II. Before you read

A. Practice your pronunciation:

province ['prɔ vɪ n(t)s]

boreal ['bɔ ː rɪ ə l]

Horseshoe ['hɔ ː sʃ uː ]

Ontario [ɔ n'tɛ ə rɪ ə u]

Columbia [kə 'lʌ mbɪ ə ]

Lawrence Iroquoian ['lɔ r(ə)n(t)s 'irə ˌ kwoiə n]

Jacques Cartier ['ʒ ʌ k 'kə tje]

aboriginal [ˌ æ bə 'rɪ ʤ (ə)n(ə)l]

sovereign ['sɔ v(ə)rɪ n]

Ukrainian [juː 'kreɪ nɪ ə n]

Catholic ['kæ θ (ə)lɪ k]

Lutherans ['luː θ (ə)r(ə)n]

mandatory ['mæ ndə t(ə)rɪ ]

Montreal [ˌ mɔ ntrɪ 'ɔ ː l]

Edmonton ['edmə ntə n]

Winnipeg ['wɪ nɪ peg]

B. Complete the following sentences with the correct word or phrase (a, b or c).

III. READING

Read the text and make sure you know the translation of the highlighted words and phrases.

Canada

1. Canada (i/ˈ kæ nə də /) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the world's longest land border.

2. Canada has the longest coastline in the world, with a total length of 202, 080 kilometres (125, 570 mi). Canada consists of eight distinct forest regions, including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield. Canada has around 31, 700 large lakes, more than any other country, containing much of the world's fresh water. The Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is one of the world's most voluminous waterfalls. Canada is geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes.

3. The 2011 Canadian census counted a total population of 33, 476, 688. Canada's population density, at 3.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.5 /sq mi), is among the lowest in the world. Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary from region to region. Winters can be harsh in many parts of the country. In noncoastal regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year, while in parts of the north snow can persist year-round. Coastal British Columbia has a temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter.

4. The name Canada comes from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning " village" or " settlement ". In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona. Cartier later used the word Canada to refer to the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this region as Canada.

5. Canada's national symbols are influenced by natural, historical, and Aboriginal sources. The use of the maple leaf as a Canadian symbol dates to the early 18th century. The maple leaf is depicted on Canada's current and previous flags, on the penny, and on the Arms of Canada. Other prominent symbols include the beaver, Canada Goose, Common Loon, the Crown, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and more recently, the totem pole and Inuksuk.

6. The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal people. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America to Britain in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy, culminating in the Canada Act 1982.

7. " Peace, order and good government" (POGG) is the introductory phrase of section 91 of the CONSTITUTION ACT, 1867, generally stating the scope of the legislative jurisdiction of Parliament. Canada is a federal state governed as a parliamentary democracy and has a parliamentary system within the context of a constitutional monarchy, the monarchy of Canada being the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II, who also serves as head of state of 15 other Commonwealth countries and each of Canada's ten provinces and resides predominantly in the United Kingdom. As such, the Queen's representative, the Governor General of Canada (presently David Lloyd Johnston), carries out most of the federal royal duties in Canada. Five parties had representatives elected to the federal parliament in the 2011 elections: the Conservative Party of Canada (governing party), the New Democratic Party (the Official Opposition), the Liberal Party of Canada, the Bloc Qué bé cois, and the Green Party of Canada. The list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial.

8. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level. Canada's two official languages are Canadian English and Canadian French.

9. As of 2011, it has a population of approximately 33.4 million. According to the 2006 census, the country's largest self-reported ethnic origin is Canadian (accounting for 32% of the population), followed by English (21%), French (15.8%), Scottish (15.1%), Irish (13.9%), German (10.2%), Italian (4.6%), Chinese (4.3%), First Nations (4.0%), Ukrainian (3.9%), and Dutch (3.3%).

10. According to the 2001 census, 77.1 percent of Canadians identify as Christian; of this, Catholics make up the largest group, accounting for 43.6 percent of the population. The largest Protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada (accounting for 9.5% of Canadians), followed by Anglicans (6.8%), Baptists (2.4%), Lutherans (2%), and other Christian denominations (4.4%). About 16.5 percent declare no religious affiliation, and the remaining 6.3 percent are affiliated with non-Christian religions, the largest of which are Islam (2.0%) and Judaism (1.1%).

11. Canada's economy is one of the world's largest and is reliant upon its natural resources and trade, particularly with the United States, with which it also has a long and complex relationship. It is a member of the NATO, WTO, Commonwealth of Nations, Francophonie, United Nations and others.

12. Atlantic Canada possesses vast offshore deposits of natural gas, and province Alberta also hosts large oil and gas resources. The immense Athabasca oil sands give Canada the world's second-largest proven oil reserves, after Saudi Arabia. Canada is additionally one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products; the Canadian Prairies are one of the most important global producers of wheat, canola, and other grains. Canada is a major producer of zinc and uranium, and is a leading exporter of many other minerals, such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead. Many towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, are sustainable because of nearby mines or sources of timber. Canada also has a sizable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.

13. Canadian provinces and territories are responsible for education. The mandatory school age ranges between 5–7 to 16–18 years, contributing to an adult literacy rate of 99 percent. In 2002, 43 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 possessed a post-secondary education; for those aged 25 to 34, the rate of post-secondary education reached 51 percent. The Programme for International Student Assessment indicates that Canadian students perform well above the OECD average, particularly in mathematics, sciences, and reading.

14. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Seven of Canada's eight largest metropolitan areas – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg – have franchises in the National Hockey League (NHL). Other popular spectator sports in Canada include curling and football; the latter is played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Golf, baseball, skiing, soccer, cricket, volleyball, rugby league and basketball are widely played at youth and amateur levels, but professional leagues and franchises are not widespread. Canada has hosted several high-profile international sporting events, including the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, the 1994 Basketball World Championship and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Canada was the host nation for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.