潮就此停頓，尤其是城市居民，得知印度的線上零售發展迅速，故 (D) 項應為正選。
3. 根據本文，下列哪一項有關印度教徒的敘述是正確的？
(A) 他們擅長製作皮革工藝品。
(B) 他們遵循和回教徒一樣的傳統。
(C) 他們製作並食用牛糞餅已有千年之久。
(D) 他們敬奉且保護他們的牛隻。
題解：根據本文第二段，印度教徒敬奉牛已有數千年之久。此外，數億頭牛在該國四處漫步，不受這虔誠的民族所打擾，得知印度教徒對牛隻的敬奉程度相當高，故 (D) 項應為正選。
4. 為什麼許多印度城市居民仰賴網路購買牛糞餅？
(A) 他們想向他人展現自己在技術上有多麼純熟。
(B) 他們想向他人展現自己有多麼富裕。
(C) 這麼做方便得多。
(D) 他們因為宗教的關係而拒絕靠近牛隻。
題解：根據本文最後一段，大多數的牛糞餅訂單來自城市居民，他們通常太忙碌而無暇撿拾街上的牛糞，抑或是他們沒有足夠的空間飼養如此龐大的動物，得知線上訂購能替城市居民省下許多麻煩，故 (C) 項應為正選。
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