CULTURE OF CANADA

CULTURE OF CANADAC anada 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.The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia (qian1nian2) by various Aboriginal (tu3zhu4) peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions (zheng1zhan4) explored, and later settled, the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded (ge1rang4) nearly all of its colonies in North America to Britain in 1763 after the Seven Years' WarCanadian SymbolsCanada is often symbolically connected with three key images—hockey, the beaver, and the dress uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceHockey,often described as Canada's national sport, is a vigorous, often violently competitive team sport and, as such, it carries the same kind of symbolic weight that football does for many Americans.Hockey is used, in its symbolic form, to signify national unity and a national sense of purpose and community.That most Canadians do not follow hockey in any serious way does not diminish its role as a key cultural symbol.The beaver represents industriousness, willingness to work hard, and a symbol of triumph over the seasons, which in Canada can be severe. The very northern parts of Canada border the Arctic Circle (Bei3ji2quan1)The RCMP represents Canada’s sense of diligence(qin2mian3)and humility (qian1xun4). The vastness and wildness of Canada was not tamed by brute force, as we think of America, but rather with a spirit of cooperation with other Canadian institutions and by the rule of law.RegionsAlthough the two coastal areas do contribute agriculturally to Canada’s economy, they are known most for their port cities that move goods in and out of Canada.The central portion of the country, in its southern areas, is primarily conifer (zhen1ye4shu4) forest. This forest region extends across the entire country from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains through to the Atlantic coast.These forests are m anaged in such a way as to provide for Canada’s n eeds, the lumber and lumber product needs of other countries, and to provide these resources in a sustainable and ecologically sound manner. .A section of the country westward from the Great Lakes basin along the southern extent of this forest region is a prairie (cao3yuan2). This is the area of Canada where much of the wheat that is exported grows.The Great Lakes (Wu3da4hu2) are a group of five lakes, the largest group of fresh water lakes in the world, actually.They contain approximately 21% of the world’s surface fresh water.The lakes are bound by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indian, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.Four of the five lakes form part of the Canada-United States border; the fifth, Lake Michigan, is contained entirely within the United States. The Saint Lawrence River, which marks the same international border for a portion of its course, is the primary outlet of these interconnected lakes, and flows through Quebec and past the Gaspé Peninsula to the northern Atlantic Ocean.The westernmost portion of the country is dominated by the Rocky Mountains, with a narrow river-land environment, made up of northern rain forests.The Rocky Mountains stretch over 4800 km from northern British Columbia to New Mexico in America’s southwest.West of the mountains lies a region with numerous lakes and expanses of exposed rock. This area of Canada is rugged and beautiful, much like a frontier.Across the northernmost portion of the country from east to west lies a region dominated by tundra (dong4tu3ceng2) and finally at its most northern reach, an arctic (Bei3ji2quan1) eco-zone.Canadian EconomyCanada is a large country that is rich in resources, but there are geographic limitations on where people can live. An advantage in this situation is that these natural resources can be more easily used.Most of the population is located around the Great Lakes, and in the Saint Lawrence River Valley.This wealth of resources allows Canada all that it needs internally and provides great revenue in exports. Natural resources, such as forestry products (lumber andlumber products), minerals and mineral ore, and oil and gas have been the foundation of the Canadian economy for years.Farming also plays a large part in the Canadian economy, although most of Canada's agricultural production is exported, primarily to the United States.Very few Canadians produce at the subsistence level (sheng1cun2nong2ye4); so virtually all agricultural production in Canada is production for sale. However, because of Canada’s short growing season, a significant amount of Canada’s food is imported. (Bret)Manufacturing in Canada is dominated by automobile production, and by the manufacture of other large equipment and farm equipment.A cooperative agreement between American auto-makers and the Canadian government has helped to make this possible.Canada also produces a wide range of consumer products, including furniture, electronics (especially communications equipment) and building materials.The single largest area of economic growth in Canada since the 1970s has been in the "service" sector. The financial, research, and tourist sectors have shown substantial increases during this period.As I mentioned before, hunting and fishing have also contributed significantly to Canada’s economic growth. Many people from the U.S. and other countries as well, flock to Canada to hunt the game that that is so plentiful there.These resource and service sectors dominate the economy of Canada.Canadian CitiesMost Canadians live in towns and cities. Canadian cities are found at important hubs (centers) of interchange between agriculture and manufacturing. Canadian cities developed as points of connection between farm production and industrial development. Because of this, Canadian cities have tended to develop haphazardly (mao1shou3mao2jiao3) processes of industrialization and changes in farming have developed.Canadian cities look like cities almost anywhere in the industrialized world, except they tend to be cleaner due to in that that orderliness has been a dominant feature of the history of Canadian culture.Canadian cities have tended to be more carefully planned and better run, at least in terms of convenience and services, than those in many other industrialized nations.Unlike European cities, however, space in Canadian cities tends to beprivately-owned.While most cities have some space, such as a formal plaza at a city hall, at which public events are held, in general there are no large communal (gong1you3) spaces in Canadian cities. Canadians in cities of whatever size socialize in private spaces: their homes or commercial sites, such as restaurants.Like cities throughout North America, space in Canadian cities is dominated by movement. Canadian cities are designed as networks through which goods, vehicles, and people move relatively easily. Streets are designed to control the flow of vehicle (che1liang4) traffic, isolate foot traffic, and to direct traffic toward destinations.This has led to the gradual disappearance of urban street shopping.Street shopping, like in most American cities as well, has been replaced by indoor shopping malls.Many smaller towns, however, have attempted to revitalize (zhen4xing1) their downtown, areas,since a decline in a town or village’s downtown area is often seen as a sign of the decline and decay of the town as a whole.Home life in Canadian cities is dominated by private homes or residences. Apartment buildings are dominant (zhan4you1shi4) in urban areas while outward expansion of cities has been dominated by the development of large tracts (mian4ji) of private single-family dwellings (sub-divisions—large group of similar houses in one area).Rural Life (xiang1xia1) in CanadaAccording to the last census (ren2kou3pu3cha2) (2006), six million Canadians live in small towns or rural areas, which is almost 20% of the population of Canada. Farms in Canada are often run by agribusiness (conglomerates-jiituan2) and can be very large so machines are necessary for much of the work done on these farms; especially at planting and harvesting times. These machines are often used 24/7 during these busy times.Some farmers spray their fields with pesticides (nong2yao4) and may use low-flying aircraft (fei1ji1) to accomplish this spraying.Some rural roads will not be maintained (wei2xiu1)between certain months of the year (i.e. November to April) so many residents own (four wheel drive trucks --si4lun2qu1dong4) or even snowmobiles (xue3di4che1) in order to be able to get to where they need to go. People that stay in the countryside for work either snowshoe or cross-country ski to get around.Almost without exception rural properties in Canada will have a well (shui3jing3) as a source of water. Heating the home may be an issue. While many homes have central heating, homes that do not are often warmed by wood or coal stovesMany people living in the countryside of Canada commute (jiao1huan4--drive) to a job in the town or city. These areas we might call suburban but not in the same way as suburbs in America.Canadian SportsConsidering its history it is not surprising that many popular sports have been brought from England and Europe—soccer, rugby, cricket, and others. Then, considering its proximity (closeness) to the U.S, sports like baseball, basketball, and football are also very popular.In fact, Canada has a professional baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays, which competes in professional baseball with American teams as a member of the American League Division.In addition to being a major cycling competitor, other sports like La Crosse an Australian Rules Football team, and Shooting Sports are also very popular.However, Canada is best known for its winter games—Hockey (bing1qiu3), in particular, but also ice skating, snow shoeing, and down-hill and cross-country skiing are very popular in Canada.Hockey is a very rough, highly-physical game and very exciting to watch. It is a very fast game with lots of physical contact between players. Often fights break out and have to be stopped by game officials.It is a game like soccer as you have to get the ball, or, in this game a puck (bing1qiu2), into the net to score a point and the other team is trying to prevent you from doing so. A big difference is that the puck is moved with a hockey stick and the game is played on ice (bing1qiu2chang3).Ice skating i s a great sport and it is also very popular in the U.S. The cost is minimal (ji2xiao3--a pair of skates) and all you need is warm clothing for the cold winter weather. Lakes are abundant (feng1)and there are also ice rinks (bing1chuan g3) available in warmer weather.Snow shoeing (xue3xie2) is simply walking but with a large, tennis racket-like shoe that is fixed to a boot. It simply spread the person’s weight so he/she does not sink into (xian4ru4) the snow. It is great exercise and very popular in Canada and the parts of the U.S. where it snows heavily.Down-hill skiing (hua2xue3) is very fun also, but it can be expensive. Ski resorts sometimes charge high fees for using the chair lifts (seats that take skiers to the top of the hill). Equipment for downhill skiing can be rented for the day at the resorts (du4jai4qu1). Food and drink is often very expensive also.Most people who ski often usually buy their own equipment. Skiing is a very popular sport in Canada, the U.S., and many other countries as well. I believe that there is a ski resort near Beijing now.Hunting in CanadaHunting seasons serve an important role to the game populations and the economy of each province. Season dates and tag (license)quotas (ding4’e2) are set based on wildlife (ye3sheng1sheng1wu4) populations and harvest reports. The money collected from hunting licenses and tourism helps to support the economy and habitat (sheng1jing4) restoration (xiu1fu4) programs.Canada offers several big-game species, with the most popular being whitetail deer, moose (da4lu4), elk (mi2lu4), black bear (hei1jia1zi) and caribou (a large type of deer). The big-game (large animal) seasons will typically take place from August to December.Waterfowl (shui3qin2) seasons---ducks and geese---will also take place during the fall and early winter. Manitoba waterfowl seasons vary depending on the various zones but will start in early September on September 1 or 8.Tag and license fees are typically broken down into three categories: resident, Canadian nonresidents and foreign nonresidents. License costs can vary with each province and by who is buying them. Canadian non-residents and foreign residents pay higher license fees.Some provinces require that the hunter has passed a hunter safety course before he/she can purchase a hunting license.Each province has individual regulations (guize2) regarding the hunting seasons and laws concerning bringing guns into the province. Weapons can be confiscated (mo4shou1) if provinces’ laws are not obeyed.French-CanadiansIn Canada, 85% of French Canadians reside (live) in Quebec where they constitute the majority of the population in all regions except the far North. Most cities and villages in this province were built and settled by the French or French Canadians during the French colonial rule.French-Canadian communities remain along the Quebec border in the US states ofnorthern Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire as well as further south in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and southern New Hampshire.They came to identify as Franco-American, especially those who were born American.In Quebec, about six million French Canadians are native French speakers. One million are English-speaking, "other-speakers", meaning, in practice, immigrants who speak neither French nor English at home.French-Canadian ReligionFrom 1629 onward and almost all French settlers of Canada were Roman Catholic..Until the 1960s, religion was a central component (yuan2jian4) of French-Canadian national identity. The Church parish (jiao4qu1) was the focal point (jiao1dian3) of civic life in French-Canadian society, and religious orders ran French-Canadian schools, hospitals and orphanages (yu2you2yuan2) and were very controlling of every day life in general.During the Quiet Revolution (a time of rapid change in politics, economics, and religion in Quebec) of the 1960s,however, the practice of Catholicism dropped drastically (kuang2shuai3) Church attendance in Quebec currently remains low. There are also many people from France, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and other countries whose mother tongue (mu3yu3) is French and are either Muslim or JewishSummaryThe development of the Canadian nation has been characterized by discussion, planning, and compromise.The gradual opening of all of Canada to European control, and its coming together in 1867 as a national entity, was not the result of war or revolution but instead, of negotiation and reconciliation. It was an orderly transition managed almost like a business venture much like England was.It is these qualities of combining co-operation with ethnic independence which continue to shape Canada's development as a nation. Developments in human rights law, for example, with a new emphasis on the importance of group rights and in particular group rights under conditions of inequality among groups, were pioneered in Canada.Nearly a century and a half of Canadian nationhood has demonstrated that it is indeed possible to build a nation where diversity serves as the keystone of unity.。