Unit 4 JOURNEY A CROSS A VAST LAND
VANCOUVER AND THE HEART OF CANADA
Li Daiyu and her cousin Liu Qian went to Canada to visit their cousins in Halifax on the Atlantic coast. Rather than (travel) by commercial airline all the way, they decided to fly to Vancouver and then take the train. For both of them,the thought of crossing the whole county by rail was (excite).
Before starting out, they spent a couple of days in Vancouver (see) the sights. During their first day, as is typical of Vancouver, it rained. Despite the weather, they were able to take a boat ride out into the bay, and (late) visit an island that had wonderful shops (sell) crafts and antiques. The next day was clear and mild, and they were pleased (see) the beautiful mountains looking out over the city. Later they took a pleasant hike a forest just a short distance away.
The next morning, the two girls arose early to take the train to Lake Louise,
(pass) through the Canadian Rockies. (See) from the train window, the mountains and forests of Canada looked massive.When the train arrived the station, they took a taxi to Lake Louise where the blue water literally took their breath away with exceptional beauty. They spent the night, and then took a coach bound north through the Canadian Rockies to Jasper. Looking at the beautiful scenery, they both agreed that was the most awesome journey they had ever taken. In addition to seeing spectacular mountain peaks and forests, one highlight of their trip
(be)being able to see many different creatures, including deer, mountain (goat), and even a grizzly bear and an eagle.
From Jasper, they caught the train towards Toronto. One of the train's first
(stop) was in Edmonton, the provincial capital of Alberta, the centre of Canada's huge oil and gas drilling industry. Edmonton is freezing cold in winter, with daily temperatures averaging -10°C.Since it can be too cold go outdoors, Edmonton is home to many shopping malls. In fact, one of the largest shopping malls in North America is in Edmonton.
From Edmonton, the train headed southeast across the great Canadian Prairie. At school, Daiyu and Liu Qian had learnt that Canada's population is only (slight) over thirty-seven million. However,they did not anticipate seeing such open country, and were (true) amazed. They went through two wheat-growing provinces, where they saw a bunch of farms covered a very large area.
After another day on train, eventually they were back in an urban area, the city of Winnipeg. From there, they travelled through the night, and (wake) up in Ontario — a land of forests and lakes.The train thundered on, through the rolling
____(hill). The bushes and maple trees outside their windows were red, gold,and orange, and there was frost on the ground, confirming that autumn (arrive) in Canada. Night came again, and the train turned south towards Toronto. they woke up the next morning and pulled back the curtain, they could see the wide stretch of Lake Huron—one of the four Great Lakes on Ontario's southern border. It was not until 9: 30 a m. they finally reached the capital of Ontario, Toronto. All in all,their trip from Vancouver Toronto had taken a duration of four days.
SEEING THE TRUE NORTH VIA RAIL
TORONTO AND MONTREAL
After Daiyu and her cousin arrived in Toronto, the largest and 1._______(wealthy) city in Canada, they only had a few hours to kill before they had to proceed to the next leg of their trip to Montreal, so they went on a tour of the city. They went up the CN Tower and 2._______(look) across the shores of Lake Ontario. 3._______(stand) in the distance, they were astonished to see misty clouds 4._______( rise) from the great Niagara Falls, which is on the south side of the lake. Water from the lake flows into the Niagara River and over the falls on 5._______(it) way to the sea.
The girls saw hundreds of skyscrapers of glass and steel and old-fashioned cars rolling by. As they walked north from the harbour area, Li Daiyu said, “Lin Fei, one of my mother’s old 6._______(schoolmate), lives here. I should phone her and see if she’s available for dinner.”
They met Lin Fei around dusk over dinner at a restaurant in downtown Chinatown. The cousins chatted with Lin Fei, 7._______ had moved to Canada many years earlier.
“This is the largest Chinatown in Toronto. We have a few more in the Greater Toronto Area, 8._______ you can guess that there are a lot of Chinese people in Canada! Chinese people 9._______(come) here for more than a hundred years. Therefore, we can get all kinds of great food here from all over China,” Lin Fei told 10._______(they).
The train left late that night and arrived in Montreal early the next morning. At the station, in contrast to Toronto, they heard people talking 11._______ French. They were surprised 12._______(see) that all the signs and 13._______(advertisement) were in French and many people spoke English with an accent.
“We don’t leave until this evening,” said Liu Qian, “Let’s go downtown. Old Montreal is close 14._______ the water.”
They spent the afternoon in 15._______(love) shops and visiting artists in their workplaces along St Paul Street. As they sat in 16._______ restaurant alongside the broad St Lawrence River, a young man sat down with them.
“Hello, my name is Jean-Philippe. I’m a 17._______(photograph).” he said, “and I was wondering 18._______ you are from.”
The girls told him they were from China and were on a train trip across Canada. When they told 19._______(he) they had only one day in Montreal, he said, “That’s too bad. You owe it to 20._______(you) to stay longer. Overall, Montreal is a city 21._______ wonderful sights and sounds. Most of us speak both English and French, and the city has unique Quebec culture and 22._______(tradition). There are fantastic restaurants and clubs around, too. Here, we love good coffee, toast and cheese. And good music, of course”
That night the train 23._______(speed) along the St. Lawrence River towards the Gulf of St Lawrence and down to the distant east coast towards the province of Nova Scotia and its largest city, Halifax. The cousins dreamt 24._______(happy) of the beautiful cobblestone streets, old brick buildings, and the red maple 25._______(leaf) of Montreal.