Text 1. Canada
Canada has an area of nearly ten million square kilometres. Its western coast is washed by the Pacific Ocean and its eastern coast by the Atlantic Ocean. There are many islands in the north of Canada. Canada has mountains, high plains and low plains. The Rocky Mountains run parallel to the Pacific coast. East of these mountains are the high plains. The low plains lie in the region of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. There are also mountains which run parallel to Canada’s east coast, in Labrador and Baffin Island. Canada is a country of lakes. Besides the Great Lakes – Lakes Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario (the fifth Great Lake, Michigan, lies in the USA), there are many other very large lakes, for example, Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake and Lake Winnipeg. Canada also has large rivers: the Mackenzie flows from the Rocky Mountains into the Arctic Ocean, the Yukon rises in Canada and flows into the Pacific, the St. Lawrence River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The Niagara Falls are one of the most splendid sights in the world. Since the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River form a great water-way from the Atlantic to the heart of the country. Canada has several climatic regions. Winter in Canada lasts from four to five months with heavy snowfalls. There is much rain in the east and west, but less in the centre. The north of the country near the Arctic is tundra with great forests to the south. The central plains form the prairies. The population of Canada is about 32 million people. In the country there are many Indians and Eskimos, who live mostly in the North. Today more than 40 per cent of the people of Canada came originally from Britain, about 30 per cent from France and 20 per cent from other countries. So there are two state languages: English and French. English is spoken by 60 % of population; French is spoken by 23 % of people. The name Canada is derived from an Iroquoian term meaning The capital of Canada is Ottawa. Other large important cities are Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver. Edmonton, Hamilton, Winnipeg and Canada is rich in metal ores, oil and gas, and the metal, machine-building, motor-car and ship-building industries are highly developed. The hydro-electric industry is highly developed, its main centres are in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. There is a very large hydro-electric station at the Niagara Falls. Canada’s main agricultural products are wheat, meat, some kinds of fruit, especially apples, and dairy products. The provinces of Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia, with their great forests, produce wood for paper-making and building. Many of the lakes and rivers are polluted today and few of them have fish now. But Canada's fishing industry is still important on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Canada’s largest ports are Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. Canada became independent from the United Kingdom on July, 1, 1867. Legal system is based on the English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on the French law prevails. The government type is confederation with parliamentary democracy. Canada is a member of the Commonwealth. Formally the head of the state is the King or Queen of England represented by the Governor-General. Canada consists of ten provinces and two territories. Each province has its own government. The Federal Parliament consists of the Senate, whose members are appointed by the Governor-General, and the House of Commons, elected by the people for a period of five years. There are several political parties which are represented in Parliament: The Progressive Conservative Party, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party. It`s true that the majority of travelers are attracted by the opportunity to explore Canada`s wilderness areas, natural wonders and rural charm, there is a lot more to Canada than maple trees, Niagara Falls and wide open spaces.
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