Canada is a vast country, bigger than the United States, bigger than the continent of Australia. It is in fact one of the world's largest countries. Its area is about 10 mln sq km. As Canada extends for thousands of miles from the Arctic Ocean to the United States and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, all kinds of weather conditions and scenery are to be found there. The population of Canada is 29 mln people. The capital is Ottawa; the main cities are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The word Canada comes from one of the Red Indian languages – "Kannata", meaning "a number of huts". Canada is often called the "Land of the Maple Leaf". The maple leaf is the national emblem of Canada. The story of Canada goes back over 400 years. The French were the first settlers to this country. In 1759 Canada became a part of the British Empire. In 1931 became independent from Britain. Today Canada is an independent federative state, consisting of 10 provinces and 2 territories. It is a member of the Commonwealth, headed by the Queen of Great Britain. The two official languages are English and French. But many other languages are spoken: Italian, Chinese, German, Polish and Greek. Canada is a country with very high standards of living. This country is particularly advanced in the areas of health, education, social protection and human rights.

Toronto

Fact about Canada 1. Canada spans sq km and comprises 6 time zones. 2. Canada is home to the longest street in the world. Yonge Street in Ontario starts at Lake Ontario, and runs north through Ontario to the Minnesota border, a distance of almost 2,000 km. 3. While were talking longest, heres another record: Canada has the worlds longest coastline at 202,080 km. 4. A bear cub named Winnipeg was exported from Canada to the London Zoo in A little boy named Christopher Robin Milne loved to visit Winnipeg, or Winnie for short. His love for the bear cub inspired the stories written by his father, A.A. Milne, about Winnie-the-Pooh. 5. The Canadian motto, A Mari Usque ad Mare, means From sea to sea. 6. Torontos Rogers Centre, formerly known as the SkyDome, is home to the largest Sony big screen in the world, measuring 10 m x 33.6 m. 7. The Blackberry Smartphone was developed in Ontario, at Research In Motions Waterloo offices. 8. The Big Nickel in Sudbury, Ontario is the worlds largest coin. It is a huge reproduction of a 1951 Canadian nickel and measures nine meters in diameter. 9. Canada has twice been invaded by the USA, first in 1775 and again in Actor Leslie Nielsen is Canadian. His brother, Erik, was the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada for two years, from 1984 to 1986.

Oklend

Fact about New Zealand Children in New Zealands secondary schools spend more time than the OECD average learning mathematics, science, technology and physical education. They spend less time learning foreign languages, arts and religion than children in other count ries. The graduates from New Zealands universities who tend to earn the highest salaries are those qualified in sciences, engineering and management & commerce. Creative arts, food, hospitality and personal services graduates tended to have lower salaries. New Zealanders who go to Australia raise the IQ of both countries. Former NZ Prime Minister Robert Muldoon, who made this superbly cutting comment, did not provide any numbers to back it up. Unfortunately, therefore, we cannot claim it as a true New Zealand fact. New Zealands school students reported better relations with their teachers than the average for students in the OECD. New Zealands students also reported more pressure to achieve good results is applied by their teachers than the OECD average

Australia Australia is a large country lying between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Australia is an island, like Britain, but unlike Britain, it is vast. It is, in fact, nearly twenty-five times as large as the British Isles. Its area is about 8,000,000 square km. The population of Australia is about 18 mln. Most of Australia is semi-desert. People cannot live where there is no water, and so most of people in Australia live in the richer south-east. The first Australian people were dark-skinned Aborigines, and though the coming of the white settlers destroyed their tribal lives, some sixty thousand still survive in Australia today. Their account for about 1 percent of the population. They may be found in the island areas of the country. Some live in modern cities but it is not really easy for them. They have to fight for their rights. The first Europeans to land in this country were Dutch sailors. The national holiday, Australia Day, is now celebrated on or near January 26th in memory of landing of the British in The young country grew very fast. Today Australia is an independent federative state consisting of 6 states and 2 territories. It is a member of the Commonwealth headed by the British Queen. The national language is English. The capital of Australia is Canberra; the largest cities are Sidney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Sidney

Fact about Australia Health Warning 21 percent of Australians are smokers. Smoking is more common in people who are socially and economically disadvantaged. Around 31 percent of disadvantaged people smoke. Smoking rates amongst advantaged people in Australia are around 16 percent. Australian Citizenship Facts After immigration, you need to spend two years as a permanent resident in Australia before you can apply for Australian CitizenshipAustralians are crazy about sport. The most popular participation sports are aerobics, golf and tennis. The top three sports males take part in are golf, cricket and tennis. For females its aerobics, lawn bowls and

BRITISH PARLIAMENT Parliament. The Palace of Westminster. Britain is administered from the Palace of Westminster in London. This is also known as the Houses of Parliament. Parliament is made up of two chambers the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The members of the House of Lords are not elected: they qualify to sit in the House because they are bishops of the Church of England, aristocrats who have inherited their seats from their fathers, people with titles. There has been talk of reform in this century because many Britons think that this system is undemocratic. The House of Commons, by contrast, has 650 seats which are occupied by Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by the British public. The United Kingdom is divided into constituencies, each of which has an elected MP in the House of Commons. Each of the major political parties appoints a representative (candidate) to compete for each seat. Smaller parties may have a candidate in only a few constituencies. There may be five or more parties, fighting for one seat, but only one person the candidate who gets the greatest number of votes can win. Some parties win a lot of seats and some win very few, or none at all. The Queen, who is the Head of State, opens and closes Parliament. All new laws are debated (discussed) by MPs in the Commons, then debated in the Lords, and finally signed by the Queen. All three are part of Parliament in Britain.

Queen Elizabeth 2

royal family of great britain