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Sometimes Australia is called “the upside down world” as it lies in the Southern Hemisphere where winter comes in July and summer begins in December. Though most of the territory is too dry, it has an extraordinary collection of birds and animals. Early explorers were so surprised by the emu and the kangaroo, that they described the continent as the land where birds “ran instead of flying and animals hopped instead of running”.

Australia is the home of two of the world’s most primitive mammals - the duckbill and the anteater.

They are the only mammals that lay eggs.

There are more than 40 different kinds of kangaroos in Australia in different colors and sizes. Koala that resembles a teddy-bear is well known for it spends most of its time in eucalyptus trees eating only the leaves.

Kookaburra or “LAUGHING JACKASS” is curious bird, so much loved by Australians, that they even made up a song about it:

Kookaburra sits on an old gum tree (eucalyptus is the same)

Merry, merry king of the bush is he.

Laugh Kookaburra, laugh Kookaburra,

Happy your life must be.

Other Australian birds are graceful Lyrebirds, brilliantly colored budgerigars, parrots, bowerbirds, and the great white cockatoos.

Two animals were brought to the country by the Europeans and have become wild in Australia – buffalo (from India) and rabbit (from Europe). Buffalos were brought to the north coast as work animals early in the 19^th century, but escaped and multiplied. They now inhabit the swampy river valleys around Darwin. Rabbits were brought more than 100 years ago. There are now so many of them in Australia, that farmers have constant wars against them as they destroy much grass.

No matter how far from Europe Australia can be many people would like to visit this land because it is such an extraordinary place to explore!

Exercises:

1. Phrasal verbs. Read the sentences given below and translate the phrasal verbs into Russian, paying careful attention at the meaning of the verbs. a) “I’ve just made a new story up”, b) “They made him up as an old man for the last act of the play”, c) “They kissed and made it up with each other”, d) “I can’t make out what he is saying”. e) “Where is Jack? He made off soon after dinner”.

2. Translate into English: а) Мы очень скоро помирились и отправились гулять вместе. б) Он сам сочиняет песни и исполняет их. в) Я не могу разобрать без очков, что здесь написано. г) Будет трудно загримировать ее под старуху. д) Ты удрал так быстро, что я не успел попрощаться с тобой. е) Что он сказал? Я ничего не понял.

3. Here is the list of birds and different animals. Which of them can be found in both countries – Ukraine and Australia?

A star-fish, a thrush, an anteater, a rat, a koala bear, a dingo, a laughing jackass, a lyrebird, a cockatoo, a buffalo, a rabbit, a kangaroo, a cuscus, a sugar glider (карликовая сумчатая летяга), an emu, a frilled lizard, a platypus, a duckbill, a Tasmanian devil, Regent bowerbird, a sparrow, a swallow, a rabbit, a duckbill .

4. Make up a list of things you would like to find out about Australia.

5. Choose one of the following cities given below and speak about it.