1. AUSTRALIA more information on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia http://www.helpforenglish.cz/cz/realie/australia/c200608020 1-An-Overview-of-Australia.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia http://www.helpforenglish.cz/cz/realie/australia/c200608020 1-An-Overview-of-Australia.html

2. The Commonwealth of Australia 

3. BASIC FACTS Capital: Canberra Language: English Population: about 20 million Divison: six states and two territories (incl. Australian Capital Territory) Large cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide Form of government: constitutional monarchy, practically parliamentary democracy Head of state: Queen of the United Kingdom Queen representative: Governer General Head of government: Prime Minister

4. ECONOMY Currency: Australian dollar Australia belongs to the highly developed countries of the world. The living standard there is very high. Chief products of agriculture: sheep, cattle, wheat, wool, milk, barley, timber of manufacturing: processed food, beverages, iron and steel, chemicals, textiles, vehicles of minig: coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, lead, zinc Exported goods are: coal, wheat, wool, petroleum products.

5. FAMOUS PEOPLE Mel Gibson is an actor, director and producer who starred in many Australian movies. Nicole Kidman, actress, has been honored with a number of acting awards including the US Academy Award. Errol Flynn - hero of such films as Captain Blood, Sea Hawk and The Adventures of Robin Hood. Kylie Minoque – a pop singer AC/DC – a hard rock band formed in Sydney in 1973, has been successful all over the world. In 2004 a street in Melbourne was named after the band. The abbreviation stands for “alternating current” and “direct current”.

6. FAMOUS AUSTRALIANS Nicole Kidman Mel Gibson

7. HISTORY The first inhabitants came from Asia about 50,000 years ago. Most probably they used land bridges. They gathered berries and hunted wildlife. In 1770 James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia. He named it New South Wales and claimed for Britain. The remote area was not attractive until 26 January 1788 when a penal colony was established. This date became an Australian national day – Australia Day. Thousand of convicts were sent there to do their sentence. Most of them died because of illnesses and harsh conditions.

8. ORIGINAL INHABITANTS are called Aborigines. They lived in tribes. White settlers treated them badly and their population decreased a lot during years. Nowadays the number of Aborigines is increasing although they are less educated and more unemployed.

9. Boomerang an old weapon Didgeridoo Aboriginal musical instrument Their traditional art became popular and many shops offer boomerangs (old weapons), didgeridoos (musical instruments) and other artefacts.

10. GEOGRAPHY Australia occupies the whole continent on the southern hemisphere. It means that seasons are inverted – summer comes at the same time when winter in the north. The surface is flat with the highest point Mt. Kosciuszko (7,310 feet) in the Australian Alps. Mountain ranges are in the west part while the centre and the east is desert. The longest river is the Darling.

12. PLACES OF INTEREST Ayers Rock/Uluru is a sandstone rock formation in central Australia – a sacred place of the Aborigines.

13. QUESTIONS 1 1. What is the capital of Australia? 2. How many inhabitants are there? 3. How is Australia divided? 4. What part of Australia is inhabited most? 5. What form of government is in Australia? 6. Who is the head of state? 7. Who leads the government? 8. What is the name of the Australian currency? 9. What are Australian chief products? 10. What goods do the Australians export? 11. What famous Australian people do you know?

14. QUESTIONS 2 1. Where did the first inhabitants come from? 2. What do you know about them? 3. Who made the first map of Australia? 4. What was the country originally used for? 5. What Australian provinces do you know? 6. When is Australian Day? Why is it celebrated? 7. Who are the original inhabitants? 8. What do you know about them? 9. Where on the map is this continent? 10. What is the highest point? Describe the surface of this country.