Answer the following questions
Where is Canada situated?
How many people live in Canada?
What rivers in Canada do you know?
What do you know about the climate of the country?
What is the capital of Canada?
What is the second largest country in the world?
What is Canada bordered by?
What do you know about the system of power in Canada?
Who were the first people to live in Canada?
How did they come to Canada?
What countries took part in exploration of Canada?
When did Canada gain it's independence?
Is Canada a developed country now?
Where do most Canadians live?
Who is the head of state in Canada?
What are the official languages in Canada?
What is the main problem facing Canada today?
Read and translate the text, learn the italicized word combinations.
Canada is the second largest country in the world. Only Russia has a greater land area. Canada is situated in North America. The country is situated in North America. It is bordered in the north by the Arctic Ocean, in the east by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south by the United States and in the west by the Pacific Ocean and Alaska.
Canada is slightly larger than the United States, but has only about a tenth as many people. About 28 million people live in Canada. About 80% of the population live within 320 km of the southern border. Much of the rest of Canada is uninhabited or thinly populated because of severe natural conditions.
There are many rivers in Canada, and among them are the St. Lawrence, the Mackenzie, the Saskatchewan, the Columbia and the Yukon.
Climate, while generally temperate, varies from freezing winter cold to blistering summer heat. Canada's natural vegetation can be best described as falling into five areas: the boreal forest, the forests of the southeast and the southwest, the grasslands and the tundra.
Canada's history is an exciting story of development of a vast wilderness into a great nation. Most experts believe that the first people who lived on this land came from Asia about 15000 years ago. They came over a land bridge that once connected Asia and North America. Their descendants are known today as Indians. The ancestors of the Eskimos came to Alaska after them probably about 5000 years ago.
In 1497, John Cabot, an Italian navigator in the service of England, found rich fishing grounds off Canada's southeast coast. His discovery led to the European exploration of Canada. France set up a colony in eastern Canada in the early 1600's. Great Britain gained control of the country in 1763, and thousands of British emigrants came to Canada. In 1867, the French and English-speaking Canadians helped to create a united colony called the Dominion of Canada. Two groups worked together to settle the country and to develop its great mineral deposits and other natural resources.
Canada gained its independence from Britain in 1931. In the 20th century Canada became an industrial country with highly developed agriculture. Today Canada is a leading producer of wheat, oats, and barley.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy, an independent federal state and parliamentary democracy with two official languages and two systems of law: civil law and common law, a member of the Commonwealth.
Canada is a federation of 10 provinces and 2 territories. Canada is an independent nation. But according to the Constitution Act of 1982 British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is recognized as Queen of Canada. This symbolizes the country's strong ties to Britain. English and French are both official languages, but 20% of the population speaks only French. Both English and French are official languages of the country. Native people — American Indians and Eskimos — make up about 2% of the country's population. 77% of Canada's people live in cities or towns. The largest cities are Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary. Ottawa is the capital of the country.
Today, maintaining a sense of community is one of the major problems in Canada because of differences among the provinces and territories. 80% of Quebec's population are French Canadians. Many of them believe that their province should receive a special recognition in the Canadian constitution.
Practise saying and learn the vocabulary
land area — площадь
population — население
uninhabited — незаселенный
severe — суровый
federation — федерация
independent — независимый
British Monarch — английская королева
to recognize — признавать
ties — связи
Commonwealth — (Британское)Содружество
civil law — гражданское право
common law — общее право
ancestors — предки
Indians — индейцы
to make up — составлять
to maintain — сохранять
community — общность
recognition — признание
vast — обширный
wilderness — пустыня
land bridge — перешеек
Escimos — эскимосы
navigator — мореплаватель
fishing grounds — рыбные места
exploration — исследование
to set up — основать
Dominion of Canada — доминион Канада
mineral deposits — залежи полезных ископаемых
wheat — пшеница
oats — овес
barley — ячмень
Complete the sentences and use them as a plan for your future talk on the Canada
Canada is situated in North America. It is bordered_________________.
Canada is slightly larger than the United States, but _________________.
Climate, while generally temperate, varies from_________________.
Canada's natural vegetation can be best described as_________________.
Canada's history is an exciting story of development of a _________________.
In the 20th century Canada became an_________________.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy, an independent_________________.
Native people — American Indians_________________.
Both English and French are_________________.
The largest cities are_________________.
Today, one of the major problems in Canada is_________________.
CULTURE NOTE
Generally, Canadians are informal and polite in their conversations. The rules for casual politeness vary with the social situation, but a few basic suggestions may be helpful.
Canadians prefer to be on a first-name basis with acquaintances. However, a title (such as Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms.) with a last name is used when a person is addressing an employer, a teacher, a client, an older person, or a stranger in formal situations. First-name basis is often suggested by the person with more authority ("Call me Bob"). In Canada, first names are used less frequently than in the United States, and more frequently than in Britain. Calling someone by a last name without a title, however, is more common in Britain than in North America, where it is considered too abrupt. Неге a last name alone can be used as a term of reference, not address. For example, we are more likely to say "Why don't you talk to Johnson about it?" than "I was wondering if you could help me with something, Johnson."
return false">ссылка скрытаCalling a man "Sir," or a woman "Miss" or "Ma'am," is only done in certain circumstances. Salesclerks, waiters and others who serve the public will address customers in this way. These forms are also used to get someone's attention ("Excuse me, sir. You dropped your hat."). They are traditional terms of respect but are generally used less frequently today.
When introductions take place, shaking hands is customary, but much depends on the formality of the situation and individual preference. Handshakes are firm and brief. In conversations, Canadians generally do not touch each other as casually and frequently as people in other cultures do.
Canadians also prefer a greater distance between each other in conversation than that found in some other cultures. Here, a conversational distance of about one metre is quite acceptable. Any closer than this, and people may feel uncomfortable and uneasy. Of course, people who are intimate, such as close family members or lovers, will talk closer to one another.
Eye contact is another important factor in conversation. Looking away may be considered a sign of dishonesty, boredom or poor manners. On the other hand, staring, or looking too intently, may make a person feel uncomfortable.
In casual conversation, many Canadians also tend to avoid direct personal questions. Often such questions are phrased indirectly or vaguely (for instance, "Do you live around here?" instead of "Where do you live?").
Weather is probably one of the most popular topics for small talk among Canadians. After all, it's a neutral topic and, therefore, safe for conversation with people you do not know well. Canadian weather is so changeable, from season to season and from day to day, that there is always something that can be said about it. There are also many climatic differences among the various regions of Canada. When it is a mild, wet day in Vancouver, it can be -20 degrees and snowing in Manitoba.
Weather conditions have been shown to influence health and state of mind. For example, many Canadians suffer from the January or February "blahs," a feeling of mild depression. In fact, some people think that climate influences the personality of a people. A common stereotype is that people from northern climates are cold and unfriendly and that people from southern regions are hot-tempered and passionate.
Many people in the world think of Canada as simply a land of cold and snow; they are unprepared for the extremes of weather that Canadians experience. There are hot summers as well as cold winters. Many Canadians take pride in their ability to cope with adverse weather conditions.
Even so, Canadians grumble about the weather, especially the winter. Winter vacations in warm southern climates are popular, and many retired Canadians spend the winter in places like Florida and Arizona, largely for health reasons.