8.Shortly after we
___,a waiter came over to our table with a smile. Aseated Bwere seated Csat us
READING The search of a new Canadian
Flag started in earnest in 1925 when a committee of the Privy Council began to
research possible designs for a national flag. However, the work of the
committee was never completed. Later, in1946, a select parliamentary(议会的) committee was
appointed with a similar mandate(授权,委任), called for
submissions(提交,投稿) and received more than 2,600 designs. Still, the Parliament of Canada was
never called upon to formally vote on a design. Early in 1964, Prime Minister
Lester B. Pearson informed the House of Commons that the government wished to
adopt ( 采纳) a distinctive ( 有特色的) national flag.The 1967 centennial (百年的 )celebration of
Confederation was, after all, approaching. As a result, a Senate and House for
Commons Committee was formed and submissions were called for once again. The
exercise Captured(引起,赢得) the imagination of the country. The committee held
46 sittings. It listened to hours of testimony from heraldic(纹章学的) experts,
historians and ordinary citizens. It was flooded by more than 2,000 proposed
designs。Thousands
of Canadians responded with flag designs of their own, using everything from
beavers (海狸) munching ( 用力咀嚼) on birch(白桦) trees to the northern lights
shining over the Arctic Oceans to represent the country.
In October 1964,
after eliminating(排除) various proposals, the committee was left with three
possible designs-a Red Ensign (旗) with the fleur-de-lis and the Union Jack, a design
incorporating three red maple leaves, and a red flag with a single, stylized red
maple leaf on a white square. Mr Pearson himself preferred a design with three
red maple leaves between two blue borders.
A key
element of the National Flag -- the stylized maple leaf -- was designed by Mr
Jacques St. Cyr while the proportions of the flag; were outlined by Mr George
Bist, a World War II veteran(老兵) , and the precise(明确的)coloration of the flag was
defined(规定) by Dr. Gunter Wyszechi. The final determination of all aspects of the new
flag was made by a 15-member parliamentary
committee, which is officially credited to recommend the single-leaf design,
which was approved by resolution(决议 ,决定) of the House of Commons on
December 15, 1964, followed by the Senate on December 17, 1964, and proclaimed(宣布) by Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, to take effect on February 15, 1965.