Australia (Part 1)
Australia is the only country in the world that is also a continent. It is
the sixth large country and the smallest continent. Australia lies between the
South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is situated about 11 000 km
southwest of North America and about 8200 km southeast of mainland Asia. The
name of the country comes from Latin word «australis» which mean southern. The
country's official name is Commonwealth of Australia. Its area is about
8,000,000 square km. The population of Australia is about 18 mln. Today
Australia is an independent federative state consisting of 6 states - New South
Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.
Each state has its government and 2 territories - the Australian Capital
Territory and the Northern Territory. The capital of the country is Canberra.
It is a member of the Commonwealth headed by the British Queen. The national
language is English. The largest cities are Sidney, Melbourne, Adelaide,
Brisbane and Perth. These cities are also the country's main ports. Canberra
was specially planned as the capital. It is a quiet city. All the government
buildings are situated there. There're no industrial plants in the city. About
300000 people live in Canberra. Sydney is the oldest and largest city in
Australia. It was founded in 1788. Sydney is a big industrial centre. About 3
million people now live in the city. Australia is one of the world's developed
countries. Australia has modern factories, highly productive mines and farms,
and busy cities. It is the world's leading producer of wool and bauxite. It
also produces and exports large amounts of other minerals and farm goods.
Income from the export enables Australians to have high standard of living. The
most important trading partners of Australia are Japan and the United States.
There are many universities, theatres and museums in Australia. There are some
political parties in Australia: the Liberal party, the Labor party and two
socialist parties.
Australia (Part 2)
The Commonwealth of Australia is a self-government federal state. It has
six states: new south Wales, Victoria, Queens land, south Australia, western
Australia and two internal territories. It is situated in the southwest of the
Pacific Ocean. The area of this country has 7000000 square kilometers.
Australia is the largest island in the world and the smallest continent. The
Dutch were the first Europeans to visit Australia. In the 1770 the English
captain James Cook discovered the East Coast of Australia. Nearly 20 million
people live in Australia. The capital of the country is Canberra, this city
became the capital in 1927. Federal government works in Canberra in the
government buildings. There are no industrial plants in the town. The
population of Canberra is about 300 000 people. There are many sites in the city.
They are the buildings of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian
National University and other places of interest. There are two big industrial
cities in Australia: Sydney and Melbourne. Australian climate is dry and warm.
Australia is situated in the Southern Hemisphere and that is why it has summer
when we have winter. January is the hottest month in Australia. Australia is
separated from many countries. The animals in Australia have developed
differently. They are interesting. You can see the dingo, a wild dog that kills
other animals at night, the kangaroo and many parrots there. There are many
lakes in the country. Australia is an industrial country. It has coal, nickel,
zinc and gold. Australia is one of the most important producers of metals and
minerals. It exports wool production, meat, fruit and sugar. The Australia is
situated near the ocean. Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are the ports of the
country. There are many universities, theaters and museums in Australia. There
are some political parties in Australia: the liberal party, the labor party and
two socialist parties of Australia. . Australia is not only far from the rest
of the world, it has a bad climate, too. The climate is better in the east and
south-east, where most big cities have grown. But the northern coast has too
much rain, and the western coast is too dry. The highest part of Australia, and
almost all the mountains are near the coast. The whole central part of the
country is dry; it never rains, there are no large rivers and no water there.
So there is no very rich plant life in Australia, except in the east and
south-east. Australia is an important producer and exporter of primary
products: wool, meat, sugar, fruit, coal, iron, copper, lead, gold and so on.
Most of the factories are situated near big cities. There are 5 (five) big
cities in Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. These
cities are also the country's main ports. Canberra was specially planned as the
capital. It is a quiet city. All the government buildings are situated there.
There're no industrial plants in the city. About 300000 people live in
Canberra. Sydney is the oldest and largest city in Australia. It was founded in
1788. Sydney is a big industrial centre. About 3 million people now live in the
city.