Экскурсия по Канаде на английском языке

"Welcome to Canada"

(An excursion)

A group of Russian tourists is in Canada for the first time. They want to know as much as possible about the country. This gentleman is a group leader. That one is a correspondent. He always asks a lot of questions. And these ladies are guides  from the Ottawa Tourist Information Office. And I am a Russian tourist too. Let's begin our excursion.

Guide 1: Dear guests! You are welcome to Canada. As you know Canada covers all of the North American continent north of the USA except Alaska. It is washed by three oceans: the Atlantic ocean, the Pacific ocean and the Arctic ocean.

The Canadian landforms are simple. The interior of the country is a vast plain. The plain extends from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachian Mountains but narrows along the Arctic Coastal Plain. In the North the plain ends in the islands of the Arctic ocean. The famous Great Lakes which include lakes Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario Canada shares with the USA.

Correspondent: Excuse me. I've got a question. Are there any other lakes in Canada?

Guide 1: Oh, yes. Beside the Great Lakes there are also Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, Lake Winnipeg and many smaller lakes.

Correspondent: Thanks a lot. May I ask you one more question?

Guide 1: Sure. Do, please.

Correspondent: I've heard some information about the Niagara Falls but I don't quite imagine where are they situated.

Guide 1: I had an intention to say that the most admirable sight which attracts tourists in our country is the Niagara Falls. They are on the Niagara River between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Correspondent: Thank you very much.

Guide 2: Administratively, Canada consists of ten provinces and two territories. They are British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Yukon and Northwest territories. Each province has its local government officials.

Guide 3: Canada is an independent self-governing state. It is a member of the British Commonwealth. The Queen is represented in Canada by the Governor General. Canada has a Parliament which consists of the House of Commons and the Senate. The leader of the party that wins the largest number of seats in the House of Commons forms the government. The Canadian cabinet is chosen by the Prime Minister.

There are the following main parties in Canada: the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party and the Le Party Quebecois.

Correspondent: The name of the last party sounds rather strange, isn't it?

Guide 4: Oh, yes. It is because Canada's beginnings were French, and now French is the language spoken by about one-fifth of Canadians. Quebec is the largest province in Canada. Today, more than 80 per cent of Quebec people speak French. That's why Canada has two official languages. The capital of this province is Quebec City. It is the oldest city in Canada and the only walled city in North America. It is situated on the north bank of St.Lawrence River.

Montreal is the major city. It is the second largest French-speaking city in the world - only Paris is larger.

The people of Quebec is mainly Roman Catholic. They import books, newspapers, wine, clothing and equipment directly from France.

In central Quebec, mines produce gold, copper, lead, zinc and silver.

Guide 5: Canada's population represents two principal and several smaller national and cultural groups. People of British and French descent compose more than one-half population, while those of German, Italian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Dutch, American, Indian, and Inuit origin make up significant minorities.

Most of the country's population live within a narrow strip along the American boarder.

The national flag consists of a white field with a red maple in the middle and two vertical red fields on both sides.

Guide 2: Canada has a developed economy that is export directed and closely connected with that of the USA. Industry is highly mechanized and includes oil products, car manufacture, food and metal processing. Ontario contains most of the car factories and has important aircraft, electronics and electrical engineering. Most international trade is with USA.

Correspondent: Excuse me. Can you tell us about the relations between Canada and the USA?

Guide 2: In 1961 US President John Kennedy told the Canadian Parliament:" Geography has made us neighbours, history has made us friends, economics has made us partners and necessity has made us allies". I suppose it is the best characteristic of these relations.

Correspondent: Excuse me. And what about Canadian education? We are greatly interested in the question.

Guide 3: Education in Canada comprises 10 provincial and 2 territorial systems, including public schools, "separate schools", and private schools.

Public education in Canada is co-educational and free up to and including secondary school. The law requires children to attend school from the age of 6 or 7 until they are 15 or 16 years old.

There is no federal educational system in Canada: the Constitution vested responsibility for education to the provinces. The provincial departments of education - headed by an elected minister - set standards, draw up curriculums and give grants to educational institutions.

Guide 1: Dear guests! Now we invite you to make a bus tour and see some places of interest in our capital. You know it is Ottawa. Now we are crossing the Ottawa River, which is the natural boarder between the two central provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

Before the colonization the Ottawa region was an Indian trading centre. The name of the city comes from the Indian word meaning "trade". In 1857 Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital city.

Russian tourist: Oh, look! What a green city Ottawa is!

Guide 1: Right you are! Ottawa is famous for its parks and walks stretching for several miles along the Rideau Canal. In spring a million of tulips bloom along the walks. In 1967 the capital was reconstructed. An important part of that reconstruction was the removal of government institutions to the suburbs, and the encirclement of the city by a green zone.

Russian tourist: I've got a question. While we crossing the Ottawa River we've seen some more bridges. How many bridges are there in the city?

Guide 2: Ottawa is a city of bridges. Four bridges serve automobile and railway traffic between Ottawa and Hull, the  Governor - General's residence. About ten bridges cross the Rideau River, and six cross the Rideau Shipping Canal.

Russian tourist: Dear friends! Listen to this beautiful voice that sounds over the radio! It's seems to me I've heard it already. Who is singing?

Guide 2: It is our famous Celine Dion whose name is well-known to the rock fans all over the world.

Russian tourist: Thanks a lot!

Guide 2: Our tour has finished. I hope very much that you have learned interesting facts about our country, its capital and its people. Thank you and good-bye.