第17章 隔壁邻居
有句老话，说“好篱笆出好邻居”，不过，这也取决于邻居好不好。美国的北方，有一个国土面积大于美国的国家，叫作加拿大。该国也横跨美洲大陆，西面是太平洋，东面是大西洋，因此，两国之间要是修上一道篱笆的话，那么这道篱笆就必须有三千英里长才行呢。当然，两国之间实际上是没有什么篱笆的，除了一条想象中的界线，什么也没有。这条想象中的界线，只存在于地图上，而不是画在现实中的地面上。两国在这条想象中的界线上立了一块石碑，上面刻着像“加拿大与美国一致同意永不开战”之类的话，那就够了，因为它完全就是一种君子协定。这块石碑，就叫“和平石”。
男孩子们常说“谁找到，就归谁”。加拿大原本是法国人发现的，可英国却觉得，自己更有权力拥有加拿大，因此便发动战争，从法国人手中夺取了加拿大。这当然是很久以前的事儿了，可如今，加拿大仍然还生活着大量的法裔民众，而在魁北克市，说法语的人也比说英语的人还要多。
我曾经养过一条纽芬兰犬。它全身毛茸茸的，体型巨大，食量跟人一样大。纽芬兰犬产自加拿大东边大西洋上的一个岛屿，那个岛屿是一个英国人发现的，因此他把该岛命名为“新发现之地”，音译过来就是“纽芬兰”了。如今，纽芬兰也隶属于加拿大。
But the Banks are under the water. It is a great fishing ground, but men go fishing there, not for pleasure, but for business.Thousands of small boats go off and stay off and do not return until they have caught all the fish they can carry.It is often very foggy on the Grand Banks, and sometimes big ocean steamships coming over from across the Atlantic Ocean cannot see the small fishing boats and run into them and sink them with all on board.
Canada is big in size but small in number of people. There are not as many people in all of Canada as there are in the State of New York.Most of the people in Canada live as close along the edge of the United States as they can, because it gets very cold in winter farther north than that.Close to the United States people do pretty nearly the same things and raise the same things as people south of the border in the United States.For instance, Canada raises more wheat than any other country in the World except the United States.
One of the biggest concerns in Canada is a railroad company called the Canadian Pacific. The railroad runs all the way across Canada from the Atlantic Ocean to Vancouver on the west coast of Canada.But it doesn't stop at the Oceans.It has big steamers that cross the Atlantic Ocean and it has big steamers that cross the Pacific Ocean.The Canadian Pacific owns all the hotels along the railroad, too.Along one part of the railroad there is very wonderful scenery—beautiful mountains and lakes.Lake Louise, in the Rocky Mountains, is so beautiful that many people go there on their vacations or on their wedding journeys.
No woman likes a wild animal such as a fox or wolf close to her, but as soon as the
纽芬兰岛海岸外，有一片浅海区，叫作“大浅滩”。不过，这片浅滩却位于水下。那里是一处了不起的渔场，人们到那里去捕鱼，并不是为了消遣，而是为了生意。成千上万条小船来到大浅滩，停在那里，直到捕获的鱼儿再也装不下，才会回去。大浅滩上经常浓雾弥漫，因此，有的时候横渡大西洋的那些巨型远洋轮船看不到小渔船，就会撞上去，使得渔船连同上面的渔民一起沉入大海。
加拿大国土面积广袤，可人口却不多。加拿大的全国总人口，还不及美国纽约这一个州的人口呢。绝大多数加拿大人都尽可能地居住在靠近美国边界的附近地区，因为再往北去，冬季就会变得极其寒冷。居住在靠近美国边界地区的加拿大人，从事的工作、种植的作物，跟边界以南的美国人差不多是一样的。比如说，加拿大的小麦产量就位居世界第二，仅次于美国呢。
加拿大最大的企业，是一家叫作“加拿大太平洋”的铁路公司。该公司运营的那条铁路横跨整个加拿大，从大西洋沿岸一直通到了西海岸的温哥华。不过，这条铁路并非是两端分别到达大西洋和太平洋沿岸就止步了。该公司既有横渡大西洋的巨型轮船，也有横渡太平洋的巨轮。铁路沿线的旅馆，也都归“加拿大太平洋”铁路公司所有。在铁路沿线的一个地区，一路上都是非常奇妙的风景，既有壮美的山脉，又有秀丽的湖泊。落基山脉中的路易斯湖风景非常瑰丽，因此还有许多人前去度假或者度蜜月呢。
没有哪个女子，会喜欢让狐狸或者狼这样的野兽近身，可一旦这些野兽死了，她们却很喜欢用野兽皮毛制成的衣服，愿意花高价钱去购买。加拿大有一个巨大的
animals are dead she loves their skins close to her and will pay high prices to get them. There is a big bay in Canada, almost as big as the Gulf of Mexico；it is called Hudson Bay and named after the man who discovered it.He is the same man who discovered the Hudson River, but Hudson Bay and Hudson River have no other connection.Hudson Bay is filled with ice all winter long, and all around Hudson Bay the winters are so cold that men do not live there unless they have to.The chief reason some men do live there is to hunt animals.The animals in that cold country can't buy overcoats, so they grow overcoats on themselves—fur overcoats, which are the very best kind of overcoats.Hunters trap and kill wolves, foxes, and other animals, skin them of their overcoats, and sell them to ladies who can pay big prices for them.This company of people who trap animals and sell furs is called the Hudson's Bay Company.
As we have States, Canada has provinces, but there are only ten provinces in Canada. The chief one is called Ontario, after Lake Ontario.Ontario, however, borders all the other Great Lakes too, except Michigan.In Ontario is the capital of Canada.It is called Ottawa.England sends a man across the ocean to Canada, called the Governor-General, but the people in Canada send men to Ottawa to make their own laws.
As you go north in Canada the country gets colder and colder, till at last it gets so cold that it is too cold even for trees to grow. The trees that grow farthest north hold their leaves and stay green the year round like the pine and spruce.They are called“evergreens.”The wood of evergreens is soft.The trees that cannot grow as far north as evergreens drop their
海湾，几乎有墨西哥湾那么大，那里叫作哈德逊湾，是用发现此处的那个人的名字命名的。那个人还发现了哈德逊河，可“哈德逊湾”和“哈德逊河”除了名称之外，就没有什么别的联系了。哈德逊湾整个冬季都会封冻，而附近地区冬季也非常寒冷，因此除非万不得已，否则是没有人愿意在那里居住的。而人们之所以到那里生活，最主要的原因就是，他们要在那里猎杀野兽。那片寒冷之地里的野兽由于不可能买来大衣穿上，因此干脆身上都长出一件“大衣”，长出一件“毛皮大衣”来，这种毛皮，可是最好的大衣呢。猎人用陷阱捕杀狼和狐狸，以及其他的野兽，将它们的皮毛剥下来，再将皮毛卖给那些出得起高价的贵妇。这些捕杀野兽并出售兽皮的人，便成立了“哈德逊海湾公司”。
就像美国分成了一个个州那样，加拿大也分成了一个个省，不过，整个加拿大只有十个省。其中最重要的一个，就是安大略省，它是根据安大略湖的名称来命名的。然而，安大略省实际上却濒临了五大湖中的四个，只有密歇根湖除外。加拿大的首都也在安大略省，叫作渥太华。英国派遣一个人跨洋过海，到加拿大来担任总督，而加拿大人民则派遣代表来到渥太华，代表他们制定法律。
在加拿大境内向北而去，气候会变得越来越寒冷，冷到连树木也无法生长。最北方生长的树木四季都不落叶，像松树和云杉那样，一年到头都郁郁葱葱。这种树木，叫作“常绿植物”。常绿植物的木质都非常柔软。而那些无法像常青树一样在遥远的北方生长的树木，比如橡树和枫树，冬季里则会落叶。这种树木的木质通常都很坚硬。硬木树主要用于制作家具，而软木树则被碾碎制成纸张。
leaves in the winter, like the oak and maple. Their wood is usually hard.The hard-wood trees are used chiefly to make furniture, but the soft-wood trees are ground up to make paper.
The paper on which this book and almost every other book is printed and all the paper used for newspapers is made from wood. A great city newspaper will use up many acres of trees in a single day.It takes as many trees as grow in a space the size of a city block to feed a single paper a single day.So you see how fast trees are being cut down in Canada to keep the presses in the United States going.Day after day miles upon miles of trees are cut down, ground into pulp, made into paper, and shipped to us in large rolls, that we may have the news—only to be burned up the day after.As people are fed wheat, and animals corn, printing presses must be fed trees for their daily meal, year in and year out, without ceasing.
One of the first geography lessons I ever had was about Eskimos, who lived in snow houses and fished through a hole in the ice. One of the homes of the Eskimos is Labrador on the northeastern corner of Canada.The Eskimos are related to the Indians, I'll tell you more about them later.
本书以及几乎其他所有图书所用的纸张，连同一切报纸所用的纸张，都是用木材制成的。一份大型的城市报纸，一天内就要用掉好几英亩的树木呢。需要像一个城市街区那么大面积内生长的树木，才能满足一份报纸一天的用纸量。因此，你们不难看出，加拿大境内树木的砍伐速度需要有多快，才能满足让美国的印刷机开动下去的要求呢。日复一日，树木被大量砍伐，碾成纸浆，制成纸张，然后大卷大卷地运到美国，我们才看得到新闻，可当天过后，这些报纸就毫无用处，只能付之一炬了。就像人们以小麦为食、牲畜以玉米为食那样，印刷机每天必须以树木为食，并且年复一年，无休无止。
我以前在地理课上最先学到的一课，就是关于因纽特人的情况，他们住在冰雪建造的房子里，并且在冰面上凿洞来捕鱼。因纽特人的家园之一，就在加拿大东北角的拉布拉多地区。因纽特人与印第安人有亲缘关系，过一会儿我还将给你们介绍这两个人种的情况。