Lesson 7 Canada / Канада

I. Pronounce the following words correctly:

1. diversity [dai′v{:siti] – разнообразие, многообразие

2. encompass [in′k[mp{s] – окружать, обносить

3. terrain [′terein] – территория, район, местность

4. pristine [′pristain] – первобытный

5. vista [′vist{ ] – просека

6. archipelago [a:ki′peligou] – архипелаг, группа островов

7. scorching [′skO:t∫ig] – палящий, сжигающий, уничтожающий

8. giant ['dZai{nt] – громадный, гигантский

9. roster [′roust{] – список, реестр

10. bountiful [′bauntiful] – обильный

11. asbestos [æz′bestOs] – асбест, горный лен

12. molybdenum [mO′libdin{m] – молибден

13. potash [′pOtæ∫] – поташ, углекислый калий

II. Read the text Welcome to Canada

Canada is a magnificent land. The second largest country in the world after Russia it has an area of nearly 10 000 000 square kilometers (3 860 000 square miles). It takes 4 days to travel across Canada by car or train. Canada is so large that there are 6 time zones. Within its borders lies a diversity of life, landscape and climate that few countries can rival.

Canada encompasses territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the high Arctic to the northern border of the continental USA . Although very much a “northern” country, the terrain and geography of Canada is very diverse. As well as the popular image of Canada as a country of pristine forests and showy vistas, there are also deserts and badlands, temperate rain forests and long wide beaches. Canada has huge inland lakes, seemingly eternal prairies and evergreen forests, woodlands and meadows.

The country may be divided into a number of physiographic regions. A large interior basin centered on the Hudson Bay and covering nearly four fifths of the country is composed of the Canadian (Laurentian) Shield, the interior plains and the Great lakes – St. lawrance Lowlands. Rimming the basin are several mostly highland regions, notably the Arctic Archipelago, including the Innuitian Mountains, the Appalachians in the southeast and the Western or Canadian Cordillera in the west.

Canada is a northern country, but its climate varies dramatically. Winters can be long and cold? Summers often scorching. Ocean currents to east and west moderate these extremes; the southwest coast of British Columbia is labeled Canada’s “banana belt” for its year-round temperate climate. The country is divided into 10 provinces and 2 national territories each with its own capital city (in brackets).

In the east the four Maritime (Atlantic) provinces are Newfoundland (St. John’s); Nova Scotia (Halifax); New Brunswick (Fredericton) and Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown). Two of these provinces are islands. Quebec (Quebec City) and Ontario (Toronto) are Canada’s two largest provinces. They are in central Canada. Most of Canada’s French speaking people live in Quebec. More then one third of all the people in Canada live in Ontario. The three prairie provinces of western Canada are Manitoba (Winnipeg), Saskatchewan (Regina) and Alberta (Edmonton). The prairie land rises in three prairie levels. The land of prairies is lower in the east and higher in the west near the Rocky Mountains. Canada’s Pacific province is British Columbia (Victoria). It begins in the Rocky Mountains and continues west to the Pacific Ocean.

From the land comes a variety of riches. Forests – from the giants of the British Columbia coast to the extensive pine and fir forests that blanket the north – are the basis of thriving pulp and paper and lumber industries. The prairie provinces provide wheat and a growing roster of other crops. A bountiful harvest of fruits and vegetables is reaped from fertile farming districts across the country.

Under the earth’s surface is a storehouse of petroleum, natural gas, and minerals, its riches still uncounted. Canada is one of the world’s leading producers of nickel and zinc as well as silver, asbestos, uranium, molybdenum, potash and platinum.

Canada’s water resources are remarkable. Its lakes account for one half of the world’s fresh water, and oceans, lakes and rivers abound with a variety of life. Five of Canada’s rivers are among the world’s 40 largest. The St. Laurence River accounts for about two fifths of the country’s Atlantic runoff. The Mackenzie River provides about half of the Arctic runoff, while the Yukon and Fraser rivers together contribute almost 40 percent of the country’s discharge to the Pacific. The Nelson River is one of the several rivers supplying a sizable freshwater flow to the Hudson Bay. In additional to Lake Superior and lake Huron both of which are shared with the US, Canada’s Great Bear and Great Slave lakes are among the world’s 11 largest lakes. Highways of exploration for early settlement, complex river systems today transport the products of processing and manufacturing industries as well as provide hydroelectric power for domestic use and export.

Not least, the astonishing natural beauty of Canada – its mountains, lakes, plains, and the lure of its vast wilderness areas – attracts visitors from around the world.

III. Give Russian equivalents of the following expressions:

Diversity of life; to rival; seemingly eternal prairies; to be composed of; to moderate; extremes; to label; variety of riches; to blanket; a storehouse; to account for; sizable; domestic use; astonishing beauty.

IV. Find in the text synonyms of words:

Splendid; variety; large; to split up; significantly; moderate; wealth; to cover; considerable; surprising; deposits; manufactures; to be marked.

V. Which is the odd word out?

1. to lie; to occupy; to cover; to encompass; to concentrate.

2. to differ; to vary; to diversify; to change.

3. significantly; surprisingly; dramatically; considerably.

4. extensive; huge; vast; enormous; big; flat.

VI. Use the following words and word combinations in sentences of your own:

1. popular image; to be the very image of smbd; to call up an image; poetical image; image effect; to preserve an image.

2. to account for; to account for one’s absence; to account smth a merit; to be much (little) accounted; that accounts for it.

3. to provide hydroelectric power; to provide against a rainy day; to provide a military aid for friendly countries; to provide for an eventuality.