Where the Canadians Come from

刘斌

你肯定知道加拿大国徽图案由三头金色的狮子、一头直立的红狮、一把竖琴和三朵百合花四组图案构成，它们分别象征着加拿大在历史上与英格兰、苏格兰、爱尔兰和法国之间的联系。然而，你对加拿大的民族历史又了解多少呢？

The Canadian people are made up of different national races. The first known settlers of the country were the Indians. It is believed that the Indians entered this continent through the Bering Strait （白令海峡） and Sea from eastern Asia at least 10，000 years ago. When Europeans first reached the country， Indians were living in most of the forested areas.

There were also a few Indians in the provinces near the Atlantic Ocean. The second group of people to enter Canada were the Eskimos. They crossed the Bering Strait from Asia less than 3，000 years ago. There are few records of their early movements.

The first white settlers in Canada were the French. They came in greatest numbers to Quebec， but also to Nova Scofia， where they cleared farms on the southern side of the Bay of Fundy （芬地湾）.

The French built their citadel （城堡） of Quebec City， and cleared farms out of the forests in the area. By the time of the British conquest （征服） in 1763， there were about 60，000 Frenchmen in Canada， living chiefly between Quebec and Montreal.

There were not many British in Canada until American Revolution drove large numbers northward.

Throughout the 19th century， thousands of British people came to Canada. The descendants （后代） of these peoples from England， Scotland， and Ireland now make up about half of the population. Around the turn of the century， people came in increasing numbers from Europe and the largest numbers came  from  Central   and   Eastern-Germans， Czechs， Poles， Rumentans， and Ukrainians.

語言解析

1. The Canadian people are made up of different national races. The first known settlers of the country were the Indians.

Note： 句中词组be made up of的意思是“由……组成”， 相当于consist of。如：

A university consists of teachers， administrators and students. 大学由教师，行政人员和学生们组成。

2. It is believed that the Indians entered this continent through the Bering Strait（白令海峡） and Sea from eastern Asia at least 10，000 years ago.

Note： 句型It is believed that... 的意思是“人们相信……”，It是形式主语，that引导的是主语从句，可以换成“主语  + be believed to do sth.”结构。如：

It is believed that a new project will be started in our town next year. 大家相信一项新工程明年要在本镇实施。