Canada is surrounded on three sides by oceans. To the north, the Arctic Ocean borders Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Off the west coast of British Columbia is the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean, meanwhile, sits to the east of Canada’s Maritime provinces, which include Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

Hi Mea,
I’m sorry for taking so long to reply to your email. As you know, I’ve been very busy this summer with Marco’s university graduation and my family’s visit from Chile. The graduation ceremony was great! Too bad you guys couldn’t make it, but we understand it’s a bit of a drive from Calgary. You were truly missed. My Mum remembers you well from when we were kids. After the celebrations, we took the family sightseeing here in Vancouver. They loved it! They left yesterday for Victoria, and will catch a plane back home from there in three days.
Just when we thought things would slow down, Marco broke the news that he had accepted a job offer in Tokyo. He leaves at the end of the month! He was invited to work at a top engineering firm that specializes in rebuilding cities after large disasters. Needless to say Marco is very excited about it. The firm has been really active in the reconstruction efforts following the 2011 earthquake in Japan, and it’s a great first step into his career, not to mention the opportunity to experience a new culture, and learn a new language. He’s a little apprehensive about communicating in Japanese but the firm has a translator and a tutor to help him.
Marco is over the moon, but Jack and I are having a tougher time with it. We think he’s so young to be so far away, but we know it’s for the best. Just the other day Jack and I were talking about that trip all of us took to Disneyland when the kids were little, do you remember that? It’s been 20 years! Time flies, doesn’t it? Well, get prepared, Cindy is next!
In any event, we are planning a farewell party for friends next weekend, and Marco cannot imagine not having you, Jason and Cindy there. The party will be at his apartment. He really does not want to leave without saying goodbye to you all. We hope you can make it, after all we haven’t seen you since last Christmas. Let me know so I can get the rooms ready.
We’ll be in touch,
Love,
Maria

A. The narwhal is an endangered type of whale found in the frigid waters of the Arctic, extending from Canada through the Norwegian waters to Russia. Narwhal means "corpse whale," and it has earned its name because of its mottled dark grey colour. Narwhals are regularly harvested for meat and ivory in northern Canada and Greenland. Narwhals share physical characteristics with Beluga whales, having similar shape and size. Both species lack dorsal fins, have short beaks, rounded heads and a thick layer of blubber to adapt to glacial conditions.
B. The narwhals’ distinctive characteristic lies in the presence of a long 2.5 meter spiralling tusk that protrudes from the males’ foreheads, resembling a unicorn. The horn-like formation, however, is a long left tooth. The right tooth remains embedded in the skull and measures roughly 30 centimeters. Female tusks have a more regularly defined morphology. They are much shorter, straighter, and do not collect as much algae on the surface, thus appearing whiter.
C. For hundreds of years the purpose of the tusk on the "unicorn whale" has puzzled scientists and local aboriginal elders alike. A northern aboriginal legend explains the narwhal’s tusk was created when a woman shooting with a harpoon rope was dragged into the ocean after the harpoon had struck a large narwhal whale. She then was transformed into a narwhal herself, and her hair, which was long and twisted, became the characteristic of the spiral tusk. In academic circles, the tusk remains an evolutionary mystery that defies many of the known principles of mammalian teeth. Preliminary studies suggest the tusk enables whales to determine salinity levels and allows them to detect food in their environment.
D. Narwhal behaviour also intrigues researchers. Males frequently engage in episodes of rubbing their tusks together, or “tusking,” for as-yet unknown reasons. The same behaviour is not observed in the female counterparts or between females and males. Some studies theorize about the possibility of these being mating behaviours aimed at displaying genetic superiority. Support for such a theory, however, has proved scarce since unlike other mammalian species the behaviour is not aggressive. Narwhals are a migratory species. In an attempt to learn about their migration patterns and social behavior, their populations are being observed and recorded through satellite tracking conducted by scientists in Canada and Greenland.
E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.

Visitors walking through Carleton High School are often surprised when they pass Bradley Gordon’s French class and see students riding on exercise bikes and sitting on yoga balls. Is it a French class, or is it a gym class? Well, it’s a bit of both!
Two major concerns in education are childhood obesity and ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a disorder that results in restlessness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. With high rates of obesity and also students struggling with ADHD in classes across the country, Mr. Gordon came up with an innovative intervention to address both. He decided to infuse academic studies with physical activity in his own classroom.
The idea came to Gordon after a personal experience in university while working on his bachelor’s degree. I didn’t have time to schedule a separate slot for exercise, and my health deteriorated rapidly," said Gordon. "After feeling sick and fatigued for months, I decided to couple my studying with my workouts. To my surprise it proved incredibly helpful. My grades started improving and so did my overall fitness and health."
Gordon implemented the approach with his students to great effect last year. Despite the students’ excitement and academic improvement, he met resistance from the school’s principal, Dawn Epstein, who was not convinced that academics and physical exercise should be amalgamated. Although exercise is certainly important, I didn’t think it had any place in academics. I assumed exercise would exacerbate ADHD,” Epstein asserted.
It turns out Ms. Epstein’s reaction is a common misconception. As Dr. John Ratney, psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School, explains: “Exercise turns the attention system on, and helps with working memory, prioritizing and sustaining attention.” Sustained physical exertion causes kids to be less impulsive and more prone to learn. That’s precisely what Mr. Gordon found a year into the intervention. “My students’ endurance, both physical and mental, has improved. They are fit, and eager to learn. Even students diagnosed with ADHD have displayed less physical agitation, which has helped them to learn better.” So, when you walk by Mr. Gordon’s class and see bikes spinning, know that minds are at work.