Text 2 Canadian Economy

(1) Canadians enjoy the high standard of living that major western countries are accus­tomed to and tend to take for granted. How­ever, income and employment have fallen since the late 1980s so maintaining the wealth experienced by the previous genera­tion is becoming ever more difficult, even elusive. Today nearly half the work force is women and by far the majority of house­holds have two incomes, often by necessity.

(2) The Canadian economy is based, as it al­ways has been, on abundant natural re­sources. These natural renewable and nonrenewable riches include fish, timber and wood products, minerals, natural gas, oil and hydroelectricity. Although only 5% of the land is arable, the agricultural sector, primarily in wheat and barley, accounts for much of the Canadian export total.

(3) Manufacturing has long been a weak component of the economy and today em­ploys just 14% of the country’s workers. The most important manufactured product is motor vehicles. Hi-tech industries and de­velopers in the space and computer fields are playing increasing roles in the economy.

(4) By far the largest part of the economy at a whopping 75% is in services which in­cludes an enormous civil service. Banking, insurance, education, communication and consulting bring in foreign exchange. The rest of the service sector does not.

(5) The country’s major trading partner is the USA although business people are increas­ingly strengthening ties with Japan, China and all of the Pacific Rim. Mexico, too, is poised to become a major trading partner.

(6) The high degree of foreign ownership of Canadian business has also been problem­atic, drawing profits away from the coun­try. Overall, about 40% of the country’s industry is owned by non-Canadians, led by US interests.

(7) Currently unemployment hovers around 9% with regional variations, and the infla­tion rate is about 2%.

(8) Canada has an immense ‘underground economy’. This does not refer simply to vari­ous, more or less traditional, criminal activ­ities but the hidden transactions of legitimate businesses done in order to avoid paying tax. Estimates of the extent of this underground economy range to over 20% of the country’s internal economic output. This is a stagger­ing amount of taxes going unpaid which means rates have to go up. The car mechanic of­fers a tune-up, you offer to fix his plumbing; you stay at my B&B, I’ll design you a brochure. The variations are infinite. There are even ‘contra’ or service-exchange clubs to join.

(9) Many transactions are done ‘under the table’, meaning paid for in cash with no bills, receipts, written guarantees or paper­work generated. Offering to pay cash usu­ally results in a lower price as well as the tax saving.

Task 1. Skim the text about economy of Canada and highlight (or .write out) the sentences that summarise the main idea of each paragraph.

Text 3 Australia

General Information

Smallest continent and sixth largest country (in area) on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Officially Commonwealth of Australia 

Population (2002 est.): 19,702,000.

Capital: Canberra.

Most Australians are descendants of Europeans.

The largest nonwhite minority is the Australian Aboriginals.

Language: English (official).

Currency: Australian dollar.

Formally a constitutional monarchy, its chief of state is the British monarch, represented by the governor-general.

In reality it is a parliamentary state with two legislative houses; its head of government is the prime minister.

Geography

Australia is an island continent lying south east of Asia and forming, with the nearby island of Tasmania and a number of smaller islands, the Commonwealth of Australia. In fact, it is the only country in the world which occupies the territory of an entire continent. Australia covers an area of 7.7 mln sq km, the same as the USA (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) and is more than 30 times larger than Great Britain.

The Australian continent is bounded on the north by the Timor and Arafura Seas and Torres Strait, on the east by the Tasman and Coral Seas, on the south by Bass Strait and the Indian Ocean and on the west by the Indian Ocean. Australia is the smallest continent and the largest island in the world.

The flattest of all continents, Australia's most significant mountain chain is the Great Dividing Range (the eastern projection of which is known as the Australian Alps) running down most of the east coast. Other mountains include the Kimberley and Hamerslay Ranges in Western Australia, the Macdonnell and Musgrave Ranges In Central Australia, and the Flinders Range in South Australia. Mount Kosciusko (2,230 m), in the Australian Alps, is Australia's highest point.

There are few rivers and lakes in Australia. Its best-known river is Murray (2,600 km). The longest is the Darling (2,740 km). These, with the Murrumbidgee, the Lachlan and a number of smaller rivers form the continent's river system.

Australia is located between 10 and 40 degrees south latitude. Its largest region is in the tropical belt which includes the tropical desert climate (in the western and in the central parts of the country) and tropical wet climate (in the eastern part). In the subtropical belt (30-40 degrees south latitude) there are three types of climate: subtropical wet (in the south-eastern part), subtropical with dry summers (in the south-western part) and continental climate with low rainfall all the year round and sharp changes of temperatures (in the central southern part). Thus great parts of the interior (the outback) of the country are very dry. Most of these areas are desert country. In fact, the Great Sandy and Great Victoria Deserts rank among the largest deserts in the world.

The continent is south of the Equator, so the seasons are the opposite way round in that part of the world. In December, January and February, when people are sledging and ice-skating in North America and the European countries, Australians are enjoying summer-time. The winter season is from June to August.

People

Australia is the least populated of the world’s continents, its population being only 19.7 mln people (2002 est.). The distribution of the population is determined by the vast inland deserts. Thus more than 80 per cent of the people live in the six capitals on the coastal strip (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart) and less than 15 per cent actually live in the rural areas. Indeed, the two largest of these capital cities, Sydney and Melbourne, contain more than 6 mln people.

The Australian population is subdivided into “original Australians” (known as the Aborigines), “old Australians” and “new Australians”. The word “aborigines” (“aboriginals”) means “first inhabitants”. The Aboriginals’ ancestors are believed to have migrated to the Australian continent from South-East Asia at least 40,000 years ago. Coming to terms with the often harsh climate, they became engaged in hunting and food gathering. They had a rich culture of ceremonies and mythology. Rock and bark paintings and engravings stand testimony to their culture. During the colonization period the: white man killed and even poisoned mercilessly a great many of the Aborigines. Now the estimated aboriginal population is less than one per cent of the population of the country. They mostly live in Aboriginal reserve communities on the most unsuitable soils where they were driven to by the white man. “Old Australians” are people of Anglo-Saxon or Irish descent, born in Australia and speaking English as their native tongue. Then, there are “new Australians”– post-war immigrants from various countries. Britain has been the largest source of post-war immigrants, the balance coming from more than 60 countries, particularly Italy and Greece. Now there are many nations in Australia speaking different languages, English being the official language.

Plants and Animals

Australia has long been little known to most of the people of the world, and this is probably due to its geographical position. It is situated so far away from the places where most of the people of the world live.

The isolation of the continent has resulted in the development of a distinctive Australian flora and fauna. This is reflected in the country’s coat-of-arms by the symbols of Australia’s native animals and plants: the kangaroo and the emu and a twig of wattle. It is also reflected in Australia’s poetic name: “Land of Wattle”. Although predominantly evergreen, vegetation ranges from the dense bushland of the coast to the mulga and mallee scrub of the inland plains. The best-known native trees are the eucalyptus (the gum) and the wattle. The gum, found across the continent in about 500 varieties, ranges from 90 m high to stunted types in arid zones. One eucalyptus, the jarrah, ranks among the world’s hardest woods. The wattle’s 600 species are akin to the acacia or mimosa.

The fauna, or animal life in Australia is also very distinctive. There are many species which are native and unique to Australia. The native marsupials suckle their young in suckle. Native species include the kangaroo, koala, dingo, opossum, spiny anteater (or echidna), platypus, etc. Birds peculiar to Australia are the emu (which cannot fly), lyrebird, bower-bird, bower-bird, etc. The kookaburra's characteristic laugh is the signal of some radio programmes in Australia. There are also many hawks, eagles, cockatoos. Australia's coastal waters and rivers contain many varieties of fish. Some of Australia’s fauna can be harmful to man. Poisonous snakes include the fear­some tiger snake, brown snake and death-adder. Dangerous arachnids include the red-backed spider.

The arrival of the Aborigines about 40,000 years ago did not alter the ecological balance to any great degree, although they did bring with them the dingo. However, the arrival of European man altered millennia of stability within two centuries. He brought with him sheep, rabbits, rats, cats and foxes. Technological changes destroyed the habitat, and the native plants and animals of Australia suffered accordingly.

VOCABULARY

akin	похожий, сходный, такой же как
arachnids	паукообразные
arid	сухой, засушливый; безводный
bower-birds	беседковые птицы, шалашники
bushland	бушлэнд (пространства, покрытые кустарниками)
coat-of-arms	герб, щит герба
cockatoo	какаду (попугай)
death-adder	шипохвост австралийский
eagle	орёл
hawk	ястреб; сокол
jarrah	эвкалипт окаймлённый
lyrebird	лирохвост
mallee	эвкалипт, малли (кустарниковый вид эвкалипта)
marsupial	сумчатое животное
mulga	акация безжилковая
spider	паук
spiny anteater	ехидна
stunted	мелкий, низкий, низкорослый, чахлый
suckle	вскармливать, выращивать
tiger snake	тигровая змея
twig	веточка; ветвь, ветка
wattle	австралийская акация или мимоза

History

It is probably also due to its geographical position that Australia was the last continent to be inhabited by the white man. It was just a little over 380 years that the Australian continent was discovered.

The first landing by Europeans took place in 1606. More than a century and a half later an expedition headed by the British explorer James Cook added the land to the posses­sions of the British crown. Until the name “Australia” (meaning “South Land”) became generally accepted for the continent, it had been referred to as New Holland, New South Wales, or Botany Bay.

During the War of Independence (1776) the former British colonies in America declared them­selves independent. The British ruling circles tried to make up for this loss by the seizure of new territories. Besides, the convicts could no longer be transported to the American colonies (which had served this purpose for over a hundred years) and British jails were more than badly overcrowded. A plan to establish penal settlements in the new region was advanced.

The first contingent of the convicts and their guards landed where Sydney stands today, on January 26, 1788. It was the so-called “First Fleet” and these people were called “first fleeters”. Now, Australia Day, January 26, commemorates the landing. Gradually more and more people arrived (they were convicts as well as free settlers) and a number of settlements were founded along the southern and eastern coasts.

The discovery of gold in 1851 marked the beginning of a tremendous surge of immigration which tripled the population in ten years. Since that time the transportation of the convicts has been stopped and severe restrictions on immigration from non-European countries have been imposed (the so-called “white Australia policy” which is still in force). The economic and political effects of the gold rush in Australia were considerable. New settlers demanded a more just distribution of arable lands. The struggle between squatters and small farmers started. Rapid development of trade unions began, which was significantly accelerated by the arrival of the Chartists, revolutionary refugees from Germany and politically mature workers from other countries. As a result, the trade unions gained considerable rights for the working people. It was in the 1870s that the Australian workers were the first in the world to gain an eight-hour working day.

The exploration of the outback was completed by the end of the 19th century. A great number of sheep stations were established there. Some of these stations cover thousands of kilometers. The natural conditions of the country encouraged the development of sheep breeding and grain growing. The discoveries of mineral resources have stimulated development in many parts of the country and made Australia an important source of raw materials in the capitalist world.

In 1901 the separate colonies in Australia merged together and became the States of the Commonwealth of Australia, which acquired the status of a dominion of Great Britain. Australia made valuable contributions to the British war efforts during World War I. Raw materials, especially minerals, wool and foodstuffs, comprised the bulk of its economic aid to Great Britain. The armed forces of Australia figured significantly in the various British military campaigns in France and in the Middle East. Participation in World War I stimulated the development of monopoly capitalism Australia and sharpened class contradictions in the country.

Australia benefited from the devastating effects of World War I because the prices on its exports to post-war Europe increased considerably. Then came the economic crisis of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Those were very hard years for the common people of Australia: their wages were drastically reduced, one-third of the workers became unemployed. After 1933 Australia began to benefit from the improving conditions in the world market. That period was marked by a rapid growth of manufacturing industries.

Australia took part in World War II. In 1939 its troops joined the British forces in the Middle East, later in Western Europe, in the north of Africa and in the Pacific. In 1942 Australian ruling circles began to seek for military alliance with the United States of America. As a result of this alliance, the Australian government now has to take into consideration the decisions of Washington.

Australia is now an industrialized capitalist state. The Commonwealth of Australia is com­posed of six states and two territories: the State of New South Wales with its capital in Sydney, the State of Victoria with its capital in Melbourne, the State of South Australia with its capital in Adelaide, the State of Queensland with its capital in Brisbane, the State of Western Australia with its capital in Perth, the State of Tasmania with its capital in Hobart, Australian Capital Territory with its Federal Capital in Canberra, and Northern Territory with its capital in Darwin. The Commonwealth of Australia also includes' some islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

System of Government

Though Australia is now an independent state, according to the Constitution the head of the state is the Monarch of Great Britain, represented by the Governor-General. His duties include assenting to bills, opening, proroguing and dissolving Parliament and commissioning the Prime Minister to form a government. Each of the six states has a Governor who carries out duties similar to those of the Governor-General.

Legislative authority is vested in Federal and State Parliaments. The Federal Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Members of the House of Representatives (the Lower House) are elected for a three-year term. The number of members in the House of Representatives is determined on a population basis, with minimum of five members from each state. Each of the states is represented in the Senate (the Upper House) by ten senators and each territory by two senators. Senators are elected for a term of six years, half of them retiring every three years.

Parliamentary elections are conducted by a statutory electoral office which is part of the permanent Civil Service. As a result of the elections, the leader of the political party with a majority in the House of Representatives, either in his own right or in coalition with another party, is called on to form a government, and becomes Prime Minister. The franchise for both chambers of the Parliament is compulsory. Those Australian citizens who are abroad at the moment of the elections vote “by mail”. Those who abstain from voting are fined.

Though the system of Australian government resembles the USA and British systems of government, it also has its own indi­vidual features.

Education

This is equally true of the Australian system of education. Its specific features are connected with the problem of reaching children in remote and sparsely populated areas. For these children a system of correspondence instruction has been established, the so-called “School Through the Mailbox”. Another Australian way of schooling is the “School of the Air”, using the two-way radio network. Children hundreds of kilometres apart share lessons during which teachers and pupils speak directly to each other.

Economy.

Australia is the world’s largest wool producer and one of the world’s largest wheat exporters. The main sources of foreign earnings are wool, food and minerals which also provide raw materials for home processing industry.

Task 1. Answer the questions.

1. What is the capital of Australia?

2. What is the official language in Australia?

3. What kind of government does Australia have? Is it a multi-party

democracy, an absolute monarchy, or a constitutional monarchy?

4. Who is the leader of the country?

Text 4

New Zealand

Capital: Largest city: Official languages: Government: Head of State: Governor-General: Prime Minister: Area: HM Queen Elizabeth II

Wellington Auckland English (98%), Māori (4.2%) Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy HM Queen Elizabeth II Anand Satyanand (2008) Helen Clark (2008) Total 268,680 km² (75th)

New Zealand is situated in the southwest Pacific Ocean on two large islands: the North Island and the South Island.

Less than 1/4 of the territory of the country lies below the 100 m contour line. The South Island is significantly more mountainous than the North Island. New Zealand has a temperate, moist ocean climate without marked seasonal variations in temperature or rainfall.

The total population in 2007 was about 4.3 mln people with the average population density of about 15 persons per sq.km. About 85 % if the population is classified as Europeans. Most of them are of British descent. English is the universal language.

The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. Like the United Kingdom New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy.

Officially the head of the state is the British Queen (or the King). Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the Head of State and, in her absence, is represented by a non-partisan Governor-General. The Queen 'reigns but does not rule.' She has no real political influence, and her position is essentially symbolic. Political power is held by the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister, who is the Head of Government.

The economy of New Zealand has traditionally been based on pastoral farming. The last decades have seen a large expansion in the light industries. New Zealand draws many thousands of tourists to its shores because of the beauty, diversity, and compactness of its natural attractions.

Tourism plays a significant role in New Zealand's economy. Tourism contributes $12.8 billion (or 8.9%) to New Zealand’s total GDP and supports nearly 200,000 full-time equivalent jobs (9.9% of the total workforce in New Zealand) Tourists to New Zealand are expected to increase at a rate of 4% annually up to 2013.

Movies

Although films have been made in New Zealand since the 1920s, it was only from the 1970s that New Zealand films began to be produced in significant numbers. Films such as Sleeping Dogs and Goodbye Pork Pie achieved local success and launched the careers of actors and directors including Sam Neill, Geoff Murphy and Roger Donaldson. In the early 1990s, New Zealand films such as Jane Campion's Academy Award-winning film The Piano, Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors and Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures began to garner international acclaim. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jackson filmed The Lord of the Rings film trilogy in New Zealand, using a mostly New Zealand crew and many New Zealand actors in minor parts. Whale Rider, originally a novel by Witi Ihimaera, was produced in 2002 and received recognition from various festivals and awards. Many non-New Zealand productions, primarily from Hollywood but also from Bollywood, have been made in New Zealand. Film industry insiders are divided on whether this benefits or harms the New Zealand film industry; however some New Zealand actors, such as Lucy Lawless (Xena) have clearly benefitted from these overseas productions.