英语国家漫游---加拿大PPT优秀课件

英语国家漫游IntroductionCanada 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 Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west,and northward into the Arctic Ocean.Spanning over 9.9 million square kilometres,Canada is the worlds second-largest country by total area,and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.The land that is now Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples.Beginning in the late 15th century,British and French expeditions explored,and later settled,along the regions Atlantic coast.France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years War.In 1867,with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation,Canada was formed as afederal dominion of four provinces.This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom.This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act 1982,which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament Canada is a federal state that is governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state.It is a bilingual nation with both English and French as official languages at the federal level.One of the worlds most highly-developed countries,Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade particularly with the United States,with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship.It is a member of the G7,G8,G20,NATO,OECD,WTO,Commonwealth of Nations,Francophonie,OAS,APEC,and UN.With the sixth-highest Human Development Index globally,Canada has one of the highest standards of living in the world.Government and politics6Canada has a strong democratic tradition,upheld through a parliamentary system within the context of a constitutional monarchy.The monarchy of Canada is the foundation of the executive,legislative,and judicial branches of the government.The current sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II,who also serves as head of state of 15 other Commonwealth countries and each of Canadas ten provinces.The Queen resides predominantly in the United Kingdom;as such,her formal representative,the Governor General of Canada(presently David Lloyd Johnston),carries out most of the federal royal duties in Canada.The direct participation of the royal and viceroyal figures in areas of governance is limited;in practice,their use of executive powers is directed by the Cabinet,a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the elected House of Commons and chosen and headed by the Prime Minister of Canada(presently Stephen Harper),the head of government,though the governor general or monarch may in certain crisis situations exercise their power without ministerial advice.To ensure the stability of government,the governor general will usually appoint as prime minister the person who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the House of Commons.The Prime Ministers Office(PMO)is thus one of the most powerful institutions in government,initiating most legislation for parliamentary approval and selecting for appointment by the Crown,besides the aforementioned,the governor general,lieutenant governors,senators,federal court judges,and heads of Crown corporations and government agencies.The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the Leader of Her Majestys Loyal Opposition(presently Nycole Turmel)and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.Each of the 308 Members of Parliament(MPs)in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district or riding.General elections must be called by the governor general,on the advice of the prime minister,within four years of the previous election,or may be triggered by the government losing a confidence vote in the House.The 105 members of the Senate,whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis,may serve until the age of 75.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 Qubcois,and the Green Party of Canada.The list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial.Geography Canada occupies a major northern portion of North America,sharing the land borders with the contiguous United States to the south and the US state of Alaska to the northwest.Canada stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west;to the north lies the Arctic Ocean.By total area(including its waters),Canada is the second-largest country in the world,after Russia.By land area alone,Canada ranks fourth.The country lies between latitudes 41 and 84N,and longitudes 52 and 141W.Since 1925,Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60 and 141W longitude,but this claim is not universally recognized.Canada is home to the worlds northernmost settlement,Canadian Forces Station Alert,on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island latitude 82.5N which lies 817 kilometres(508 mi)from the North Pole.Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost.Canada has the longest coastline in the world,with a total length of 202,080 kilometres(125,570 mi);additionally,its border with the United States is the worlds longest land border,stretching over 8,890 kilometres(5,520 mi).Since the end of the last glacial period,Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions,including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield.Canada has more lakes than any other country,containing much of the worlds fresh water.There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies and the Coast Mountains.Canada is geologically active,having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes,notably Mount Meager,Mount Garibaldi,Mount Cayley,and the Mount Edziza volcanic complex.The volcanic eruption of the Tseax Cone in 1775 was among Canadas worst natural disasters,killing 2,000 Nisgaa people and destroying their village in the Nass River valley of northern British Columbia.The eruption produced a 22.5-kilometre(14.0 mi)lava flow,and,according to Nisgaa legend,blocked the flow of the Nass River.Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary from region to region.Winters can be harsh in many parts of the country,particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces,which experience a continental climate,where daily average temperatures are near 15 C,but can drop below 40 C with severe wind chills.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.On the east and west coasts,average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s C,while between the coasts,the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 C,with temperatures in some interior locations occasionally exceeding 40 CEconomy Canada is one of the worlds wealthiest nations,with a very high per-capita income.It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the G8,and is one of the worlds top ten trading nations.Canada is a mixed economy,ranking above the US and most western European nations on the Heritage Foundations index of economic freedom.The largest foreign importers of Canadian goods are the United States,the United Kingdom,and Japan.In the past century,the growth of Canadas manufacturing,mining,and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to an advanced,urbanized,industrial one.Like many other First World nations,the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry,which employs about three-quarters of the countrys workforce.However,Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of its primary sector,in which the logging and petroleum industries are two of the most prominent elements.Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy.Atlantic Canada possesses vast offshore deposits of natural gas,and Alberta also hosts large oil and gas resources.The immense Athabasca oil sands give Canada the worlds second-largest proven oil reserves,after Saudi Arabia.Canada is additionally one of the worlds largest suppliers of agricultural products;the Canadian Prairies are one of the most important global producers of wheat,canola,and other grains.Canada is the largest producer of zinc and uranium,and is a leading exporter of many other natural resources,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.Canadas economic integration with the United States has increased significantly since World War II.The Automotive Products Trade Agreement of 1965 opened the countrys borders to trade in the automobile manufacturing industry.In the 1970s,concerns over energy self-sufficiency and foreign ownership in the manufacturing sectors prompted Prime Minister Pierre Trudeaus Liberal government to enact the National Energy Program and the Foreign Investment Review Agency(FIRA).In the 1980s,Prime Minister Brian Mulroneys Progressive Conservatives abolished the NEP and changed the name of FIRA to Investment Canada,in order to encourage foreign investment.The Canada United States Free Trade Agreement(FTA)of 1988 eliminated tariffs between the two countries,while the North American Free Trade Agreement expanded the free-trade zone to include Mexico in 1994.In the mid-1990s,the Liberal government under Jean Chrtien began to post annual budgetary surpluses,and steadily paid down the national debt.Science and technologyCanada is an industrialized nation,with one of the worlds most highly-developed science and technology sectors.In 2011,nearly 1.88%of Canadas GDP was allocated to research and development(R&D).The country has produced ten Nobel laureates in physics,chemistry and medicine.Canada ranks twelfth in the world for Internet users as a proportion of the population,with 28 million users equivalent to 84.3%of the total population.The Canadian Space Agency operates one of the worlds most active space programs,conducting space,planetary,and aviation research,and developing rockets and satellites.In 1984,Marc Garneau became Canadas first astronaut,serving as payload specialist on the STS-41-G Space Shuttle mission.As of 2011,a total of nine Canadians have flown into space,over the course of fifteen manned missions.Canada is a participant in the International Space Station,and is a pioneer in space robotics,having constructed the Canadarm,Canadarm2 and Dextre robotic manipulators.Since the 1960s,Canadas aerospace industry has designed and built 10 marques of satellite,including Radarsat-1,Radarsat-2 and MOST.Canada has also produced a successful and widely-used sounding rocket,the Black Brant;over 1,000 Black Brants have been launched since the rockets introduction in 1961.In addition,Canadian universities are working on the first domestic landing spacecraft,the Northern Light,which is designed to search for life on Mars and investigate the Martian atmosphere and electromagnetic radiation environment.If the Northern Light is successfully launched before 2013,Canada will become the third country to perform a soft landing on another planet,after the United States and Soviet Union.LanguageCanadas two official languages are Canadian English and Canadian French.Official bilingualism is defined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,the Official Languages Act,and Official Language Regulations;it is applied by the Commissioner of Official Languages.English and French have equal status in federal courts,Parliament,and in all federal institutions.Citizens have the right,where there is sufficient demand,to receive federal government services in either English or French,and official-language minorities are guaranteed their own schools in all provinces and territories.English and French are the first languages of 59.7%and 23.2%of the population respectively.Approximately 98%of Canadians speak English or French:57.8%speak English only,22.1%speak French only,and 17.4%speak both.English and French Official Language Communities,defined by First Official Language Spoken,constitute 73.0 and 23.6%of the population respectively.The Charter of the French Language makes French the official language in Quebec.Although more than 85%of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec,there are substantial Francophone populations in Ontario,Alberta,and southern Manitoba;Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec.New Brunswick,the only officially bilingual province,has a French-speaking Acadian minority constituting 33%of the population.There are also clusters of Acadians in southwestern Nova Scotia,on Cape Breton Island,and through central and western Prince Edward Island.Other provinces have no official languages as such,but French is used as a language of instruction,in courts,and for other government services,in addition to English.Manitoba,Ontario,and Quebec allow for both English and French to be spoken in the provincial legislatures,and laws are enacted in both languages.In Ontario,French has some legal status,but is not fully co-official.There are 11 Aboriginal language groups,composed of more than 65 distinct dialects.Of these,only the Cree,Inuktitut and Ojibway languages have a large enough population of fluent speakers to be considered viable to survive in the long term.Several aboriginal languages have official status in the Northwest Territories.Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut,and is one of three official languages in the territory.CultureCanadas culture is diverse,drawing influences from its broad range of constituent nationalities and cultures,and policies that promote multiculturalism are constitutionally protected.In Quebec,cultural identity is strong,and many French-speaking commentators speak of a culture of Quebec as distinguished from English Canadian culture;however,as a whole Canada is in theory a cultural mosaic a collection of several regional,aboriginal,and ethnic subcultures.Government policies such as publicly-funded health care,higher taxation to distribute wealth,outlawing capital punishment,strong efforts to eliminate poverty,an emphasis on multiculturalism,stricter gun control,and legalization of same-sex marriage are social indicators of how Canadas political and cultural evolution differs from that of the United States.Historically Canada has been influenced by British,French,and aboriginal cultures and traditions.Through their culture,language,art and music,aboriginals continue to influence the Canadian identity.Many Canadians value multiculturalism and see Canada as being inherently multicultural.American media and entertainment are popular,if not dominant,in English Canada;conversely,many Canadian cultural products and entertainers are successful in the United States and worldwide.Many cultural products are marketed toward a unified North American or global market.The creation and preservation of distinctly Canadian culture are supported by federal government programs,laws,and institutions such as the Canadia Broadcasting Corporation(CBC),the National Film Board of Canada,and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.Canadian visual art has been dominated by Tom Thomson Canadas most famous painter and by the Group of Seven.Thomsons brief career painting Canadian landscapes spanned just a decade up to his death in 1917 at age 39.The Group were painters with a nationalistic and idealistic focus,who first exhibited their distinctive works in May 1920.Though referred to as having seven members,five artists Lawren Harris,A.Y.Jackson,Arthur Lismer,J.E.H.MacDonald,and Frederick Varley were responsible for articulating the Groups ideas.They were joined briefly by Frank Johnston,and by commercial artist Franklin Carmichael.A.J.Casson became part of the Group in 1926.Associated with the Group was another prominent Canadian artist,Emily Carr,known for her landscapes and portrayals of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast.The Canadian music industry has produced internationally renowned composers,musicians and ensembles.Canadas music broadcasting is regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission(CRTC).The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences administers Canadas music industry awards,the Juno Awards,which commenced in 1970.The national anthem of Canada O Canada adopted in 1980,was originally commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec,the Honourable Thodore Robitaille,for the 1880 St.Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony.Calixa Lavalle wrote the music,which was a setting of a patriotic poem composed by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier.The text was originally only in French,before it was translated to English in 1906.Canadas official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse.Hockey is a national pastime and the most popular spectator sport in the country.It is also the sport most played by Canadians,with 1.65 million participants in 2004.Seven of Canadas eight largest metropolitan areas Toronto,Montreal,Vancouver,Ottawa,Calgary,Edmonton and Winnipeg have franchises in the National Hockey League(NHL),and there are more Canadian players in the NHL than from all other countries combined.Other popular spectator sports include curling and football;the latter is played professionally in the Canadian Football League(CFL).Golf,baseball,skiing,soccer,cricket,volleyball,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,and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.Canada was the host nation for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler,British Columbia.Canadas 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 Canadas 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.