便利商店Taiwan, the world's convenience store capital

便利商店

Taiwan, the world's convenience store capital (China Times)

With 9,800 shops in its 36,000 square kilometers of territory, Taiwan has the highest concentration of convenience stores of any country in the world. The range of services these stores offer has drawn attention over whether the stores take advantage of their dominance, reports the China Times, our Chinese-language sister newspaper.

The Fair Trade Commission of the Executive Yuan, Taiwan's cabinet, published a survey showing that there is one convenience store per 260 square meters in the country. The numbers of customers who pass through the country's 7-11s and the stores of its competitors have reached 2.7 billion each year in a country of under 25 million. As of the end of 2010, most convenient stores were in New Taipei, Taipei and Taoyuan, with 20.2%, 15.3% and 11.7% of total stores, respectively. Density was highest in Taipei, followed by Hsinchu and Chiayi.

Convenience stores in Taiwan do far more than sell sundries. Shoppers can withdraw money, book train tickets, collect goods ordered online, eat and even send their clothes for a wash. Turnover from service-based sales jumped by 50% from 2009 to 2010.

According to another survey, people in Taiwan have become dependent on convenient stores over the past few years. More than 40% of people in the country visit a convenience store at least once per day, while more than 70% pay their bills there. More than 20% eat meals in the stores, and some parents even ask stores to babysit their children when they are not available. The most frequently used services are, according to the survey, payment of bills and traffic tickets.

** Words

1.    territory 領土；區域        2. concentration 集中       3. range 一系列    

4. dominance 優勢            5. commission 委員會       6. executive 執行者      

7. cabinet 內閣               8. competitor 競爭者         9. reach 達到  

10. billion 十億               11. million 百萬             12. respectively 分別地，各自地

13. density  密集度           14. sundries 雜貨           15. withdraw 取回

16. turnover 營業額           17. babysit 臨時看顧         18. available 有空的

19. frequently 頻繁地          20. payment 付款

** Grammar

1.    The range of services these stores offer has drawn attention over whether the stores take advantage of their dominance, reports the China Times, our Chinese-language sister newspaper.

a)    The range of services these stores offer 原句為The range of services that these stores offer，關係代名詞that當受格時可以省略

b)    名詞子句: whether(是否) + 完整子句

c)    take advantage of~ : 利用~

2.    The numbers of customers who pass through the country's 7-11s and the stores of its competitors have reached 2.7 billion each year in a country of under 25 million.

a)    形容詞子句who pass through the country's 7-11s and the stores of its competitors，用來形容之前的名詞

b)    The number of + 複數名詞 + 單數動詞

The numbers of + 複數名詞 + 複數動詞

3.    According to another survey, people in Taiwan have become dependent on convenient stores over the past few years.

a)    介係詞片語可當形容詞用，放在名詞後面修飾名詞。例: 在台灣的人people in Taiwan

b)    過去(一段時間)以來: over the past + 一段時間，動詞時態要用在現在完成式

4.    The most frequently used services are, according to the survey, payment of bills and traffic tickets.

a)    ,according to the survey,是插入語，不影響主詞與動詞之間的關係。也可移至句首: , According to the survey, the most frequently used services are payment of bills and traffic tickets.