What did you do on your vacation?

On weekdays, I stayed at home with my family. We watched a lot of films, made a chocolate cake, played cards, played videogames, listened to music and we slept. On weekends I went to an ice cream parlor with my friend, I went to the movies; I went to a shopping mall with my mother. I went shopping. I bought a pair of pants, a skirt, a black dress, a pair of shoes. On Sundays I went to the church.

Julia Cristina

Recent historyThe park's former connection to Hanna-Barbera productions was reduced after Paramount Pictures purchased the park. At that point the park was renamed Paramount Canada's Wonderland. After Viacom bought Paramount in 1994, a successful attempt was made to bring families back to the park by providing children with Nickelodeon cartoon characters that were familiar to a new generation. While the Nickelodeon channel (part of Viacom's MTV Networks) is not available in Canada, many of the network's shows air on YTV, making this decision logical. YTV had previously been involved in numerous projects at the park, including the 1992 direct-to-video Festival of Friends concert, raising money for Kids Help Phone.In 2005 the park introduced Fearfest, renamed Halloween Haunt in July 2007. Halloween Haunt is a Halloween event featuring various haunted house attractions in different themed areas of the park. The park continues running many of their thrill rides during the event, but the section of the park for smaller children is closed off. Thunder Run, where patrons ride a mine car like train through a mountain, is also themed for the event. During Halloween Haunt it is called Haunted Thunder Run, and patrons ride through a darker tunnel with more strobe lights, fog machines, and black light lit scenes featuring the skeletons of miners that might have died in the mine. In 2006, the park introduced Spooktacular, a Halloween event geared towards children. The event included children's rides, costume contests and a treasure hunt. Spooktacular was open on weekends during the daytime, while Fearfest remained open at night. Due to very low attendance, Spooktacular only lasted one season.On 14 May 2006, it was announced that Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. was interested in acquiring the five Paramount theme parks, including Canada's Wonderland. The acquisition was completed on 30 June 2006.As a result, in early January 2007, Cedar Fair began to drop the "Paramount" name from all of their former Paramount parks, and the park is currently referred to once again by its original name, "Canada's Wonderland". The 2007 season marked a transition year of removing "all things Paramount" throughout the park. By the start of the 2008 season, the Paramount logo and similar references will be removed.

Canada's Wonderland 2007 Season PassIn June 2007, an accident involving a thirteen-year-old girl at a theme park in Kentucky on a ride similar to the Drop Zone at Canada's Wonderland caused Cedar Fair to close all five similar rides in its theme parks. Drop Zone at Canada's Wonderland was reopened in July 2007.[citation needed]In August 2007, Cedar Fair announced that Fearfest would be renamed Halloween Haunt to remain consistent with other Cedar Fair parks. At this time Cedar Fair also announced that Spooktacular would be discontinued. In place of Spooktacular, the park extended its regular operating season until the last weekend in October. Thus, the park is open to the public during the day, and Halloween Haunt runs in the late evenings on October weekends. The park also announced its addition for 2008, a new hypercoaster called Behemoth, which will be the largest roller coaster in Canada, and will open in May 2008. Behemoth will also be the tallest ride in the park, reaching three feet taller than the park's ride Drop Zone.
AttractionsToday, Canada's Wonderland has over 200 attractions, including over 60 thrill rides. The park has North America's third most roller coasters with 14 in total, and North America's greatest variety. The park features eight themed areas on 330 acres (1.3 km²) of land which includes a 20 acre (81,000 m²) waterpark called Splash Works. Splash Works has over 2 million gallons (7,570 m³) of heated water, Canada's largest outdoor wave pool measuring 36,000 square feet (3,300 m²), a lazy river, and 16 water slides.

Flight Deck in actionIn 1983, Canada's Wonderland added the Kingswood Music Theatre, a 15,000 seat amphitheatre that hosted many "big-name" concerts. After the Molson Amphitheatre opened on the grounds of Ontario Place in 1995, cultural festivals at the theatre became more prominent. Splash Works is featured in the southwest quadrant; an artificial mountain forms the park's central feature.The park's themed areas are:
International Street
Medieval Faire
International Festival
Nickelodeon Central
Hanna-Barbera Land
Kidzville
White Water Canyon
Splash Works
Grande World Exposition of 1890
Action Zone
2007 shows
Endless Summer The Paramount Theatre stage returned to its roots and was transformed into a skating rink with a new ice show.
Twisting to the 60s, International Showplace hosted a live music show, with songs from the 1960s.
Dora's Sing-A-Long Adventure returned for the 2007 season in the Playhouse Theatre.
Sauter, High-diving and trampoline jumping show, located at Arthur's Bay.
Victoria Falls High Divers, High divers jumping from the top of Wonder Mountain, taking a plunge of over 66 feet (20 m).
Water slides
Black Hole
The Plunge
Super Soaker
Body Blast
Riptide Racer
Barracuda Blaster
Whirlwinds
Splash Island Waterways
Splash Island Kiddie Slides
Roller coasters
Main article: Rides at Canada's Wonderland

Behemoth, set to open May, 2008
The Bat - Steel shuttle coaster with a loop and cobra roll, built by Vekoma
Behemoth - Steel sit down coaster with a 70 metre drop and travels at 125km/h; scheduled to open in 2008, built by Bolliger & Mabillard
Dragon Fire - Steel double-loop, double-corkscrew with a downward helix, built by Arrow
The Fly - Wild Mouse roller coaster built by Mack Gmbh
Back Lot Stunt Coaster - (formerly Italian Job: Stunt Track) steel, powered launch, built by Premier Rides
Mighty Canadian Minebuster - Wooden coaster with modified out-and-back layout, built by Philadelphia Toboggan Company
SkyRider - steel stand-up, with one loop and a downward helix, built by Togo
Thunder Run - Steel mine train coaster with no lift, built by Mack Gmbh
Time Warp - (formerly Tomb Raider: The Ride) Steel flying roller coaster, built by Zamperla
Flight Deck - (formerly Top Gun) Steel inverted looping coaster, 5 inversions of various types, built by Vekoma
Vortex - Steel suspended coaster, built by Arrow Dynamics
Wild Beast - Wooden, modified Bearcat/Wildcat, built by Philadelphia Toboggan Company

Vacation My last vacation was good. I did a lot of things. I traveled to Natal, I worked, I slept. my trip to Natal Was so great, I went with my familly and some friends. We stayed in a good hotel. In our hotel room we had an awesome view of the beach. I ate a lot there, the food was terrific. I swam a lot, I played soccer, I met some interesting people and I did a lot of new things. I went sandboarding there, I tried to learn how to surf and I rode a buggy. the trip to Natal was so good I enjoyed a lot and made new real friends. I went to the club to swim. I worked a lot. I enjoyed my vacation and I hope my next vacation is so good like this one BY: Hugo 2º EM

Where does the name Canada come from?

In 1535, two Aboriginal youths used the word " Kanata, " which means " village " to refer not only to Stadacona ( that is Quebec city now adays ) but also to the entire area subject to Donnacona, by 1547, applied the word " Canada " to the area north of the St. Lawrence gulf. The first use " Canada " as an official name came in 1791 when the Constitutional Act divided Quebec, into the provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

Fernanda Naníbia Oliveira, 17/03/08

The maple leaf

The maple leaf is a popular symbol of Canada. It was used as a symbol of Canada as early as 1700. It is on the penny, our one-cent coin.

Since february 15, a red maple leaf has been on the national flag of Canada.

Demographics

Toronto is Canada's most populous metropolitan area with 5,113,149 people.
Canada's 2006 census counted a total population of 31,612,897, an increase of 5.4% since 2001. Population growth is from immigration and, to a lesser extent, natural growth.
According to the 2001 census, it has 34 ethnic groups with at least one hundred thousand members each, with 83% of the total population claiming they are white. The largest ethnic group is English (20.2%), followed by French (15.8%), Scottish (14.0%), Irish (12.9%), German (9.3%), Italian (4.3%), Chinese (3.7%), Ukrainian (3.6%), and First Nations (3.4%).
Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world. According to the 2001 census, 77.1% of Canadians identify as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group. The largest Protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada. About 16.5% of Canadians declare no religious affiliation, and the remaining 6.3% are affiliated with religions other than Christianity, of which the largest is Islam numbering 1.9%, followed by Judaism at 1.1%.

Languages of Canada

Canada's two official languages are English and French. Official Bilingualism in Canada is law, defined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Official Languages Act, and Official Language Regulations; it is applied by the Commissioner of Official Languages. English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions. The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French, and official language minorities are guaranteed their own schools in all provinces and territories.[82] English and French are the mother tongues of 59.7% and 23.2% of the population respectively,[83] and the languages most spoken at home by 68.3% and 22.3% of the population respectively.[84] 98.5% of Canadians speak English or French (67.5% speak English only, 13.3% speak French only, and 17.7% speak both).[85] English and French Official Language Communities, defined by First Official Language Spoken, constitute 73.0% and 23.6% of the population respectively.[86] Although 85% of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, there are substantial Francophone populations in Ontario, Alberta and southern Manitoba, with an Acadian population in the northern and southeastern parts of New Brunswick constituting 35% of that province's population, as well as concentrations in Southwestern Nova Scotia and on Cape Breton Island. Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec. The Charter of the French Language in Quebec makes French the official language in Quebec, and New Brunswick is the only province to have a statement of official bilingualism in the constitution.[87] Other provinces have no official languages as such, but French is used as a language of instruction, in courts, and for other government services in addition to English. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec allow for both English and French to be spoken in the provincial legislatures, and laws are enacted in both languages. In Ontario, French has some legal status but is not fully co-official. Several aboriginal languages have official status in Northwest Territories. Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut, and one of three official languages in the territory. Non-official languages are important in Canada, with 5,202,245 people listing one as a first language.[83] Some significant non-official first languages include Chinese (853,745 first-language speakers), Italian (469,485), German (438,080), and Punjabi (271,220).[83]