ENGLAND
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. The Irish Sea lies north west of England,
whilst the Celtic Sea lies to the south west. The North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England
comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain which lies in the North Atlantic. The country also
includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight.
Climate
England has a temperate maritime climate: it is mild with
temperatures not much lower than 0 °C (32 °F) in winter and not much
higher than 32 °C (90 °F) in summer. The weather is damp relatively
frequently and is changeable. The coldest months are January and February, the
latter particularly on the English
coast, while July is normally the warmest month. Months with mild to warm
weather are May, June, September and October. Rainfall is spread fairly
evenly throughout the year.
Architecture
Many ancient standing stone monuments were erected during the prehistoric
period, amongst the best-known are Stonehenge, Devil's Arrows, Rudston Monolith and Castlerigg. With the
introduction of architecture there was a development of basilicas, baths, amphitheaters, triumphal arches, villas, Roman temples, Roman roads, Roman forts, stockades and aqueducts. It was the Romans who founded the first cities
and towns such as London, Bath, York, Chester and St Albans. Perhaps the
best-known example is Hadrian's Wall stretching right
across northern England. Another well preserved example is the Roman Baths at Bath, Somerset.
Cuisine
Since the Early Modern Period the food of England
has historically been characterized by its simplicity of approach and a
reliance on the high quality of natural produce. During the Middle Ages and through the Renaissance period, English
cuisine enjoyed an excellent reputation, though a decline began during
the Industrial
Revolution with the move away from the land and increasing urbanization of
the populace.
AUSTRALIA
Australia officially the Commonwealth of Australia,is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the world'ssixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. New Caledonia, a special collectivity of France, lies to the north-east.
Environment
Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests, and is recognised as a megadiverse country. The fungi typify that diversity; the total number that occur in Australia, including those not yet discovered, has been estimated at around 250,000 species, of which roughly 5% have been described. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse. Approximately 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds, and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic Australia has the greatest number of reptiles of any country, with 755 species.
Religion
Australia has no state religion; Section 116 of the Australian Constitution prohibits the federal government from making any law to establish any religion, impose any religious observance, or prohibit the free exercise of any religion. In the 2011 census, 61.1% of Australians were counted as Christian, including 25.3% as Roman Catholic and 17.1% as Anglican; 22.3% of the population reported having "no religion"; 7.2% identify with non-Christian religions, the largest of these being Buddhism (2.5%), followed by Islam (2.2%), Hinduism (1.3%) and Judaism (0.5%). The remaining 9.4% of the population did not provide an adequate answer.
UNITED STATES
The United States of America (USA), commonly referred to as the United States (US), America or simply the States, is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal district. The 48 contiguous statesand the federal district of Washington, D.C., are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is the northwestern part of North America and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also has five populated and nine unpopulated territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean. At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) in total and with around 317 million people, the United States is the third or fourth-largest country by total area and third largest by population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. Thegeography and climate of the United States is also extremely diverse, and it is home to a wide variety of wildlife.
Food
Apple pie is a food synonymous with American culture.
Mainstream American cuisine is similar to that in other Western countries. Wheat is the primary cereal grain. Traditional American cuisine uses indigenous ingredients, such as turkey, venison, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup, which were consumed by Native Americans and early European settlers.
Slow-cooked pork and beef barbecue, crab cakes, potato chips, and chocolate chip cookies are distinctively American foods. Soul food, developed by African slaves, is popular around the South and among many African Americans elsewhere. Syncretic cuisines such as Louisiana Creole, Cajun, and Tex-Mex are regionally important. The confectionery industry in the United States includes The Hershey Company, the largest chocolatemanufacturer in North America. In addition, Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, is the largest globally distributed snack food company in the world. The United States has a vast Breakfast cereal industry that includes brands such as Kellogg's and General Mills.
Sports
The market for professional sports in the United States is roughly $69 billion, roughly 50% larger than that of all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined.
Baseball has been regarded as the
national sport since the late 19th century, while
American football is now by several measures the most popular spectator sport.
Basketball and
ice hockey are the country's next two leading professional team sports. These four major sports, when played professionally, each occupy a season at different, but overlapping, times of the year.
College football and
basketball attract large audiences.
Boxing and
horse racing were once the most watched
individual sports, but they have been eclipsed by
golf and
auto racing, particularly
NASCAR. In the 21st century, televised
mixed martial arts has also gained a strong following of regular viewers. While
soccer is less popular in the United States than in many other nations, the
men's national soccer team has been to the past six
World Cups and the
women are #1 in the
women's world rankings.
CANADA
Culture
Bill Reid's 1980 sculpture
Raven and The First Men. The Raven is a figure common to many of Canada's Aboriginal mythologies.
Canada's culture draws influences from its broad range of constituent nationalities, and policies that promote multiculturalism are constitutionally protected. In Quebec, cultural identity is strong, and many French-speaking commentators speak of a culture of Quebec that is distinct from English Canadian culture. However, as a whole, Canada is in theory a cultural mosaic – a collection of several regional, aboriginal, and ethnic subcultures. Government policies such as publicly funded health care, higher taxation to redistribute wealth, the outlawing of capital punishment, strong efforts to eliminate poverty, strict gun control, and the legalization of same-sex marriage are further social indicators of Canada's political and cultural values.
Historically, Canada has been influenced by
British,
French, and aboriginal cultures and traditions. Through their language,
art and
music, aboriginal peoples continue to influence the
Canadian identity. Many Canadians value multiculturalism and see Canada as being inherently multicultural. American media and entertainment are popular, if not dominant, in English Canada; conversely, many Canadian cultural products and entertainers are successful in the United States and worldwide. The preservation of a distinctly Canadian culture is supported by federal government programs, laws, and institutions such as the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the
National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Canadian visual art has been dominated by figures such as
Tom Thomson – the country's most famous painter – and by the
Group of Seven. Thomson's career painting Canadian landscapes spanned a decade up to his death in 1917 at age 39. The Group were painters with a nationalistic and idealistic focus, who first exhibited their distinctive works in May 1920. Though referred to as having seven members, five artists –
Lawren Harris,
A. Y. Jackson,
Arthur Lismer,
J. E. H. MacDonald, and
Frederick Varley – were responsible for articulating the Group's ideas. They were joined briefly by
Frank Johnston, and by commercial artist
Franklin Carmichael.
A. J. Casson became part of the Group in 1926. Associated with the Group was another prominent Canadian artist,
Emily Carr, known for her landscapes and portrayals of the
indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Since the 1950s, works of
Inuit art have been given as gifts to foreign dignitaries by the Canadian government.
The
Canadian music industry has produced internationally renowned
composers,
musicians and
ensembles. Music broadcasting in the country is regulated by the CRTC. The
Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presents Canada's music industry awards, the
Juno Awards, which were first awarded in 1970.
Patriotic music in Canada dates back over 200 years as a distinct category from British patriotism, preceding the
first legal steps to independence by over 50 years. The earliest,
The Bold Canadian, was written in 1812. The national anthem of Canada, "
O Canada", was originally commissioned by the
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the Honourable
Théodore Robitaille, for the 1880
St. Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony, and was officially adopted in 1980.
Calixa Lavallée wrote the music, which was a setting of a patriotic poem composed by the poet and judge Sir
Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The text was originally only in French, before it was translated to English in 1906.
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is an
island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses – that of the
North Island, or
Te Ika-a-Māui, and the
South Island, or
Te Waipounamu – and numerous
smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of
Australia across the
Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the
Pacific island areas of
New Caledonia,
Fiji, and
Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive
biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life; most notable are the large number of unique
bird species. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the
tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions.
Polynesians settled New Zealand in 1250–1300 CE and developed a distinctive Māori culture. Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, was the first European to sight New Zealand in 1642 CE. The introduction of potatoes and muskets triggered upheaval among Māori early during the 19th century, which led to the inter-tribal Musket Wars. In 1840 the British Crown and Māori signed the Treaty of Waitangi, making New Zealand a British colony. Immigrant numbers increased sharply and conflicts escalated into the New Zealand Wars, which resulted in Māori land being confiscated in the mid North Island. Economic depressions were followed by periods of political reform, with women gaining the vote during the 1890s, and a welfare state being established from the 1930s. After World War II, New Zealand joined Australia and the United States in the ANZUS security treaty, although the United States later suspended the treaty as a result of New Zealand's adoption of a nuclear-free policy. New Zealanders enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the world in the 1950s, but the 1970s saw a deep recession, worsened by oil shocks and the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. The country underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free trade economy; once-dominant exports of wool have been overtaken by dairy products, meat, and wine.
The majority of
New Zealand's population is of
European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. English, Māori and
New Zealand Sign Language are the official languages, with English predominant. Much of
New Zealand's culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. Early European art was dominated by landscapes and to a lesser extent portraits of Māori. A recent resurgence of Māori culture has seen their traditional arts of
carving, weaving and
tattooing become more mainstream. The country's culture has also been broadened by globalisation and increased
immigration from the Pacific Islands and Asia. New Zealand's diverse landscape provides many opportunities for outdoor pursuits and has provided the backdrop for a number of big budget movies.
Art
As part of the resurgence of Māori culture, the traditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely practised and Māori artists are increasing in number and influence. Most Māori carvings feature human figures, generally with three fingers and either a natural-looking, detailed head or a grotesque head. Surface patterns consisting of spirals, ridges, notches and fish scales decorate most carvings. The pre-eminent Māori architecture consisted of carved meeting houses (
wharenui) decorated with symbolic carvings and illustrations. These buildings were originally designed to be constantly rebuilt, changing and adapting to different whims or needs.
Māori decorated the white wood of buildings, canoes and cenotaphs using red (a mixture of red
ochre and shark fat) and black (made from soot) paint and painted pictures of birds, reptiles and other designs on cave walls.Māori tattoos (
moko) consisting of coloured soot mixed with gum were cut into the flesh with a bone chisel. Since European arrival paintings and photographs have been dominated by landscapes, originally not as works of art but as factual portrayals of New Zealand. Portraits of Māori were also common, with early painters often portraying them as "
noble savages", exotic beauties or friendly natives. The country's isolation delayed the influence of European artistic trends allowing local artists to developed their own distinctive style of
regionalism. During the 1960s and 70s many artists combined traditional Māori and Western techniques, creating unique art forms. New Zealand art and craft has gradually achieved an international audience, with exhibitions in the
Venice Biennale in 2001 and the "Paradise Now" exhibition in New York in 2004.
Literature
Māori quickly adopted writing as a means of sharing ideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were converted to the written form. Most early English literature was obtained from Britain and it was not until the 1950s when local publishing outlets increased that New Zealand literature started to become widely known. Although still largely influenced by global trends (
modernism) and events (the Great Depression), writers in the 1930s began to develop stories increasingly focused on their experiences in New Zealand. During this period literature changed from a
journalistic activity to a more academic pursuit. Participation in the world wars gave some New Zealand writers a new perspective on New Zealand culture and with the post-war expansion of universities local literature flourished.
