Reading and speaking section

Task 1.

Read the text and fill in the table

	Official name
	Status
	Area
	Location
	Population
	Nationality
	Capital
	Languages

Canada is the world's second-largest country by area, occupying most of northern North America. Extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, Canada shares land borders with the United States to the south and to the northwest.

Inhabited first by Aboriginal peoples, Canada was founded as a union of British colonies, some of which had earlier been French colonies. Canada peacefully obtained independence from the United Kingdom in a process spanning from 1867 to 1982.

Canada is a federal constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, consisting of ten provinces and three territories, and defines itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation; both English and French are official languages. A technologically advanced and industrialized nation, its diversified economy relies heavily on an abundance of natural resources and on trade, particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship.

Canada is a constitutional monarchy that recognizes Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada (since February 6, 1952 and a parliamentary democracy with a federal system of parliamentary government, and strong democratic traditions.

Canada has a close relationship with the United States, sharing the world's longest undefended border, co-operating on some military campaigns and exercises, and being each other's largest trading partners. Canada also shares history and long relationships with the United Kingdom and France, the two imperial powers most important in its founding. These relations extend to other former-members of the British and French empires, through Canada's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie.

Canada is composed of ten provinces and three territories. The provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The three territories are the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon. The provinces have a large degree of autonomy from the federal government, the territories somewhat less. Each has its own provincial or territorial symbols.

Canada occupies most of the northern portion of North America. It shares land borders with the contiguous United States to the south and with the US state of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean.

The population density of 3.5 people per square kilometer (9.1/mi²) is among the lowest in the world. The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor along the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River in the southeast. To the north of this region is the broad Canadian Shield, an area of rock scoured clean by the last ice age, thinly soiled, rich in minerals, and dotted with lakes and rivers—Canada by far has more lakes than any other country in the world and has a large amount of the world's freshwater.

Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada range depending on the location. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the Prairie provinces, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F), but can drop below -40 °C (-40 °F) with severe wind chills. Coastal British Columbia is an exception and enjoys a temperate climate with a mild and rainy winter.

Average summer high temperatures across Canada range depending on the location. On the east and west coast average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (68 to 74 °F), while between the coasts the average summer high temperature range between 25 °C to 30 °C (78 to 86 °F) with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding 40 °C (104 °F).

Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations, a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Group of Eight (G8). Canada is a free market economy with slightly more government intervention than the United States, but much less than most European nations. Canada has traditionally had a lower per capita gross domestic product (GDP) than its southern neighbour (whereas wealth has been more equally divided), but higher than the large western European economies. For the past decade, after a period of turbulence, the Canadian economy has been growing rapidly with low unemployment and large government surpluses on the federal level. Today Canada closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. While as of May 2006, Canada's national unemployment rate of 6.1% is its lowest since 1974, provincial unemployment rates vary from 3.4% to 14.8%.

Canada is one of the world's most important suppliers of agricultural products, with the Canadian Prairies one of the most important suppliers of wheat and other grains. Canada is the world's largest producer of zinc and uranium and a world leader in many other natural resources such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead; many, if not most, towns in the northern part of the country, where agriculture is difficult, exist because of a nearby mine or source of timber. Canada also has a sizeable manufacturing sector, centered in southern Ontario, with the automobile industry especially important.

Canada is a very ethnically diverse nation. According to the 2001 census, it has 34 ethnic groups with at least one hundred thousand members each. The largest ethnic group is Canadian (39.4%), followed by English (20.2%), French (15.8%), Scottish (14.0%), Irish (12.9%), German (9.3%), Italian (4.3%), Chinese (3.7%), Ukrainian (3.6%) and North American Indian (3.4%). Canada's aboriginal population is growing almost twice as fast as the rest of the Canadian population. In 2001, 13.4% of the population belonged to visible minorities.

Canadians adhere to a wide variety of religions. According to the last census, 77.1% of Canadians identified as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group (43.6% of Canadians). The largest protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada; about 17% of Canadians declared no religious affiliation, and the remaining 6.3% were affiliated with religions other than Christianity, of which the largest is Islam.

Canada's two official languages, English and French, are the mother tongues of 59.7% and 23.2% of the population, respectively.

Canadian culture has historically been heavily influenced by English, French, Irish, Scottish and Aboriginal cultures and traditions, and over time has been greatly influenced by American culture due to its proximity and the interchange of human capital. Many forms of American media and entertainment are popular, if not dominant in Canada; conversely, many Canadian cultural products and entertainers are successful in the US and worldwide. Many cultural products are now marketed toward a unified "North American" market, or a global market generally.

Canadian culture has also been greatly influenced by more recent immigration of people from all over the world. Many Canadians value multiculturalism, indeed some see Canadian culture as being inherently multicultural. Multicultural heritage is enshrined in Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Canada's official national sports are ice hockey (winter) and lacrosse (summer). Hockey is a national pastime, and is by far the most popular spectator sport in the country. It is also the most popular sport Canadians play.

Task 2.

Discuss with your partner the places you would like to live and the ones you would never go to.