Canadian Culture of Diversity

庞先庆

由于历史的原因，美丽的枫叶之国加拿大的文化呈现出多元化的面貌。作为一个众所周知的移民国家，加拿大文化丰富多彩。现在，让我们一起来零距离感受其与众不同的文化氛围吧。

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.

【讀写空间】

通过阅读上面的短文，我们初步了解了加拿大的多元文化。现在，让我们走近另一个多元化的北美国家——美国。假设你校与美国一所中学结为友好学校。现在一批美国中学生来你校访问，英语校刊《缤纷世界》栏目需要刊登一篇介绍美国的文章，请你根据下面表格中的信息，以 “America—A Country of Diversity”为题写一篇英语短文。

注意：1. 词数：120词左右;2. 参考词汇：工业化国家industrialized country