46. What is the article mainly about?
(A) It introduces the origin of the India’s caste system.
(B) It provides a brief introduction to the caste system in India.
(C) It argues that India’s caste system is against human rights.
(D) It compares the caste system of today’s India with the one in the past.

46. What is the article mainly about?

46.文章的主要內容是什麼？

(B) It provides a brief introduction to the caste system in India.

（B）它簡要介紹了印度的種姓制度。 

A large part of Indian society still lives in a system dominated by castes. A caste is a social class which every Indian is born into. There are a few thousand castes in India and each one of them has their own traditions and customs. Once a person is born into a caste they cannot get out, or marry someone from a different caste. Castes have existed throughout Indian history and although they are based on Hindu beliefs, other religions live in castes too. The caste system tells people which jobs they can have and with which people they can have contact. The caste system is based on four major classes. At the top are the Brahmins or priests. Below them are rulers, kings, soldiers and other people who work in the government. Then come bankers, businessmen and traders. At the bottom of the caste system are normal workers and farmers. Each caste has certain rights and privileges. Everyone, for example, can get food from a Brahmin, but a priest himself is thought to be polluted if he receives food from a person of a lower caste. A large group of people, called untouchables, live outside the caste system. Untouchables are often homeless people who live on the streets and under bridges. They do work that nobody else does and are often excluded in Hindu ceremonies. They are not allowed to drink water from a public fountain for fear of polluting the water for others. Although the caste system is no longer officially allowed, it still exists, especially in the rural areas of India.

印度社會的很大一部分仍然生活在以種姓為主的製度中。種姓是每個印度人出生的社會階層。印度有數千種姓氏，每個姓氏都有自己的傳統和習俗。一旦一個人出生於種姓中，他們就無法離開或嫁給其他種姓的人。種姓已經存在於整個印度歷史上，儘管它們基於印度教信仰，但其他宗教也生活在種姓中。種姓制度告訴人們他們可以從事哪些工作以及可以與哪些人聯繫。種姓制度基於四個主要類別。頂部是婆羅門或祭司。在他們下面的是統治者，國王，士兵和其他在政府工作的人。然後是銀行家，商人和交易員。種姓制度的最底層是普通工人和農民。每個種姓都有一定的權利和特權。例如，每個人都可以從婆羅門那裡得到食物，但是，如果牧師本人從種姓較低的人那裡得到食物，則被認為已受到污染。在種姓制度之外生活著一大群人，稱為賤民。無法觸及的人通常是無家可歸的人，他們生活在街頭和橋下。他們所做的工作是其他人沒有的，通常在印度教儀式中被排除在外。禁止他們從公共噴泉喝水，以免怕污染他人。儘管種姓制度不再被正式允許，但它仍然存在，特別是在印度的農村地區。