Canada

Canada. Written by Nico Burke. Focus question. How do Canada's culture and history make it special?

加拿大。 尼科·伯克 撰文。 思考问题： 加拿大的文化和历史，为什么让它这么特别？

Where is it? Canada is the largest and northernmost country in mainland North America. The country is made up of 10 provinces and three territories. Canada's motto is From Sea to Sea, because it stretches from the Pacific Ocean all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Most big countries have many neighbors, But Canada has only one, the United States.

加拿大在哪里？ 加拿大是北美大陆位置最北、面积最大的国家。 这个国家一共由10个省和3个地区组成。 加拿大的座右铭是“从大海到大海”，因为它的国土从太平洋一直延伸到大西洋。 大多数大国都有很多邻国，可加拿大只有一个邻国，就是美国。

The government's buildings are in Ottawa, the nation's capital. Most government workers speak both French and English because the country has two main languages. People speak other languages such as Spanish and Chinese and Canada too. People there are from many different cultures. They enjoy different foods, wear different clothes, and pray in different ways. However, during the long, cold winter, Ottowans do something special together. They go ice skating on the world's largest skating area, the Rideau Canal, or one of the 267 neighborhood rinks.

政府大楼设在国家首都渥太华。 加拿大有两种主要官方语言，大部分政府工作人员都会说法语和英语。 在这里人们也会说西班牙语、汉语等其他语言。 加拿大人来自许多不同的文化背景。 他们享用不同的美食，穿着不同的服饰，有着不同的信仰习俗。 不过，在漫长寒冷的冬天，渥太华人会一起做一件特别的事。 他们要么去世界最大的天然滑冰场里多运河滑冰，要么去267个社区溜冰场中的一个玩耍。

people. Canadian native peoples belong to three groups. The Metis are mostly from the Plains, Inuit live in the far north, and First Nations live all across the country. Many people have families who came from France or England long ago. They were the first people from Europe to come and stay in large numbers. Germans, Ukrainians, Italians, and others followed. Then people from China, India, other countries in Asia, and the Middle East began to come. Today, people from nearly everywhere live in Canada. One in five Canadians were born in another country. Many people say this makes the nation stronger.

多样的人群。 加拿大原住民分为三大族群。 梅蒂人大多住在平原，因纽特人生活在极北，第一民族遍布全国各地。 很多加拿大人的祖辈很早以前就从法国或英国来到这里。 他们是第一批大批量来此定居的欧洲人。 之后德国人、乌克兰人、意大利人和其他国家的人也陆续来了。 再后来，中国、印度以及其他亚洲、中东国家的人们也开始来到这里。 如今，几乎世界各地都有人在加拿大生活。 每五个加拿大人里，就有一个出生在别的国家。 很多人都说，这种多元性让这个国家变得更强大。

Nine out of ten Canadians live within 160 kilometers, 100 miles, of the United States border. Most people live in large cities where many work in hotels, banks, or schools. There are jobs in factories, too. In some areas of the country, people drill for oil or mine copper or gold. Others farm the land or cut trees from the forests. Many Canadian goods are sold around the world, but most are traded across the border with the United States.

十分之九的加拿大人，都住在距离美国边境160公里（100英里）以内的区域。 多数人居住在大城市，很多人在酒店、银行或是学校工作。 工厂里也有很多工作机会。 在加拿大的部分地区，人们开采石油，或是挖掘铜矿和金矿。 还有人耕种土地，或是在森林里伐木。 加拿大很多商品销往世界各地，但大多数商品都和美国进行边境贸易。

Land. Canada is divided into seven main regions. In the west is the Cordillera region, with tall mountain ranges. The Rocky Mountains are the highest range, reaching 3 ,954 meters, 13 ,000 feet. Then the land drops and flattens out, with lots of grass in the south and many trees to the north. These areas are the vast interior plains. Next, going around Hudson Bay is the huge Canadian shield. Thousands of years ago, heavy glaciers slowly pushed across this land.

地貌。 加拿大主要分为七个地理区域。 西部是科迪勒拉地区，这里有高耸的山脉群。 落基山脉是最高的山脉，海拔达到3954米，也就是13000英尺。 再往东地势下降变平缓，南部有大片草原，北部则有大片森林。 这些区域就是广袤的内陆平原。 接下来，环绕哈德逊湾的是广阔的加拿大地盾。 数千年前，厚重的冰川缓慢地划过了这片土地。