龐先慶

由于歷史的原因，美麗的楓葉之國加拿大的文化呈現(xiàn)出多元化的面貌。作為一個(gè)眾所周知的移民國家，加拿大文化豐富多彩。現(xiàn)在，讓我們一起來零距離感受其與眾不同的文化氛圍吧。

Canada， covering most of northern North America， is the world's second largest country by total area.

Due to its colonial past， Canadian culture has historically been heavily influenced by British and French cultures and traditions. In more modern times， Canadian culture is now greatly influenced by American culture. As a result， a more powerful and diverse Canadian culture with unique characteristics has developed in recent years in many respects.

There were and are many distinct First Nations across Canada， each with its own culture， language and history. From as early the 1500s， European explorers， traders， and fishermen from England， Ireland and France helped form the basis of Canadian culture. During their colonization of Canada， settlers created a folklore （民俗） about the land around them.

Canada and the United Kingdom share a common history as well as many of the same customs， values， and traditions and continue to work together through many organizations such as the Commonwealth， and G-8.

Many American movies， authors， TV shows， and musicians are equally popular in Canada. Many Canadian musicians have been successful in the US and around the world. Most cultural products of these types are now increasingly marketed toward a unified “North American” market， and not specifically a Canadian or American one.

The Canadian governments share a variety of close working partnerships in trade， economic， legal， security， and military matters with the US governments. As Canada and the US have grown closer， many Canadians have developed complex feelings and concerns regarding what makes Canada a “distinct” nation within North America. However， in recent years， Canada has increasingly distinguished itself from the US and much of Canadian culture remains defined in contrast to American culture.

【讀寫空間】

通過閱讀上面的短文，我們初步了解了加拿大的多元文化。現(xiàn)在，讓我們走近另一個(gè)多元化的北美國家——美國。假設(shè)你校與美國一所中學(xué)結(jié)為友好學(xué)?！，F(xiàn)在一批美國中學(xué)生來你校訪問，英語?？独_紛世界》欄目需要刊登一篇介紹美國的文章，請你根據(jù)下面表格中的信息，以 “America—A Country of Diversity”為題寫一篇英語短文。

注意：1. 詞數(shù)：120詞左右;2. 參考詞匯：工業(yè)化國家industrialized country