Vocabulary to the text:

sparse [spɑs], adj	рідкий, розкиданий, розсіяний
glacier ['glæsɪə]	льодовик, глетчер
Lake Huron [leɪk'hjuərən]	Озеро Гурон
Great Bear Lake [greɪt'bɛəleɪk]	Велике Ведмеже озеро
Great Slave Lake ['greɪtsleɪv'leɪk]	Велике Невільницьке озеро
Saint Lawrence river [s(e)n(t)'lɒrəns]	р. Святого Лаврентія
voluminous [və'l(j)umɪnəs]	об'ємистий, великий, масивний, широкий
Cordillera [kɔdɪ'ljɛərə]	Кордильєри
latitude ['lætɪtjud]	широта
Nova Scotia [nəuvə'skəuʃə]	Нова Шотландія (провінція Канади)
New Brunswick [nju'brʌnzwɪk]	Нью-Брансуік (провінція Канади)
Quebec [kwi'bek]	Квебек (провінція і місто Канади)
Ontario [ɒn'tɛərɪəu]	Онтаріо (провінція Канади; місто в Канаді)
Manitoba [mænɪ'təubə]	Манітоба (провінція і озеро Канади)
Saskatchewan	Саскачеван (провінція і ріка Канади)
Ottawa ['ɒtəwə]	Оттава (місто і ріка Канади)
sable ['seɪb(ə)l]	соболь
mink [mɪŋk]	норка
ermine ['ɜmɪn]	горностай
lynx [lɪŋks]	рись
skunk [skʌŋk]	скунс
Montreal [mɒntrɪ'ɔl]	м. Монреаль (Канада)
common law	звичайне право; прецедентне право
chief justice	головний (головуючий) суддя; старший суддя (за посадою); голова суду

1. Questions to the text

1. Describe the geographical stand of Canada.

2. Why is Canada so sparsely inhabited?

3. Describe Canada’s climate.

4. Describe the political structure of Canada.

5. Describe the animal life of Canada.

6. Describe the most important industries of Canada.

7. Speak about the language management in Canada.

8. Speak about each big city of Canada in details.

2. Write short notes about the key issues raised in the text.

3. Compose and write a plan of the text.

4. Retell the text using new vocabulary.

5. Prepare a presentation (preferably in MS PowerPoint) about Canada (10 slides). Cover issues not mentioned in the text above.

6. Write a letter to your friend about something you like the most in Canada (20-25 sentences).

Topic 19. Anglophone countries: Australia

"Australia" means "southern". Australia is an island continent forming with the nearby island of Tasmania and a number of smaller islands the Commonwealth of Australia. It is the only country which occupies the territory of the entire continent. Australia is considered to be the largest island and the smallest continent of the world. It separates the Indian and the Pacific oceans. Australia is south of the equator, so the seasons are the opposite to those in the northern hemisphere.

The climate of Australia varies greatly from region to region but the continent is not generally subject to marked extremes of weather. The climate ranges from tropical in the north to temperate in the south. The continent's largest part is in tropical belt. It essentially has two seasons: a hot wet period with rains and a warm dry windy interval.

Australia lacks mountains of great height, it's one of the world's flattest landmasses. The average elevation is 300m. The interior, referred to as the outback, is predominantly a series of great plains and deserts. The tropical forests in the north are displaced by savannah in the east. The south-east is covered with forests of eucalyptus and other evergreen trees. In the east the coastal plains are separated from the vast interior plains by the Great Dividing Range.

The major rivers in Australia are the Murray and the Darling. The lakes are not numerous and almost all of them are salt-watered being the remains of a vast inland sea.

Australia is rich in mineral resources, notably gold, silver, diamonds, iron ore, coal, copper, nickel, natural gas, uranium. Agriculture is the main branch of economy in Australia. The widely-spread sheep-farming makes Australia one of the world's leading wool producers. Besides it is one of the biggest wheat exporters in the world.

The isolation of the continent has resulted in the development of distinctive Australian flora and fauna that include many species not found elsewhere. The best known native trees are eucalyptus and acacia (more than 500 species of it are indigenous). The scented flower of one acacia - the golden wattle - is one of the national symbols and appears on the coat of arms. It is also reflected in Australia's poetic name "Land of Wattle". The fauna of Australia is also very distinctive. Numerous species include kangaroo, koala, wallaby, opossum, anteater, platypus, lyrebird, kookaburra, emu, etc. Unfortunately, some 840 species of plants, 45 species of birds and 58 species of mammals are threatened with extinction.

The first people to live in Australia, called Aborigines, migrated there about 40 000 years ago. The continent remained relatively unknown to outsiders until the 17^th century. The first landing of Europeans (the Dutch sailors) took place in 1606. In 1770 an expedition headed by the British navigator James Cook reached the coasts of Australia and later added the land to the possessions of the British Crown. After the War of Independence the British colonies in America declared themselves independent and the British government lost the right to send criminals to North America. The loss was compensated by seizing new territories. The first group of convicts from British jails and their guards arrived in Australia in 1787 and founded a settlement named Sydney. Now, Australia Day, January 26 commemorates the landing.

Now the Australian population is subdivided into three groups.

1."Original Australians" known as the aborigines which mean "first inhabitants". They are believed to have migrated from south-east Asia.

2. "Old Australians" are people of Anglo-Saxon or Irish descent, born in Australia and speaking English as their native language.

3. "New Australians"- post-war immigrants from various countries, mostly European. Now there are many nations in Australia speaking different languages with English being the official language.

Australia is composed of six states and two territories. The largest state is Western Australia. Queensland is next in size, then South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and the island of Tasmania. The territories are: the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

The largest and oldest city of Australia is Sydney. It is famous for its world-known Opera House which resembles large white shells in form. Being surrounded by the ocean on three sides the city has miles of free beaches for swimming and surfing. Near Sydney there is an area of the Blue Mountains covered with millions of huge eucalyptus trees.

Melbourne is the second largest city. It is a financial, fashion and cultural heart of Australia. Melbourne is also a sport centre where horse races, football cups, Australian Open tennis tournament are held. One of Melbourne's places of interest is the house of Captain Cook.

Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, the second largest state of Australia, famous for the Great Barrier Reef, one of the most beautiful sights in Australia. Brisbane is a lively modern city with an impressive shopping mall, a lot of theatres, besides it's a big sea-port.

Adelaide is often called the Festival city; Davis Cup tennis and famous Australian cricket matches are held there.

Perth is a big sea-port on the western coast. It is full of parks and gardens and its beaches are among the loveliest in the world.

Canberra (aboriginal word meaning "meeting place") is the capital of Australia. It is a beautifully planned modern city. The special charm is given to Canberra by an artificial lake in the center of the city. One of the main places of interest is the Captain Cook Fountain of more than 100 meters high in the western part of the lake.

Tasmania is a beautiful, wild island. Agriculture is its main industry, but 6 per cent of its land is devoted to national parks. Writers and poets call Tasmania "the Isle of Beauty". Special features of Tasmania contrast with mainland Australia. It is a mountainous island and there is an extraordinary variety of scenery. The capital city is Hobart.

Australia is an independent self-governing state and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The head of the state is the British monarch. Formally executive authority is vested in the governor general appointed by the British sovereign. Federal policy in practice is determined by the cabinet which is headed by the Prime Minister (now Julia Gillard). The highest body of legislative power is the bicameral parliament made up of the Senate and The House of Representatives. At the head of the judicial system is the High Court of Australia, consisting of seven members. The Australian constitution combines the traditions of British parliamentary monarchy with important elements of the US federal system.

The Australian national colors are green and gold.