India

Where is it? India is a country in Asia that is mainly a peninsula. Along the northern edge of India are the countries of Pakistan, China, Nepal, and Bhutan. To the east are Bangladesh and Myanmar, or Burma. Just south of India is the island of Sri Lanka. To the southwest of India is the Arabian Sea. To the southeast is the Bay of Bengal. India also includes some groups of islands.

它在哪里呢？ 印度是亚洲的一个国家，主体位于半岛上。 印度北部边缘接壤的国家有巴基斯坦、中国、尼泊尔和不丹。 印度的东边是孟加拉国和缅甸，缅甸旧称Burma。 印度正南方就是斯里兰卡岛。 印度的西南边是阿拉伯海。 印度的东南边是孟加拉湾。 印度的领土还包含了几组群岛。

The capital of India is New Delhi, which is part of the larger city of Delhi. The two areas are very different. Delhi is a very old city, but New Delhi was built in the 1920s and 1930s. Delhi is a complex maze of small streets crowded with small shops, while New Delhi has wide streets and modern shopping centers. More than 20 million people live in Delhi and New Delhi combined.

印度的首都是新德里，它属于范围更大的德里城。 这两个区域差别很大。 德里是一座非常古老的城市，而新德里建于20世纪二三十年代。 德里的小巷错综如迷宫，挤满了小店铺，而新德里有宽阔的街道和现代化购物中心。 德里和新德里加起来一共居住了超过两千万人。

People. More than one billion people live in India. Only China has more people. Most Indian people live in the countryside, even though India does have some large cities. Most homes in the rural areas don't have running water, so people must go to a well and bring home water every day. About half of the people in rural areas don't have electricity either. Half of the people in India make their living growing crops, mainly grains. They also raise cattle, water buffalo, and other animals. However, Indian people do not raise cattle to eat, because most Indians belong to the Hindu religion. For Hindus, cows are sacred. They use cattle for plowing their fields and for transportation, and they raise sheep, goats, and chickens for meat.

人口。 印度生活着超过十亿人口。 只有中国的人口比印度更多。 尽管印度有不少大城市，但大多数印度人都居住在乡村。 乡村大多数住宅都没有自来水，所以人们每天都得去水井打水带回家。 乡村里大约还有一半的人家也没有通电。 印度有一半人靠种庄稼谋生，主要种植谷物。 他们还饲养牛、水牛和其他牲畜。 不过印度人养牛不是为了吃肉，因为大多数印度人信奉印度教。 对印度教徒来说，奶牛是神圣的动物。 他们用牛耕地、运输，靠养绵羊、山羊和鸡来获取肉。

Most Indian cities are extremely crowded. Many people live in apartment buildings along very narrow streets. Because India has such a large population, it has been hard for the country's electricity supply to keep up with the demand. In some Indian cities, it's very common for the power to go out. Movies are a very popular form of entertainment in India. The center of the film business is Mumbai, which used to be known as Bombay. Mumbai releases more than a thousand films per year and is often called Bollywood.

印度大多数城市都非常拥挤。 很多人住在狭窄街道两旁的公寓楼里。 因为印度人口太多，国家的电力供应很难跟上需求。 在印度的一些城市，停电是很常见的事。 看电影是印度非常受欢迎的娱乐活动。 电影产业的中心是孟买，它旧称Bombay。 孟买每年产出一千多部电影，常被叫做宝莱坞。

Land. The Himalayas form India's northern border. They are the highest mountains in the world and cut off India from the rest of Asia. This is why India is sometimes called a subcontinent. A low -lying plain stretches across northern India. This rich land was formed long ago as rivers flooded and left soil behind.

地理。 喜马拉雅山脉构成了印度的北部边界。 它是世界上最高的山脉，把印度和亚洲其他区域分隔开。 这就是印度有时被称为次大陆的原因。 一片低海拔平原横贯印度北部。 这片肥沃的土地是很久以前河流泛滥沉积泥沙形成的。