Australia

Australia (from the Latin word “australis” meaning southern Hemisphere) is the only country in the world, which occupies the territory of the entire continent. It is washed by the Indian Ocean to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. The continent and the island of Tasmania make up a Commonwealth of Australia. Its territory is 7,68 mln square kilometers. It lies far from other parts of the world, the closest being Asia with which it is linked by a group of islands. For this reason, Europe was long unaware of its existence. The first landing by Europeans took place in 1606. The Dutch came

there in 1620 and named the land New Holland. In 1770 Captain James Cook took eastern Coast for Britain and named it New South Wales. The British arrived in January 26, 1788 after loss of the American colonies and founded their colonies.

Many first settlers of Australia were convicts or soldiers. For many years, Australia was a place where criminals were sent from Britain. The discovery of gold in 1851 marked the beginning of a tremendous immigration. At present Australia is the least populated part of the world. Its population is about 18mln people. The average density of population is a little over one person to a square kilometer. The population is mainly of the British origin. The aboriginal population composes only 1 per cent of Australian population.

English is the official language and is taught in schools. The Aborigines had 250 languages but only 50 survived. Australian English uses many words that are expressions of Australia’s unique culture. 82% of Australians speak only English, 2.6 speak Italian, 1.8 – Greek, 1.6 – Chinese, etc.

From the political point of view it is a federal parliamentary state within the British Commonwealth headed by the British queen. The queen is represented by a governor-general. Australia is composed of six states (Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and the island of Tasmania) and two territories (Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory). The capital of Australia is Canberra. Each Australian state has also its own capital. Therefore, Sydney is the capital of New South Wales, Melbourne is the capital of Victoria, Adelaide is the capital of Tasmania, and Darwin is the capital of Northern Territory.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy. The highest legislative body is Federal Parliament consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. All citizens over 18 can

vote. The main political parties are Liberal, National and Labor.

Australia is a highly developed capitalist country. It is called “a lucky country” because it is very rich in natural resources, such as iron ore, bauxite, diamonds, and coal. At present, it is one of the major suppliers of raw materials. The application of modern technology to the mining industry and the growing demand for metals caused a boom in the Australian economy. Now it leads the capitalist world in the output of lead, zinc, iron ore and has opened up major resources of uranium, copper, coal, manganese, silver, oil and natural gas. All the processes at the Australian mines and quarries are highly mechanized, which enables to get great profits of mining.

At present Australia is called the country of paradoxes, because according to the living standards it belongs to the developed countries of the west. However, as to the structure of production and export it belongs to the developing countries of the east. It gets 40% of export profit out of agriculture, 40% of mining industries and only 20% of processing industries. Australia exports wool, meat, cane sugar, ores and concentrates. It imports machinery, vehicles, fertilizers, textiles, chemicals and paper. Inflation is about 3%. The currency is the Australian dollar ($A). Poverty does exist but the poor have the potential to earn a decent income. Australia ranks 5-th in the world in number of automobiles per capita. Many families have two cars.

VI. Find the English equivalents of the following words

and word combinations in the text:

Єдина країна у світі, з цієї причини, перша висадка, першими поселенцями Австралії були засуджені та солдати, з політичної точки зору, яке очолює Британська

королева, складатись з 6 штатів та 2 територій, офіційна мова, унікальна культура Австралії, середня щільність, потроїти населення, щаслива країна.

Australian Symbols

Word List

1. To rejoice [ ] радіти

2. Toil [ ] праця

3. To gird [ ] оточувати

4. To abound [ ] бути багатим

5. Joyful [ ] веселий

6. A strain [ ] напружений

7. Renowned [ ] славетний

8. Boundless [ ] безмежний

Australian Symbols

The National flag of Australia is the only one to fly over the whole continent. The small Union Jack in the upper left corner represents the historical link with Britain. The large seven-pointed star represents the six states and the territories. The small stars form the Southern Cross, the symbol of the Southern Hemisphere night sky. The National Anthem is “Advance Australia Fair”. King George V granted the coat of

arms of Australia in 1912. On the coat of arms, is the shield containing the badges of six states. The supporters are native Australian fauna, they are a kangaroo and an emus. In the design, there is also a yellow-flowered native plant, wattles (акація). The National Day of Australia is January 26. It marks the date in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip of the British Royal Navy, commanded a fleet of 11 ships into port Jackson (Sydney Cove).