相关阅读：
1)New year’s Day
celebration in the US: the celebration of this holiday begins the night before-on New Year’s Eve. Most people like to hold big parties at private homes or go to restaurants or clubs; Mummers Parade化装游行(one of the most popular New Year’s activities held in Philadelphia on the first day);the Rose Tournament玖瑰竞赛(held in Pasadena,California.)庆祝从前一天晚上—新年前夜就开始了。大多数人喜欢在家里开晚会或去饭店、俱乐部;在费城举行的化装游行是新年活动中最受欢迎的活动之一;玖瑰竞赛在加利福尼亚的怕萨迪纳举行。
2)Valentine’s Day(Feb. 14)：a day for lovers, and one of the loveliest holiday in the US
3)Easter in the US：the second of the two most important religious holidays for Christians. It is on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after March 21, and it is for celebrating the rising of Jesus Christ from his tomb.Symbols for Easter: egg and hare(rabbit or bunny) 是基督教徒的两大主要宗教节日的第二个。是3.21满月或其后的第一个星期日，为了庆祝基督耶稣从坟墓中复活。象征物：鸡蛋和兔子。
4)Independence Day(July 4): it is for celebrating the Declaration of Independence adopted on July 4,1776.美国独立纪念日7月4日：这是为庆祝1776.7.4独立宣言批准。
5)Halloween(October 31)万圣节10.31:a night-time children’s holiday.it is a time for frightening costumes, masks parties, games and tricks—all for fun.夜晚进行的孩子们的节日。这时会有恐怖的穿戴、面具、晚会、游戏和恶作剧—一切为了娱乐。
6)Thanksgiving Day(Fourth Thursday of November)感恩节11月第4个星期4: a typical American holiday.turkey, roast pumpkin and so on.
7)Chrismas(December 25): which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ,is the biggest and best-loved holiday in the US
Part Three
Chapter 23
Canada’s geography and history
Canada(the capital: Ottawa;渥太华)
1)Canada’s geography features:①lies to the north of the US; the world’s second largest country after Russia.②it has an extremely varied topography:the east part is mountainous maritime provinces have an irregular coastline on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic;The west part, the Pacific border is separated from the rest of the country by mountain ranges from north to south including the Rockies; the central part is a vast plain.③the climate is unfavorable, much of Canada has long and cold winters with deep snow.④The highest peak is Mount Logan; The two principal river systems are the Mackenzic River and the St. Lawrence River座落于美国的北部，仅次于俄罗斯的世界第二大国;2.地形十分复杂：东部山区沿海省份沿劳伦斯湾和大西洋形成不规则的海岸;西部，太平洋沿岸地区被南北走向的山脉分离，其中包括落基山脉;中部是一个大平原;3.气候不甚宜人，大部分地区冬季既漫长又寒冷，积雪深厚;4.最高峰是劳根峰，主要的两大河流是马更些河与圣劳伦斯河。
2)Geographical regions and their characteristics(P365)
①Atlantic Province大西洋沿岸诸省区：the Grand Banks大浅滩;natural harbor that is ice free天然不冻港
②St. Lawrence-Great Lakes Provinces圣劳伦斯及五大湖省区:Ottawa, the capital of Canada, in the province of Ontario.
③the Canadian Shield加拿大地盾区Almost half of Canada is covered by the Canadian Shield.It’s a semicircular band of rocky highlands and plateaus.几乎半数的地区都被加拿大地盾所覆盖。地盾为一半圆形的多石高地和高原带。
④Prairie provinces大草原诸省区
⑤British Columbia不列顛哥伦比亚区Vancouver is British Columbia’s largest city and the third largest city in Canada.
⑥Northern provinces and territories北部诸省及地区
3)The European discovery of Canada:①”Kanata”was an Indian Word for “settlement”②the discovery of Newfoundland by John Cabot, an Italian sea captain, in 1497;②the opening of Canada by Jaques Cartier, a French navigator, in 1535;③the discovery of the huge Hudson Bay by Henry Hudson, an English explorer,in 1610. ④the establishment the interior of French colony in Quebec by Samuel de Champlain, in 1608.’Kanata’是印第安语‘居住者’;2.纽芬兰是1497年意大船长约翰.卡波特发现的;2.1535年法国的航海家开放了加拿大内地;3.哈的逊大草原是1610年英国探险家亨利.哈的逊发现;4.1608年法国探险家塞谬尔.德.尚普在今天的魁北克建立了法国
4)The rivalry between the British and the French: ①the settlement of New Franch(the estern coastal area东海岸) and The English established larger and better settlements in their New England colonies and Virginia.②French lost Newfoundland,Hudson Bay, and Nova Scotia to England in 1713.③the whole of Canada came under the British rule, after the Seven Year’s war betwenn England and Franch from 1756-1763英法竞争：法国殖民地(东海岸地区)，英国人在新英格兰和弗吉尼亚建立了更大更好的殖民地2.1713年法国人失去了纽芬兰，哈的逊大草原和新斯科舍，落到英国人手里。3)在7年的英法战争后1756-1763，整个加拿大属于英国统治，
5)Self-government and the foundation of the Confederation:①sir John Macdonald was the first prime minister.During his time, Canada expanded in territory to its present size.②Sir John Wilfrid Laurier was second prime minister, he also founded the Canadian Navy and tried to increase Canada’s control over its foreign relations.③Canada entered WW I, and won the right to sign the Peace Treaty of 1919 in its own name, and gained the membership of the League of Nation(国际联邦成员国) 。④Canada became an independent nation from a former dominion in 1931, by the Statute of Westminster.Since then Canada became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.⑤Newfoundland became Canada’s tenth province in 1949.自治与联邦：第一任总理约翰.麦克唐纳。在他任职期间，加拿扩张他的领土到现在的面积;2.第二任总理是约翰.威尔弗雷德.洛里埃，他创建了加拿大海军，并努力增强对外的控制权;3.加拿大参加了一战，获得了以本国国名签署的《1919和平条约》的权利，并在国际联盟中获得席位。4.1931年的《威斯敏斯特条例》正式宣布自治领。从此，加成为英联一员5.1949年纽芬兰成为加的第十个省。
6)Canada in WW I and WW II: Canada entered WW I, and won the right to sign the Peace Treaty in its own name, and gained the menbership of the League of Nation; During WW II ,Canada fought as an ally of Britain in WW II加拿大参加了一战，获得了以本国国名签署的《1919和平条约》的权利，并在国际联盟中获得席位。二战作为英国的同盟参与作战。
