Страноведение

     July and August are the warmest months across the country and generally they are reasonably dry. Along the US border, summer temperatures are usually in the mid and upper 20°Cs. Each year there are a few days in the 30°Cs.

     Summers in the Yukon, Northwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut can be pleasantly warm and have the added benefit of extremely long daylight hours.

     Canadian winters are long. In more than two-thirds of the country the average January temperature is -18°C. The major cities are not consistently this cold but temperatures are generally below freezing. Except in the warmest areas, snowfall can be heavy especially from Toronto east. As a rule of thumb the farther north, the more snow. But only to a point, once past the central portion of the country, the dry conditions prevent snow fall of major accumulation.

Government & Politics.

     The form of the government of Canada is a constitutional monarchy. Canada is ruled by a parliamentary system with the head of state officially remaining the monarch of Britain. Within Canada the appointed governor general is the monarch’s representative. The upper house, or Senate, also made up of appointees, is deemed to be the house of review regarding any potential legislation. Mostly it acts as a rubber stamp for the wishes of the elected lower house, or House of Commons. Senate reform, or its abolition, is an ongoing debate within the country.

     The head of the political party with the most elected representatives in the House of Commons becomes the prime minister, the leader of the country. From the members of parliament within the governing party, the prime minister selects a cabinet which, in effect, runs the country and initiates legislation. Unlike in the USA, leaders can run for as long as they maintain popular support within their party. Governments are elected for five years, but elections can be called earlier.

     The 10 provinces are essentially self-governing and are presided over by premiers, elected provincially. Each province has a lieutenant governor appointed by the federal government. The three northern territories are for the most part the domain of the federal government, although more independence is being sought and some has been granted to Nunavut, the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.

Population and People. 

     Canada’s population is about 30.3 million (1998). About 35% of Canadians are of British stock. French descendants of the original pioneers long made up about 30% of the population but this now approaches 20% and continues to fall. By far the majority of people of French descent live in Quebec but there are large numbers in New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba.

     The English-speaking population has grown mainly by immigration from Britain and the USA. Over 3.5 million Canadians are of  Scottish or Irish ancestry.

     Generally speaking, the French are Catholic, the British Protestant, but religion does not play a large part in Canadian life.

     Early central and eastern European settlers went to the prairies but can now be found everywhere, particularly in the large cities. Canada’s third largest ancestral ethnic group is German. Other major groups are Italian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Dutch, Greek, Polish and Scandinavian. In 1997, Chinese surpassed Italian as the third most common tongue in Canada. Since 1990, other Asians, and to a lesser degree, Latin Americans and blacks from the Caribbean have been immigrating in larger numbers.

     Four out of five immigrants have neither English nor French as their mother tongue. Canada also receives refugees from around the world. Unlike the early days of rapid expansion and settlement, today’s arrivals head for the large cities. Toronto, the centre for international immigration, is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Education.

     Under the jurisdiction of the provinces, Canada provides free education from elementary through to secondary school. Beyond that tuition must be paid in what are known as community colleges (CEGEPS in Quebec) and universities, although the true cost is subsidised through taxes. Community colleges present one to three-year programs in a range of fields from graphic design to jewellery-making to nursing. These are taught under the broad categories of Arts, Business, Science and Technology, and Health Services. Universities provide higher academic and professional training.

     At the early levels, there are two basic school systems, known as the public and the separate. Both are free and essentially the same but the latter is designed for Catholics and offers more religious education along with the three ‘Rs’ Anyone can join either one but the two systems do split pretty much along religious denomination.

     French-immersion programs, in which English-speaking children are taught all their courses in French, are quite popular across Canada.

     There are also a number of private schools but no real private system. Schools in this category include alternative educational methods such as Waldorf and Montessori.

     The education system has been under constant scrutiny in recent years. Many students leaving high school have fared poorly in international testing, have been called essentially illiterate by universities and, according to business leaders, are poorly prepared for jobs in industry.

     In order to combat these shortcomings, a re-emphasis has been placed on the fundamentals and on standardised curriculums and testing.

     Not quite half of all Canadians finish high school. About 10% have a university degree. Students from around the world attend Canadian universities.

Task 1. Answer the questions.

1. What city  is the national capital of Canada?
2. What is the largest city in Canada?
3. How many geographic regions are there?
4. What are the best known and most visited places in Canada?
5. How many  legislative houses does Canada  have?
6. Who is the official head of  Canada?
7. Who is the leader of the country?
8. What international military alliance does it belong to?

 

Task 2. Say if  these statements  true or false.

1. There are two official languages in the country, English and French.
2. Weather and climate depend on longtitude.
3. The average January temperature is about -20°C.
4. Canada has two neighbouring countries.
5. Canada is a democratic  republic.
6. Canada’s chief of state is the president.
7. The head of Canada’s government is the prime minister.
8. All  provinces of Canada have their own parliament.
9. One-third of employees in Canada are women.
10. About 40% of the country’s industry is owned by non-Canadians, led by US interests.
11. Many transactions are done secretly and illegally.
12. Most  immigrants have English or French as their mother tongue.
13. Early central and eastern European settlers live in the prairies.
14. Majority of Canadians have a university degree.

Task 3.  Translate the following sentences  into English.

1. Население  Канады составляет почти 60 миллионов  человек.

2. На севере  Канада омывается Северным Ледовитым океаном.

3. На востоке  Канада омывается Атлантическим  океаном.

4. На  западе  США и Канада омываются Тихим  океаном.

5. На юге  и северо-западе Канада граничит  с США.

6. В Канаде  есть высокие горы, озера и  реки.

7. Скалистые  горы находятся на западе.

8. Скалистые  горы – одно из красивейших  мест на земле.

9. Главой государства  в Канаде является королева  или король Великобритании.

10. Главу государства  представляет генерал-губернатор.

11. Кабинет  министров Канады назначает генерал-губернатора.

12. Члены сената  назначаются генерал-губернатором.

13. Члены палаты  общин избираются на пять лет.

14. Символом  Канады является кленовый лист.

 
 

Text 2 
Canadian Economy

     (1) Canadians enjoy the high standard of living that major western countries are accustomed to and tend to take for granted. However, income and employment have fallen since the late 1980s so maintaining the wealth experienced by the previous generation is becoming ever more difficult, even elusive. Today nearly half the work force is women and by far the majority of households have two incomes, often by necessity.

     (2) The Canadian economy is based, as it always has been, on abundant natural resources. These natural renewable and nonrenewable riches include fish, timber and wood products, minerals, natural gas, oil and hydroelectricity. Although only 5% of the land is arable, the agricultural sector, primarily in wheat and barley, accounts for much of the Canadian export total. 

     (3) Manufacturing has long been a weak component of the economy and today employs just 14% of the country’s workers. The most important manufactured product is motor vehicles. Hi-tech industries and developers in the space and computer fields are playing increasing roles in the economy.

     (4) By far the largest part of the economy at a whopping 75% is in services which includes an enormous civil service. Banking, insurance, education, communication and consulting bring in foreign exchange. The rest of the service sector does not.

     (5) The country’s major trading partner is the USA although business people are increasingly strengthening ties with  Japan, China and all of the Pacific Rim. Mexico, too, is poised to become a major trading partner.

     (6) The high degree of foreign ownership of Canadian business has also been problematic, drawing profits away from the country. Overall, about 40% of the country’s industry is owned by non-Canadians, led by US interests.

     (7) Currently unemployment hovers around 9% with regional variations, and the inflation rate is about 2%.

     (8) Canada has an immense ‘underground economy’. This does not refer simply to various, more or less traditional, criminal activities but the hidden transactions of legitimate businesses done in order to avoid paying tax. Estimates of the extent of this underground economy range to over 20% of the country’s internal economic output. This is a staggering amount of taxes going unpaid which means rates have to go up. The car mechanic offers a tune-up, you offer to fix his plumbing; you stay at my B&B, I’ll design you a brochure. The variations are infinite. There are even ‘contra’ or service-exchange clubs to join.

     (9) Many transactions are done ‘under the table’, meaning paid for in cash with no bills, receipts, written guarantees or paperwork generated. Offering to pay cash usually results in a lower price as well as the tax saving.

Task 1. Skim the text about economy of Canada and highlight (or .write out) the  sentences  that summarise the main idea of each paragraph.

 

Text 3 
Australia

 

General Information

     Smallest continent and sixth largest country (in area) on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans.

     Officially Commonwealth of Australia 

     Population (2002 est.): 19,702,000.

     Capital: Canberra.

     Most Australians are descendants of Europeans.

     The largest nonwhite minority is the Australian Aboriginals.

     Language: English (official).

     Currency: Australian dollar.

     Formally a constitutional monarchy, its chief of state is the British monarch, represented by the governor-general.

     In reality it is a parliamentary state with two legislative houses; its head of government is the prime minister.

 

 
 
 
 

Geography

     Australia is an island continent lying south east of Asia and forming, with the nearby island of Tasmania and a number of smaller islands, the Commonwealth of Australia. In fact, it is the only country in the world which occupies the territory of an entire continent. Australia covers an area of 7.7 mln sq km, the same as the USA (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) and is more than 30 times larger than Great Britain.

     The Australian continent is bounded on the north by the Timor and Arafura Seas and Torres Strait, on the east by the Tasman and Coral Seas, on the south by Bass Strait and the Indian Ocean and on the west by the Indian Ocean. Australia is the smallest continent and the largest island in the world.

     The flattest of all continents, Australia's most significant mountain chain is the Great Dividing Range (the eastern projection of which is known as the Australian Alps) running down most of the east coast. Other mountains include the Kimberley and Hamerslay Ranges in Western Australia, the Macdonnell and Musgrave Ranges In Central Australia, and the Flinders Range in South Australia. Mount Kosciusko (2,230 m), in the Australian Alps, is Australia's highest point.

     There are few rivers and lakes in Australia. Its best-known river is Murray (2,600 km). The longest is the Darling (2,740 km). These, with the Murrumbidgee, the Lachlan and a number of smaller rivers form the continent's river system.

     Australia is located between 10 and 40 degrees south latitude. Its largest region is in the tropical belt which includes the tropical desert climate (in the western and in the central parts of the country)  and tropical wet climate (in the eastern part). In the subtropical belt (30-40 degrees south latitude) there are three types of climate: subtropical wet (in the south-eastern part), subtropical with dry summers (in the south-western part) and continental climate with low rainfall all the year round and sharp changes of temperatures (in the central southern part). Thus great parts of the interior (the outback) of the country are very dry. Most of these areas are desert country. In fact, the Great Sandy and Great Victoria Deserts rank among the largest deserts in the world.

     The continent is south of the Equator, so the seasons are the opposite way round in that part of the world. In December, January and February, when people are sledging and ice-skating in North America and the European countries, Australians are enjoying summer-time. The winter season is from June to August.

People

     Australia is the least populated of the world’s continents, its population being only 19.7 mln people (2002 est.). The distribution of the population is determined by the vast inland deserts. Thus more than 80 per cent of the people live in the six capitals on the coastal strip (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart) and less than 15 per cent actually live in the rural areas. Indeed, the two largest of these capital cities, Sydney and Melbourne, contain more than 6 mln people.

     The Australian population is subdivided into “original Australians” (known as the Aborigines), “old Australians” and “new Australians”. The word “aborigines” (“aboriginals”) means “first inhabitants”. The Aboriginals’ ancestors are believed to have migrated to the Australian continent from South-East Asia at least 40,000 years ago. Coming to terms with the often harsh climate, they became engaged in hunting and food gathering. They had a rich culture of ceremonies and mythology. Rock and bark paintings and engravings stand testimony to their culture. During the colonization period the: white man killed and even poisoned mercilessly a great many of the Aborigines. Now the estimated aboriginal population is less than one per cent of the population of the country. They mostly live in Aboriginal reserve communities on the most unsuitable soils where they were driven to by the white man. “Old Australians” are people of Anglo-Saxon or Irish descent, born in Australia and speaking English as their native tongue. Then, there are “new Australians”– post-war immigrants from various countries. Britain has been the largest source of post-war immigrants, the balance coming from more than 60 countries, particularly Italy and Greece. Now there are many nations in Australia speaking different languages, English being the official language.

Plants and Animals

     Australia has long been little known to most of the people of the world, and this is probably due to its geographical position. It is situated so far away from the places where most of the people of the world live.

     The isolation of the continent has resulted in the development of a distinctive Australian flora and fauna. This is reflected in the country’s coat-of-arms by the symbols of Australia’s native animals and plants: the kangaroo and the emu and a twig of wattle. It is also reflected in Australia’s poetic name: “Land of Wattle”. Although predominantly evergreen, vegetation ranges from the dense bushland of the coast to the mulga and mallee scrub of the inland plains. The best-known native trees are the eucalyptus (the gum) and the wattle. The gum, found across the continent in about 500 varieties, ranges from 90 m high to stunted types in arid zones. One eucalyptus, the jarrah, ranks among the world’s hardest woods. The wattle’s 600 species are akin to the acacia or mimosa.

     The fauna, or animal life in Australia is also very distinctive. There are many species which are native and unique to Australia. The native marsupials suckle their young in suckle. Native species include the kangaroo, koala, dingo, opossum, spiny anteater (or echidna), platypus, etc. Birds peculiar to Australia are the emu (which cannot fly), lyrebird, bower-bird, bower-bird, etc. The kookaburra's characteristic laugh is the signal of some radio programmes in Australia. There are also many hawks, eagles, cockatoos. Australia's coastal waters and rivers contain many varieties of fish. Some of Australia’s fauna can be harmful to man. Poisonous snakes include the fearsome tiger snake, brown snake and death-adder. Dangerous arachnids include the red-backed spider.

     The arrival of the Aborigines about 40,000 years ago did not alter the ecological balance to any great degree, although they did bring with them the dingo. However, the arrival of European man altered millennia of stability within two centuries. He brought with him sheep, rabbits, rats, cats and foxes. Technological changes destroyed the habitat, and the native plants and animals of Australia suffered accordingly.