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THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS. Group Project “THE INLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY ON AUSTRLIANS AND THEIR LIFESTYLE.” made by the 10th former students. Supervisor: teacher of English Dorokhova Galina. Aims: 1) to learn as much as possible about Australia and Australians
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THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS. • Group Project • “THE INLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY ON AUSTRLIANS AND THEIR LIFESTYLE.” • made by the 10th former students. • Supervisor: teacher of English Dorokhova Galina.
Aims: 1) to learn as much as possible about Australia and Australians • 2) to follow the influence of geography on people’s life • Objectives: 1)to find the material on the topic in Russian from different • sources • 2) to look for the illustrative material on the topic • 3) to make translation of the project from Russian into English • 4) to prepare the presentation of the project using information- • communicative technologies • The Expected Result: writing an analytical article-report • Resource Support: different sources of information • ( libraries, theInternet,books, encyclopedias, referent books, etc.) • Restrictions: lack of practical experience of English, shortage of time
"THE INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY ON AUSTRALIANS AND THEIR LIFESTYLE"
National Day Each year on 26 January Australians celebrate Australia Day because on that date in 1788 the First Fleet of settlers and convicts arrived from England and landed at fort Jackson, now the site of Sydney.
National Flag The national flag has a royal blue background with the Union Jack on the right which represents the historical link with Britain. The Federation Star (a large white star) represents the six states and its territories. The Southern Cross (five small stars) is a feature of the southern hemisphere night sky.
Language Because Australia was colonized by the UK, its official language is English. However almost all of Australians speak a language other than the English do it.
Geographical position Australia is unique. It is an island continent of about 7.7 million square kilometers and a single nation. It is some 4,000 km wide and 3,000 km from north to south. Because Australia was cut off from the rest of the world, it was the last continent to be discovered. Australia has been called “the land of differences” because there are many ways in which it is different from other countries.
Population • Australia is a huge country, though its population is very small – only 18 million people. Most of the people are of British origin. For the first 150 years most settlers were from Britain, because Australia was discovered by an English sailsman – Captain Cook in 1770. • The original inhabitants, the Aborigines, have lived in Australia at least 40 thousand years. These days few Aborigines practise a traditional tribal lifestyle and most of them live in towns. They form about 1.5 per cent of the population. • Australia is one of the world’s most ethnically diverse nations because some 5 million people in the past 50 years have migrated here from about 200 countries.
Climate • Because Australia is a vast country, it has different climatic regions from warm to subtropical and tropical. Severe droughts, floods happen very often on the continent. That’s why the people suffer from limited fresh water. • Australia is south to the Equator, that’s why the seasons are the other way round here. Thanks to its geographical position Australia is sometimes called The Land Down Under. New Year is in the middle of summer, the middle of winter is in June, and the winter months are never cold. Snow can be seen only on the highest mountains. Hot winds blow from the north, cold winds blow from the south. • So most of the continent is sunny most of the year. Australians say that they can sleep out of doors all the year round.
Wildlife • Many years ago Australia became cut off from the rest of the world. That’s why the island’s wildlife is so unique. Australia is a land of birds and animals which cannot be found in other parts of the world. They are the emu, the kangaroo, the koala, the echidna, the dingo. Some of the Australian’s best known birds are the black swan and many varieties of parrots and cockatoos. • The native trees such as the eucalyptus, the bottle tree, look very strange, and they never loose their leaves in winter.
Industries • Australia is a wealthy country and has one of the highest standard of living in the world. • Australia’s prosperity has been founded on its natural resources. It produces almost every mineral from gold to uranium. • Traditionally, Australia was a farming country, even though only 55 per cent of the land can be used for grazing and 6 per cent for crops. In spite of this Australian wealth was found on wool, cattle and wheat. It is still a major exporter of food. Australian wines and beers have made an international name for themselves. • More than 3 million visitors come to Australia each year. So, tourism is now Australian’s largest industry.
Activities Because much of the land is a useless desert, most Australians live in cities along the eastern and south-eastern coastal plains. A typical Australian is a townsman. Only 7 per cent of the population live and work like farmers. Most Australians live and work in the coastal cities in service and manufacturing industries. Yet the Australians like to think of themselves as people who are close to nature.
City life. Homes. • City life in Australia tends to be rather quiet. Traffic jams seldom occur. There are no crowds of people in Canberra. On a fine Sunday when all shops are closed, even a cyclist is a rare thing in the center of the city. • An Australian joke says that there is a city in Australia called Sydney, and all the rest around it, is the bush. The “bush” for Australians is what is opposite to “town”. The bush is a forest, a field, a meadow. • Australians like nature very much and every townsman dreams about life in the country. That’s why they go there on weekends by car with a caravan or a comfortable tent. • Australians prefer to live in one-storey houses and drive their own cars.
Sports The Australian climate is suitable for activities like swimming, surfing and sailing. Many Australian families have boats, these can be small boats, large yachts, fishing boats and expensive power boats. So a lot of families spend all weekends on their boats.
Education In several states, “School of the Air” use two-way radio and other means of communication to provide “classroom” experience for children living in the outback. Over the radio children and their parents can talk to the teachers. The students are linked with each other as well.
Medical Care Because many people in Australia live far away from towns in the outback doctors keep in touch with their patients by radio. The Royal Flying Doctor Service