Английский язык 3,5 года / Английский язык / Лариса Анато / 56

Раздел V

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Beaches and Tea

Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful places in the world with sandy beaches, lush green vegetation, ancient monuments and cultural riches. Tourism is very important to the economy, though war and ethnic tensions have reduced the number of visitors. Golden beaches, sheltered by coconut palms and washed by warm, blue seas are typical of Sri Lanka. The beaches of the southwest between Beruvvela and Hikkaduwa are still particularly popular.

Tea is one of the Sri Lanka's leading exports. The tea estates and factories have become tourist attractions. The country is famous for its spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and pepper. Underneath the lush greenery and natural beauty, however, is stark poverty and exploitation. Most Sri Lankans work in agriculture and estate workers are paid only for those days they are actually needed to work. The pay is low and the cost of living is rising. There are many social problems and workers have poor living standards.

Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What is Sri Lanka famous for ?

2. What is one of the Sri Lanka's leading exports ?

3. What is the standard of living of the common people

4. in Sri Lanka ?

Australia

Australia's prosperity has been founded on its natural resources. It produces almost every mineral from gold to uranium. In the Pilbara region of Western Australia whole mountains are being destroyed in order to extract 112 million tonnes of iron ore per year. Diamonds are also mined and the Argyle mine is the world's largest.

Traditionally, Australia was a farming country, even though only 55 per cent of the land can be used for grazing and six per cent for crops. In spite of this, Australian wealth was founded on wool, cattle and wheat. It is still a major exporter of food, making it the breadbasket of Asia. In recent years Australian wines and beers have made an international name for themselves. Beer has always been a favourite drink in Australia, though unlike the British, Australians prefer their beer ice-cold.

Agriculture ar.d mining, however, employ comparatively few people. Tourism is now Australia's largest industry, employing six per cent of the population. More than three million visitors come to Australia each year - many of them from Japan, Korea and Singapore.

With a well educated population and Asian markets nearby, Australia is now developing modern, knowledge-based industries, such as medical science, solar energy, communications and computers.

Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What raw materials is Australia rich in ?

2. What was Australian wealth founded on ?

3. Which branches of industry is Australia developing ?

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