[00:08.10]READING
[00:08.99]THE PORTRAIT OF A NATION
[00:10.61]Modern Australia is made up of six states and two territories: Western Australia, South Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory.
[00:21.26]Australia is surrounded by two oceans: the Indian Ocean in the west and the south, and the Pacific Ocean in the northeast.
[00:27.35]Sydney is perhaps Australia’s most famous city, but the capital of Australia is Canberra, a city located between Sydney and Melbourne.
[00:33.57]The Australian flag shows the UK flag and a large star with seven points.
[00:37.64]Six of the points represent the states and the seventh stands for all the territories.
[00:41.48]The other stars on the flag represent the Southern Cross-a group of stars in the southern sky that can be used the find the South Pole.
[00:47.57]THE FIRST AUSTRALINGS
[00:49.48]Australia is a young nation on an ancient continent.
[00:49.48]The first Australians were the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.
[00:52.77]These peoples came to the continent at least fifty thousand years ago and created complex societies.
[00:57.18]Their culture was highly developed.
[00:58.91]Some Australian Aborigines still live in a similar way to their ancestors,
[01:02.09]while others live in cities, towns and the county in the same way as their fellow Australians.
[01:05.93]A NATION OF PRISONERS?
[01:08.05]In the seventeenth century, European explorers began arriving on the continent.
[01:11.86]Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch, and later British ships reached the north and west coasts and Tasmania.
[01:17.17]In 1770, Captain James Cook claimed the east coast of the continent for the British Crown.
[01:21.79]Later, when the American War of Independence made it impossible for England to send prisoners to North America,
[01:26.73]Australia was chosen as a new place where prisoners and criminals were sent.
[01:30.25]In 1788, the first fleet of 11 ships arrived in Australia.
[01:34.20]The British Governor landed on January 26, today known as Australia Day.
[01:38.43]Over the next 80 years, about 160,000 prisoners were sent to Australia,
[01:42.79]The newcomers changed the way land was managed and introduced new plants and animals that were harmful to the Australian ecosystems.
[01:48.64]As a consequence, the original Australians suffered.
[01:51.28]Many Aborigines and Islanders were moved and had their land taken away from them.
[01:55.12]ANOTHER NEW WORLD: THE BIRTH OF A NATION
[01:57.94]In the early twentieth century, Australia resembled the USA of eighteenth century: it was a “new world” society.
[02:03.74]In 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was formed.
[02:06.56]The Constitution governing six states stated that men were free and equal,
[02:09.80]explained their basic civil rights and described the new government.
[02:12.75]Aborigines and other non-Europeans did not enjoy the same rights.
[02:16.28]It rights. It would be many years until Australia learn to respect Aborigines and recognize the importance of a diverse society.
[02:22.13]The First World War had a strong influence on Australia.
[02:25.06]After the war, the country experienced social and economic unrest and suffered from the Great Depression of the 1930s.
[02:30.47]After the Second World War, Australia began to transform itself into the modern country it is today.
[02:34.93]The economy grew and Australia benefited from immigration.
[02:38.48]People from about 200 countries moved to Australia in the fifty years after the Second World War.
[02:42.43]The country also began to change its attitude towards Aborigines: in the late 1960s,
[02:47.13]the government passed laws to strengthen the rights of Aborigines and Inlanders and to improve their living conditions.
[02:51.49]SPEAK AUSTRALIAN? NO WORRIES!
[02:54.18]English is the official language of Australia.
[02:56.51]Australia English differs in pronunciation for British and American English,
[02:59.50]and some of the vocabulary used “down under” is quite different from what you may have learnt in your English class
[03:02.37]Australians are fond of their language and love to have fun with it.
[03:05.43]“No worries” is Australian for “everything will be OK”, “Mate” usually means “friend” or “companion”, but can be said to anyone.
[03:12.06]A “Sheila” is a female, the “outback” is the wilderness, a “billabong” is a water hole in a dry riverbed, a “uni” is a university,
[03:19.43]and to “go walkabout” is to take to long journey to get away from one’s daily life.
[03:23.53]While some of the Aboriginal languages have been lost,
[03:26.22]people are trying hard to protect and record what is left. Perhaps the best known example of Australian English is the friendly “G’ day mate” that a visitor to the land down under is sure to hear.
[03:34.92]INTEGRATING SKILLS
[03:38.21]Reading
[03:39.07]AUSTRALIA
[03:38.07]Australia is as old as time.
[03:40.27]It was probably once connected to South America, but the continents separated as the earth’s plates moved.
[03:44.97]Having been separated from other continents for millions of years, Australia has many plants and animals that cannot be found any where else in the world.
[03:51.76]One strange animal lays eggs, yet feeds its young on its milk.
[03:55.71]Kangaroos and koala give birth to very small and weak young.
[03:59.52]They are then carried in a pocket of skin for several months while they feed on the mother’s milk and grow stronger.
[04:04.61]There are many kinds of birds in Australia, and over 140 species of snakes, many of which are extremely dangerous.
[04:11.09]Australia is the only country in the world that covers an entire continent.
[04:15.27]From north to south the distance is 3,220 km, and from east to west about 4,000km.
[04:22.04]In areca it is approximately the same size as the USA (without Alaska),
[04:26.22]which, however, has more than fourteen times as many people.
[04:29.30]Today about 85% of the Australia population of 20 million live in the six major cities around the coast.
[04:35.91]Two-thirds of the country is dry or desert.
[04:38.55]Australia is a wealthy country.
[04:40.79]It produces metals, precious stones, coal, grain, meat and wines, and has the biggest iron mines in the world.
[04:47.30]Australia has about one-sixth of the world’s sheep and produces almost one-third of its wool.
[04:52.70]Cattle are also kept, and about 15 million tons of wheat are grown every year.
[04:56.91]Fruit and vegetables are grown in areas where there is enough water.
[05:00.25]A long fence runs for hundreds of kilometres across Australia.
[05:03.91]The purpose of the fence is to keep out a type of wild dog called a “dingo”.
[05:07.65]Dingoes hunt at night and like to attack sheep.
[05:10.13]Farms in the middle of Australia are usually so large that farmers use motorbikes or helicopters for the task of rounding up the sheep or cattle.
[05:17.47]The climate is different depending on the area.
[05:19.92]The south has cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers.
[05:23.58]The north has warm, dry winters and hot, wet summers.
[05:27.11]The vast centre of Australia is hot and dry all the year round.
[05:31.03]Because of such a climate, much of daily life happens outdoors.
[05:34.32]Australians love sports and the country is birthplace of many tennis, sailing and swimming champions.
[05:39.91]Outings are popular and most Australian are birthplace to share a cold glass of beer or lemonade with a friend.
[05:45.21]If you are invited to an Australian home, you will probably have a barbecue and roast a steak of fish on an open fine.
[05:51.22]At weekends many Australians go hiking and camping in the countryside, called the “bush”.
[05:55.56]For holidays, many people visit the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast of Australia, which has more than 600 islands |