Do Canadians Speak English or French?
加拿大人說英文還是法文?

語音播放:

If you ever travel to Canada, one of the first things you will notice is that all products have English and French labels on them. Likewise, airport and other public announcements are made in both languages. That’s because Canada is officially a bilingual country. In order to understand how this came to be, you must take a look at Canada’s history.
如果你有機會去加拿大,你最先會注意到所有產品都有英文和法文的標示。同樣的,機場和其他公告都是用兩種語言標示。那是因為加拿大是官方語言為雙語的國家。為了解其來由,你必須看看加拿大的歷史。

語音播放:

For thousands of years, Canada was home to the First Nations, or aboriginal people. The first Europeans to arrive on the east coast of Canada were Vikings around the year 1000 but they didn’t stay very long. 500 years later, the French arrived and began exploring Canada. In 1604 they established their first city there, and by 1685 there were 10,000 people inhabiting “New France.” However, the English were also interested in Canada. There were four major wars between the French and English in Canada. The French lost the last war in 1763 and were forced to give up their territory in Canada. But because there were so many French people living there already, the British allowed them to stay and maintain their culture and language.
數千年來,加拿大是第一民族(或稱北美原住民)的家園。第一批到加拿大東海岸的歐洲人是在西元一千年左右抵達的維京人,但他們沒有停留很久。五百年後,法國人抵達了加拿大並開始探索新大陸。1604年時,他們在那裡建立了第一座城市,到了1685年,已經有一萬人居住在「新法蘭西」。然而,英國人也對加拿大有興趣,法國與英國之間在加拿大進行了四次大戰。法國在1763年輸了最後一場戰爭,被迫放棄在加拿大的領土。但是因為已經有許多法國人生活在那裡,英國人允許他們留下並保有他們的文化和語言。

語音播放:

When Canada gained independence in 1867, the first four provinces were created. One of them was Québec, where most of the French speakers lived. If you visit Québec today, you will notice that most people there still speak French, while in Canada’s other nine provinces, most people communicate in English. That’s why today, both are officially recognized as the national languages of Canada, and even in the primarily English-speaking provinces, most students learn some French in school, too.
1867年加拿大獨立時,創立了最初的四個省。其中一個是魁北克省,是大多數法國人居住的地方。如果你現今造訪魁北克省,則會注意到大多數人仍然說法文,而在加拿大的其他九個省,大多數人是用英文溝通。這就是為什麼現在這兩個語言都被加拿大承認為官方語言,甚至在主要使用英文的省份,大多數學生也會在學校學些法文。

Vocabulary 好字精選

1. bilingual (adj) speaking two languages 雙語的
Jackie is bilingual; she can speak Italian and German fluently.
Jackie會說雙語,她會講流利的義大利文和德文。

2. aboriginal (adj) describing an original inhabitant of an area 原住民
Aboriginal people have been occupying Australia for 40,000 years.
原住民已經佔領了澳洲約四萬年。

3. inhabit (v) live in/occupy an area 居住,棲息於
People have been inhabiting this river valley since 5000 BC.
在公元前5000年開始,人們就一直居住在這個河谷。

4. territory (n) area 領土
The north of Canada is a very large territory that is occupied mostly by animals and very few people.
加拿大北部的領土非常大,主要由動物和極少數人佔領。

5. maintain (v) keep 維持,保持
In order to maintain peace, both sides signed an agreement.
為了維持和平,雙方簽訂了協議。

6. province (n) like a state, but used in Canada, China, etc. 省份
China has 23 provinces as well as 11 of special regions.
中國有23個省和11個特別行政區。

7. communicate (v) share ideas/information 溝通,聯絡
He can’t speak but he uses sign language and writing to communicate with others.
他不能說話,但他以手語和寫字來和別人交流。

Phrases and Sentence Patterns 句型解析

1. human resources (expression) department in a company that deal with workers’ issues including hiring, firing, disputes, etc. 人力資源部
Cindy is the head of the HR (human resources) department in her company and oversees all hiring.
Cindy是她們公司內部及海外部門的人資部總主管。

2. the same goes for + N (phr) and the same thing for N 深有同感
Johnson hates the new boss, and the same goes for Rick. (meaning Rick also hates the new boss)
Johnson痛恨新主管,且Rick深有同感。

Exercise 課後練習題

1. Most Taiwanese high school students are _______________, and some can even speak three languages.
大多數台灣高中生都是雙語,有些人甚至可以說三種語言。

2. _______________ people make up about 4% of Canada’s population today.
原住民佔現今加拿大人口百分之四。

3. Do you think humans will ever _______________ mars?
你認為人類將有機會居住在火星上嗎?

4. Russia’s ______________ is over 17,000,000km2.
俄羅斯領土佔地超過一千七百萬平方公里。

5. In order to _______________ your good grades, you have to keep trying throughout the year.
為了維持成績,你整年都必須不斷努力。

6. Québec is the largest ______________in Canada, followed by Ontario.
魁北克省是加拿大最大省,其次是安大略省。

7. Keith and Linda broke up because they had trouble _______________ with each other.
Keith和Linda因為彼此無法溝通而分手。

8. The current trade policy _______________ as a result of many discussions between the two countries.
目前的貿易政策是兩國之間多次討論的結果。

9. The king refused to _______________ his power, even when he was too ill to walk.
即使國王已病到無法行走,他還是拒絕放棄權力。

解答:
1. bilingual
2. Aboriginal
3. inhabit
4. territory
5. maintain
6. province
7. communicating
8. came to be
9. give up

Comprehension Questions 閱讀理解

1. What was New France?
a. A region of Canada that was once colonized by France.
b. The region in France that most French Canadians came from.
c. One of the first provinces of Canada, where many French people lived.
d. A part of Canada that tried to be exactly like France.

2. Which of the following is NOT true about Canadians today?
a. They mostly speak English.  
b. They mostly speak French.      
c. Some mainly speak English while others mainly speak French.   
d. Most of them can speak both English and French fluently.


解答:

1. 以下選項何者是新法蘭西?
a. 曾經被法國殖民的加拿大地區。
b. 在法國大多數法籍加拿大人生長的地區。
c. 加拿大的第一個省之一,許多法國人在那裡生活。
d. 加拿大的一部分,試圖與法國完全一樣。

2. 以下關於現代的加拿大人的描述,何者為非?
a. 大多數人說英文。
b. 大多數人說法文。
c. 有些人主要說英文,其他人主要說法文。
d. 他們大多數人都可以說流利的英文和法文。

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