OneCanadaTwoLanguages

Canadaisoneofthefewnationsintheworldtohavetwoofficiallanguages:EnglishandFrench.Thereare10provincesinthecountrybutonlyoneofthese—Quebecisknownas“FrenchCanada”.ThisisbecauseitwasfoundedbyFrenchexplorerswhileBritishadventurersdiscoveredtherest.

CanadalefttheBritishempire(帝国)in1867tobecomeanindependentcountryandEnglishandFrenchhavebeenrecognizedastheofficiallanguageseversince.

MostpeoplespeakEnglishastheirfirstlanguageandthetwonationaltelevisionnetworksbroadcastinEnglishthroughoutthecountry.ApartfrominQuebecandafewplacesontheeastcoastFrenchtelevisionisveryrare.

ThesamegoesfortrafficsignsandmenusforexampleoutsideofQuebecthereareonlyafewplaceswhereyou’llseetrafficsignsinFrench.Inrestaurantsit’salmostimpossibletofindFrenchonthemenuunlessyouareintheheartland(中心地带)ofFrenchCanada.Howeverall productssoldinCanadamustbylawhavelabels(标签)andinstructionsinbothlanguages.

InCanada’sEnglishspeakingprovincesofficialbilingualism(双语)meansthatstudentscanchoosetocompleteaspecialFrenchlanguagecourse.UnderthisprogramtheyaretaughtmostoftheirsubjectsinFrench.

Ifastudentbeginsthecourseinkindergarten(幼儿园)orGradeOneitislikelythatalltheirlessonswillbeinFrench.Howeveriftheystartatjuniorhighschool25percentoftheteachingwillcontinuetobeinEnglish.

1.HowmanyprovincesarethereinCanada?

A.Ten.

B.Nine.

C.Eleven.

D.Two.

2.WhichcountrycontrolledCanadabeforeitsindependence?

A.France.

B.Britain.

C.America.

D.Germany

3.WherecanyouwatchFrenchtelevisionprograms?

A.OnlyinQuebec.

B.InQuebecandafewotherplaces.

C.Fromthetwonationaltelevisionnetworks.

D.AlloverCanada

4.WhatdoweknowabouttheeducationinCanada?

A.InEnglishspeakingprovincesonlyEnglishcoursesareoffered.

B.IfyouchooseaspecialFrenchlanguagecoursemostofthesubjectsaretaughtinFrench.

C.Thecoursesinprimaryschoolarea