AUSTRALIA FOR KIDS • Australia is called the land down under because it is below the equator It is one of the six continents of the world It is also a country • The first people to live in Australia were aborigines “Aboriginal” means first Today there are still aborigines in Australia Some live on reservations, some live on ranches (called stations or property) or in cities You can see some examples of their beautiful art if you visit Australia • Australia consists of states (Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia) and territories (the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory) 18,3 million people live there Canberra is the capital of Australia • Officially Australia is a part of the UK, so, the British Queen is the Queen of Australia • The British Flag in the left corner symbolises an eternal union (вечный союз) with the UK, one big star is Australia, and little stars stand for the Southern Cross (созвездие Южный Крест) • Australia is like any other country in many ways Most people live in or near cities They speak English They work in buildings like your parents The famous Australian cities are Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne • Australia is under equator, it means its seasons are different from Europe, when we have summer it is winter in Australia, The coldest month is July, January is the warmest month The weather in Australia is warm and pleasant Australia Europe • The Great Barrier Reef is also in Australia It is made up of coral and algae [æ’lgə] (водоросли) Coral are tiny invertebrate [in’və:tibreit] (беспозвоночный) animals The Great Barrier Reef is about 1250 miles long There is a channel of water that separates the reef from the Queensland coast It’s the largest deposit of coral in the world It is also the world’s largest living structure • Australia has a unique fauna: kangaroo and koala live only in Australia The most famous animals are marsupials (сумчатое) A marsupial is a mammal (млекопитающее) with a pouch [paut∫] (сумка) to carry its young Some kangaroos can jump 30 feet The koala can stay in the same tree for days when it is endangered (в опасности) Kangaroo Koala Wallaby • The middle part of the country is called the outback The outback does not get very much rain and is very dry Not very many people live in the outback In the outback, there are some sheep and cattle ranches There are about ten times more sheep than people in Australia Sheep are raised for wool and for meat In Australia what Americans call a ranch is known as a station Stations are very big Some stations are so big they have to use planes to keep track of the animals • Captain James Cook discovered Australia in 1770 It was first used as a prison colony by the English The first free settlers landed in Sydney in 1793 Today Sydney is Australia’s largest city The Sydney Opera House is one of the most unique buildings in the world and the most famous building in Australia Some people say the building is like a shell (ракушка), the others point out that it is in the form of a sail (парус) • Australia’s national sport is cricket Cricket is a little bit like baseball but it is played with eleven players and wickets Australia won the Cricket World Cup in 1999 and 2003 Another favourite sport in Australia is Australian Rules Football It is a little bit like soccer and rugby Rugby and soccer are also extremely popular • There are many interesting things in Australia In the Northern Territory there is a huge mountain range called Uluru You can some mountain climbing there • Australia is also famous for the boomerang The aborigines used the boomerang as a weapon (оружие) Today children use it as a toy • Australians speak English, but there are some words that Australians use that are very different American say Australians say countryside bush good day / hello g’day sweater jumper candy lollies large ranch / farm station ketchup tomato sauce cotton candy fairy floss cookie biscuit Australia Quiz • Australia is called the land • The capital of Australia is • The first people to live in Australia were • Australia is about the size of the • The middle part of the country is called the • Australia has about ten times more than people • A ranch is known as a in Australia • A marsupial is an animal that carries its young in a • The Great Barrier Reef has the world’s largest deposit of • Australia was first used as a colony by the English • The aborigines used the as a weapon • The most famous building in Australia is • The symbol of Australia is • When we have summer, in Australia it is Mark on the map the states, territories, major cities and the capital Colour the flag