Where the Canadians Come from

劉斌

你肯定知道加拿大國徽圖案由三頭金色的獅子、一頭直立的紅獅、一把豎琴和三朵百合花四組圖案構成，它們分別象征著加拿大在歷史上與英格蘭、蘇格蘭、愛爾蘭和法國之間的聯(lián)系。然而，你對加拿大的民族歷史又了解多少呢？

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 （白令海峽） 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 （芬地灣）.

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： 句中詞組be made up of的意思是“由……組成”， 相當于consist of。如：

A university consists of teachers， administrators and students. 大學由教師，行政人員和學生們組成。

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

Note： 句型It is believed that... 的意思是“人們相信……”，It是形式主語，that引導的是主語從句，可以換成“主語? + be believed to do sth.”結構。如：

It is believed that a new project will be started in our town next year. 大家相信一項新工程明年要在本鎮(zhèn)實施。