Презентация «English Speaking Countries».

Britain which is formally known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political unity of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The name "Britain" is believed to be the anglicized Greek or Roman form of Celtic origin. It is often used to designate the British Isles as a whole. "Britan - is the ancient name of Britain The first known settlers of Britain were the Celts who came to the island from northern Europe in the 5th or 6th century B. C The setting up of the United Kingdom as a state is a result of continuous wars of aggression. The oldest colony of Britain is Ireland and its conquest started a long time ago. Though Northern Ireland has officially become part of the United Kingdom only in the 20th century the English started their attempts at conquering it as early as the 12th century. л The United Kingdom is a monarchy. Officially the supreme, legislative authority in the United Kingdom is the Queen and the two Houses of Parliament — the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons.In the 19th century Britain had reached its height as a world colonial power. But World Wars I and II have brought to an end the period of Britain's primacy as such. Great Britain emerged from World War II gravely weakened. Almost all the territories that Great Britain had previously held overseas were lost. The years following World War II saw the virtual end of the British colonial empire. Now the UK together with most of its former colonies are members of the Commonwealth, the Queen being the Head of the Commonwealth. Britain’s major industries include engineering, motor vehicles, aircraft, metal manufactures, electrical apparatus. However, it should be remembered that Britain relies heavily upon imports of metals and ores, textile-raw materials and many other products.Though the leading mineral resource of Britain is coal and coal-mining is one of the most important British industries, the North Sea oil and gas now can also be considered as a major mineral resource, having a fundamental effect on the economy of Great Britain.Britain is a highly industrialized country and today 28 people work in manufacturing, mining and building for every one engaged in agriculture.The textile machinery industry is an important sector of British industry. Electrical techniques are of growing importance. Instrument engineering producing both scientific and industrial instruments as well as industries manufacturing vehicles and aircraft should also be mentioned. Britain's aerospace industry is well-known for producing civil and military aircraft, helicopters. Production of textiles is spread throughout the country. The British wool textile industry has been important since mediaeval time. The chief agricultural products of Britain are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, sugar-beet, milk, beef, mutton and lamb. Britain has a long tradition of sheep production.Pig production is to be found in most parts of Brit­ain but is of particular importance in the east and south of England and in Northern Ireland.The British poultry industry is growing rapidly and is gradually becoming of greater importance.Now a few words about British transport. The passenger and freight traffic of Great Britain is carried mainly by road, the private car having become predominant since World War II. London is the capital of England. It’s he largest city in Europe and one of the largest cities in the world. It’s population is over 9 mln people. London lies on the river Thames. It is a very old city. It is one of the largest ports in England. Many ships from different parts of the world come to London every day and many ships leave it. The Thames is not a wide river, but it is deep. There are many bridges across the river. One of the oldest – London Bridge- is 600 years old. London consists of four parts: the City, the West End , the East End and the Westminster.The City is in the centre of London. There are only banks and business offices in the City. It is often called the commercial heart of London. Few people live in the City, but very many people work there. There are many historical buildings in this part of London. One of them is St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was built by a famous English architect Sir Chritopher Wren. Many great people are buried in the cathedral. One of the oldest sights of London is the Tower. It is 900 years old. It stands on the Thames. In XI and XII centuries it was a fortress, then a prison, now it is a museum.   The West End is the part of London where rich people live. A great number of beautiful theatres, museums, monuments, large shops are located there. Five beautiful parks are situated in the city centre. The most beautiful and popular of them is Hyde Park. Trafalgar Square is the central square of the capital. It got its name after the victorious Trafalgar Battle in which the British fleet under admiral Nelson won the victory over the French fleet. On this square there is a 50 metre high granite column with a statue of the admiral. There are 4 great bronze lions at the bottom of the column and a platform which is used by orators. Near the Thames one can see a fine old building-the Houses of Parliament or the Westminster Palace. There are two houses there: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. This building has two towers 280 m high. One of the towers is a clock tower with a very huge clock on it. The name of this clock is Big Ben. It tells the time to all the country. The clock is one of the finest in the world and its bell has deep musical voice although it is cracked. People are allowed to get inside the tower if they want to see the work of Big Ben. There is no lift in the tower and there are 340 steps up to Big Ben. The face of the clock is very large- 7.5 m. in diameter. The hour hand is 2.7 m and the minute hand is 4,26 m long. Westminster is the centre of administration. Westminster Abby is located opposite the Houses of Parliament. Many great people were buried in Westminster Abby. To the west of this building you can see Buckingham Palace. It is a royal residence. The ceremony of the changing of the guards which takes place in front of Buckingham Palace is of great interest to the tourists. The East End – the district of plants and docks – is for the working people. London is unlike any other city in the world. It has rather wide streets and low houses. It looks rather grey because of the rainy weather. Only buses and its pillar-boxes are red and they are considered to be well-known symbols of London. Big London red buses are recognised — and even found — all over the world. They can be seen driving round Europe or taking tourists to the Niagara Falls. They don’t need to have the words 'London Transport' on the side of them: they are immediately recognised by millions of people! On October 25th 1911, the London General Omnibus Company ran their last horse-drawn omnibus through the streets of the capital. Since then the big red motor bus has been London's 'king of the road".Every day, thousands of Londoners use the big red buses to move often slowly around town; and lotsof tourists know that a one-day London bus pass, valid on all regular bus routes, offers a wonderful way to see the sights of Britain's capital city.The idea of the double-decker is actually much older than the motor bus; it is simply a continuation of the system that was used for public transport in the age of horse-drawn vehicles, when some of the passengers sat inside, and the rest travelled on the roof. Too bad if it was raining! Of course, passengers could take a sort of oil-cloth cover out of the back of the seat in front of them, and pull it over them; but they still got pretty wet. The most famous London buses, however, are not those that filled the capital's streets in the 1930s, but the powerful 'Routemasters' which date from the 1950s and 60s. These are the buses that have been taken all over the world, the buses that you can see in the tourist brochures, and the ones which have been sold, in miniature, to millions of visitors and souvenir hunters.The Routemaster is a legend in itself. With its open platform at the back end, the Routemaster is still the most popular bus in London, because passengers can climb on and off when they want, even if the bus is moving (though this is not recommended!). The English as a nation have been described as crazy throughout their history. Julius Caesar had to think twice about invading when he saw how the local inhabitants went around in winter naked apart from some face-paint. Napoleon described the English as a nation of shopkeepers, meaning that they were a bit weird. And today the rest of Europe looks on the UK as a slightly insane little island with many idiosyncrasies that greater European harmonisation has failed to change. Visitors to Britain are often surprised by the strange behaviour of its inhabitants. The British like forming queues. In fact, queuing is supposed to be their national characteristic. 'An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one,' joked George Mikes.So one of the worst mistakes is to get on a bus without waiting your turn in the queue. The British are very sensitive to such behaviour and they may get really annoyed with queue-jumpers — people who don't wait their turn in the queue.The British, especially the English, are more reserved than the people of many other countries. They don't like to show their emotions. They usually don't easily get into conversation with strangers. They don't like personal questions (for example, 'How much money do you earn?', 'How much do you weigh?' or 'Why aren't you married?'). They take more time to make friends. They would like to know you better before they ask you home. So don't be upset if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you!If you are invited to a party, it is considered polite to call and say if you can or cannot come. Most parties are informal these days, so you don't have to worry about what to wear — anything from jeans to suits will do.If you are told to 'help yourself to some thing, it doesn't mean that your host is rude — he or she is showing that you are completely accepted and just like 'one of the family'.If you enjoyed the evening, call your hostess the next day, or write her a short 'thank you' letter. Perhaps it seems funny to you, but British people say 'thank you, thank you, thank you' all the time! They say 'thank you' even if they give money to a shop assistant.These days most people in Britain do not wear very formal clothes. Of course, when they are 'on duty' they have to obey certain rules. You cannot imagine a bank employee without a suit or a tie. But when he is no longer 'at work‘, he can put on an old sweater and jeans, sometimes with holes in them. If you go out to enjoy yourself, you can wear almost anything. It is no longer a requirement of theatres that the audience should wear evening dress. So what you wear depends, perhaps, on how much you paid for your ticket. At the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, for example, spectators in the stalls, the circle and the boxes are usually dressed formally, whilst those peering down from the amphitheatre may well be in jeans. People do, however, tend to dress more formally for ballet and opera than for the theatre and concerts. In recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer people now smoke. There is no more smoking on the London Underground, in cinemas and theatres and most buses. Many companies have banned smoking from their offices and canteens. And non-smokers can be rude to smokers who break the rule and smoke in public places. Pubs are an important part of British life. People, especially men, go to the pub to relax, meet friends, and sometimes to do business. At one time, it was unusual for women to go to pubs. These days, however, there are only a few pubs where it is surprising for a woman to walk in. Children under the age of 14 are still not allowed into some pubs. Pub food is cheaper than most restaurant food, and you don't have to leave a tip. But you do have to go to the bar to get your food and drink. There are no waiters in pubs. In some countries it is considered bad manners to eat in the street. In Britain it is quite common to see people having a snack while walking down the road, especially at lunchtime. On the other hand, the British may be surprised to see young children in restaurants in the evenings because children are not usually taken out to restaurants late at night and, if they make a noise in public or in a restaurant, it is considered very rude. In Victorian times it used to be said that 'Children should be seen and not heard', since children did not participate at all in public life. In recent years children are playing a more active role and they are now accepted in many pubs and restaurants. Good and bad manners make up the social rules of a country and are not always easy to learn because they are often not written down in books! The British have an expression for following these 'unwritten rules': 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' Gardening is a well-known favourite. As the weather in Britain is relatively mild, British people manage to do gardening almost all the year round. Sometimes this can be just doing a bit of weeding and sometimes, serious vegetable and fruit growing. In fact, regardless of the size of the garden, the British can always find plenty to do in it. Mowing grass is also very important. Every Sunday morning (except for winter) they come out to mow their lawns. To outsiders, it almost seems like an obsession but to a British person it is an important social duty. The British see an unmown lawn, not only as a sign of laziness, but also as disrespect to others (and you can get fined for it as well).Walking is also very popular. Ask any British person if they have a pair of walking boots and the answer will probably be yes. Except for dry summer days, the beautiful British countryside is pretty muddy, so you need a good pair of walking boots or 'wellies‘ to enjoy your walk. Walking as a leisure activity has a long tradition in England. You can buy a variety of maps and guides to walking routes. Organised walking is also popular and is a good way to discover local sights of interest with a group of like-minded people and a good guide.  Cycling is another popular activity. Unfortunately, many British roads are very busy and don't have cycling paths, so cycling can be a bit dangerous in Britain, many people find quiet country roads and spend their whole holidays exploring their homeland on their bikes. More extreme sports like rock climbing also attract people. And, of course, the famous British eccentricity is the cause of unusual sports like extreme ironing. Extreme ironing is a serious sport where teams of people compete at who can do their ironing in more extreme conditions. Extreme ironing is now an international sport with serious competitions and organised events. Of course, not all British people keep fit by engaging in extreme sports. Many go to the gym, swimming pool or fitness classes. However, it has to be said that the British are not the sportiest nation in the world. You see, watching TV often gets in the way. Increasingly, British people spend their free time watching TV. Sad, but true. The only comforting thing is that they are not on their own - most of the world seems to be doing the same! As far as actually going away on holiday, many British people choose to spend their holidays abroad, preferably somewhere warm and dry. Spain, France and Greece are regular destinations due to convenient location and kind climate. City breaks are also a good idea for changing the scenery and enjoying new places without too much trouble. Although in some countries {for example Greece) it is perfectly acceptable and normal to live with your parents even when you are in your thirties, in modern Britain children are generally encouraged to leave home as soon as they have finished formal education. Because quite often going to university means living a long way from home for three years, many British kids effectively leave the 'family nest’ at seventeen. What happens if they don't? Well, although some families, especially up North, would be ok with that, many parents would not be very happy. Many British parents believe that because they have already spent at least seventeen years bringing up children, they now deserve a rest. And, of course, young people themselves want to live on their own to feel independent. Of course, things are not as simple as that. As most jobs are concentrated in London and in the South of England, many people from all over Britain want to live in a relatively small area. This inevitably means very high house prices. A small flat in London can cost anything between Ј200,000-Ј250,000 and the prices are rising. Renting is also very expensive, so here are more reasons to become a house owner - those of status and social security. The bigger and more expensive your house is, the more you can show that you are successful as a person. Besides, having a house gives a sense of stability and security. Most people who own a house have a mortgage. This means that you do not have to pay all the money in one go but pay some money every month until you have paid off the total cost of the house.  NORTH AMERICA GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. North America lies in the Western Hemisphere, it is the third continent in area - 20.4 million sq.kms. The greater territory of North America lies in the northern temperate and frigid zones, only small area in the south, called Central America is in the torrid zone. North America is washed by three oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic. In the south the narrow Isthmus of Panama connects it with South America. The narrow Bering Strait (85 km) separates North America from Eurasia. In the days of old (about 10000 years ago) these two continents were connected with each other. COASTLINES. In the north and east the coastline is greatly indented. The shallow Hudson Bay extends deep inland in the north. The Canadian Arctic Archipelago, consisting of numerous small and large islands, and the largest island of the globe - Greenland (2.2 mln.sq.kms.) extend far beyond the Arctic Circle. East of the Hudson Bay large Labrador peninsula lies, and close to it the island of Newfoundland. In the south-east of the continent Florida separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean. Between North and South America the Greater Antilles and a number of smaller islands are situated. In the north-west of North America there is the peninsula of Alaska and a number of small coastal islands. Further to the south the peninsula of California lies. FROM THE HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE CONTINENT. Long before Columbus at the 10-th century a Norman Aric Raudi (the Red) together with his companions reached the unknown land - the south of Greenland. The settlers from Iceland followed him. Later they reached the north-eastern coasts of North America and tried to penetrate into the interior of the continent. During several centuries the Normans lived in the south of Greenland. But much later all of them were found dead. The mystery of their death is still unknown. At the beginning of the 16-th century Spanish invaders headed by the Cortes conquered Mexico and some lands of Central America. At the same time Newfoundland, Labrador and later the eastern coast of the continent were discovered by Europeans. RUSSIAN EXPLORATIONS OF NORTH-WESTERN AMERICA. Russians explorers (Fedorov and Gvozdev and later - Bering and Chiricov) were the first to reach the north-western coast of North America. Russians were the first to settle in North-Western America. They explored Alaska and little by little they spread south along the coast and almost reached latitude 38N. In 1867 Russian possessions in Alaska were sold by the tzar to the United States of America. Relief.About half the United States' territory is covered by plateaus and mountains.The eastern part of the country is occupied by the Appalachian Mountains, which in the north come close to the Atlantic coast and in the south are separated from it by the Atlantic Lowland.West of the Appalachians stretch the Central Plains, the Great Plains, and the Mexican Lowland. The Central Plains are 500-400 m high and have a hilly moraine relief in the north and a more gentle erosional relief in the middle and southern parts. The Great Plains (west of west longitudes 97-98е) are a deeply cut plateau with the heights of 500 m in the east to 1600 m at the Cordillera foothills. The flat Mexican Lowland, with the height of up to 150 m, is swampy along the Gulf coast and fringed by a strip of marshes. The western part of the country (including almost the whole of Alaska) is made up of high mountain ranges, tablelands and plateaus of the Cordillera system. The Cordilleras consist of rows of mountain ranges with the heights of up to 3000*5000 m and a broad strip of intermountain tablelands and plateaus. In Alaska the mountain ranges stretch in the west-east direction and include the Brooks Range, the Yukon Tableland, the Aleutian Range with Mount McKinley, 6193 m — the highest peak of the USA and the whole of North America. On the territory of the USA proper the mountain ranges stretch in the north-south direction. The first from the east are the Rocky Mountains, reaching up to nearly 4400 m. West of the Rockies lie vast plateaus and tablelands: the volcanic Columbia Plateau, the Great Basin — a desert tableland with deep depressions (the largest is the Death Valley, containing the lowest point in the western hemisphere — 86 m below sea level), the Colorado Plateau. Typical for this area is the alternation of tablelands situated at the height of about 2000 m and mountain ranges reaching up to 3000-5000 m, with numerous deep river canyons.Further west is a narrow belt of the Cascade Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada Range (over 4400 m). Still further west lies an area of valleys (Willamette, the Californian Valley).The Pacific coast is formed by the deeply cut Coastal Ranges with the height of up to 2400 m. Natural Resources.The United States of America is rich in coal, iron and oil. There are coal-mines in the Cordillera Mountains, in the Kansas City region and in the east near Birmingham and Pittsburgh. Iron is mined near the Great Lakes and in the Pittsburgh, Birmingham and Philadelphia areas. In California and Texas there are rich oil-fields. There are also deposits of silver and gold.GROWTHThe Railroad Boom. Steel and Oil.During the second half of the 19th century United States entered the industrial age: mills, factories and railroads were expanding and improving. By 1893 there were almost З20000 km of railroad track in the United States that is enough to circle the world eight times! As a building material steel is better than iron. But for many centuries the process of getting steel out of iron ore was not developed. Only small amounts of steel could be produced. In the 1850's two men, working separately, worked out a way to speed up the steel-making process. They were an American William Kelly and an Englishman Henry Bessemer.The new process became known as the as Kelly-Bessemer method. Now it was necessary to find a person who understood the importance of the nеw process and, using the Kelly-Bessemer method, cold develop a huge steel-producing industry. Andrew Carnegie. In his youth Andrew Carnegie, a telegraph messenger, earned two dollars a week. By the time he retired, his fortune was worth 250 million dollars. Carnegie organized the steel industry in the United States.At the age of 18 Carnegie went to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Carnegie learned that iron was a poor construction material for the railroad. Iron rails often cracked and had to be replaced. Iron bridges weakened under a train's weight. Carnegie knew that steel would be a stronger building material. He began thinking how to increase steel production.Carnegie saved some money and bought part of a small iron company. Gradually he became the owner of several companies. After he learned about the Kelly-Bessemer method of making steel, he built a huge steel mill which began producing steel using the Kelly-Bessemer method. By 1900 Carnegie's steel mill was producing 3 million tons of steel a year.In 1901 Carnegie retired and spent much of his time and money on projects to help others. Carnegie especially loved libraries. He opened more than 2,800 of them in the United States and around the world. He also started the now famous Carnegie Hall in New York.The oil business. In 1859 oil deposits were discovered in Pennsylvania. Oil is an important source of energy. But in order to get fuel, crude oil should be refined. The man who made big business of refining crude oil was John D. Rockefeller.Rockefeller began by opening a refinery in Cleveland, Ohio. His business went well, and soon he bought many small refineries in the Cleveland area and organized a company called Standard Oil.Rockefeller's Standard Oil used railroads to carry oil products to all parts of the country. Rockefeller carried so much oil by rail, that he could demand cheaper shipping rates from the railway companies. Smaller refineries had to pay the full rates. Because their transportation costs were higher, small refineries could not sell oil as cheaply as Rockefeller could. As a result, many small oil companies failed, and Rockefeller bought them. Now many different companies united in Standard Oil. A group of companies together is called a trust. In 1882 this Standard Oil Trust produced about 90 percent of the country’s oil .Following Rockefeller's example, other business people also tried to gain control in their industries. Trusts began to appear one after another. Soon there were trusts controlling the production of sugar, cattle, salt, leather, and even bicycles. Economy.The United States is a country of highly developed economy.Heavy industry includes such branches as mining, metallurgical engineering and chemical industries. Detroit is a large motor-car industry centre. Shipbuilding is developed along the Atlantic coast and in San Francisco on the Pacific coast.Textile industry is also well-developed, especially in the South near large cotton plantations.Agriculture is very wide-spread, above all in the prairie regions, where wheat and other grain crops are grown.Cotton is grown in the Mississippi Valley, tobacco in Maryland and Virginia.California is famous for its fruit plantations, and the West — for its cattle-farming.Poultry- farming is wide-spread in the countryside near all big cities. POLITICAL SYSTEMThe United States is an indirect democracy — that is, the people rule through the representatives they elect. In the beginning, only white men with property could vote. Over time, the vote has been given to more and more people. Today any citizen who is at least 18 years old can vote. The capital of the country , the City of Washington, is situated in Columbia District — a territory not included in any of the states. The Constitution.The United States Constitution, written in 1787, established the country's political system and is the basis for its laws. In the 200 years of its history, the United States has greatly grown and changed. Yet the Constitution works as well today as when it was written. One reason is that the Constitution can be amended, for example, the Fifteenth Amendment gave black Americans the right to vote and the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote. Another reason is that the Constitution is flexible: its basic principles can be applied and interpreted differently at different times. Liberty Enlightening the World, to give the statue its full title, was a gift from the people of France to mark the 1OOth anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence in 1386. It was designed by the French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, with the help of tons of workers working ten hour days, seven days a week for nine years! The statue was finally finished in 1884 and presented to America on July 4th. It didn't arrive in the United States until many months later though, because all 350 individual pieces of the statue had to be packed into 214 crates for the long boat ride from France to New York.  When the thirteen colonies became states and decided to join in a Union, there was much discussion about the capital. The decision finally arrived at was to carve out a hundred square miles from the States of Maryland and Virginia, call it Federal territory, and build a model capital on that site. It was only reasonable that the capital should bear the name of the General who had done so much to effect American Independence, and became its first President — Washington.The hundred square miles are known as the District of Columbia. This area is not a state, it belongs neither to the north nor to the south, but to all the states. The District is named in honour of Columbus, the discoverer of America. The terms Washington and the District of Columbia are practically synonymous. The name of the capital always goes with the abbreviation.The capital owes a great deal to George Washington. The President took an active part in selecting the area of the federal district, and decided that the city should be built on the north bank of the Potomac River. The capital was founded in 1791. George Washington called upon a famous French engineer, Pierre L’Enfant, one of the keen and sympathetic French supporters of |the new republic of America. L'Enfant designed a city with the orderly street plan that has been followed to this day. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the new capital was called "Wilderness City" and the "City of Streets Without Houses". When the government moved there in 1800, President John Adams and his party literally couldn't find the place, becoming lost in the woods.To the visitor, Washington appears most confusing, despite the master plan drawn by Pierre L'Enfant so long ago. The centre of the city is the Capitol Building. Four geographical sections, or quadrants, radiate out from the Capitol dividing the District of Columbia into North-East, North-West, South-East and South-West. The Capitol is also the point from which the city's streets are numbered or lettered. Round the Capitol a series of circles and squares occur at various intervals, and diagonal avenues radiate from these. From the Capitol to the Executive Mansion runs broad Pennsylvania Avenue, about a mile and a half in length and flanked with trees. This is the avenue used for all those processions and parades that make festive Washington so familiar a sight to television viewers. All the diagonal avenues are named after the original thirteen American states, and the longest and straightest of them all is Massachusetts Avenue, which virtually cuts the city in half. But not every diagonal is an avenue, that is why despite the simple plan of numbered and lettered streets Washington at times confuses its sightseers. Washington is not the largest city in the United States, for it cannot compare in size with cities like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Los Angeles, which have more than a million inhabitants. In 1985 its population was 626,000. Animal world of Australia The tropical forests in the north and north-east are displaced by savanna or grassland. In the south-east and on the sides of the mountains there are forests of eucalyptus and other evergreen trees. There are two hot deserts in the central and western parts of the continent. There are many wild animals in Australia. Some of them, such as the kangaroo, the dingo, or wild dog, and the koala, are not found in any other country of the world. Dingo - Australian Wild Dog The dingo is one of Australia's wild animals. It is a wild dog which kills other animals at night. It fills the silent night air with its terrible cries. It attacks and kills sheep, which are much easier to kill than kangaroos or other wild animals. To protect the sheep dingoes must be killed, especially in some parts of the country. In some districts much money is spent on hunting and killing them. Australian hunters love to tell stories of how they killed cunning old dingoes. In color it is reddish brown or yellow. Its feet and the end of its tail are whitish. Scientists think that it was once a pet dog of the aborigines, but then it went wild. Dingoes have been kept as pets many times. When they are young, they are playful and amusing like any young dog. But the grown dingo can always run away and then go wild. They kill people's hens and chickens, even cats and small dogs. So the keeping of pet dingoes is not allowed in most parts of Australia. Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Sydney Perth The Agriculture Agriculture is the main occupation in Australia. Wheat is grown in the south and in the grassland region. Sugar is produced along the north-east coast, while fruit-growing is developed in the south. Australia is famous for its sheep. The great sheep-farms are called sheep stations. They are found in many parts of the country. Cattle-farming is also developed in the Northern Territory, in some parts of Western Australia, along the east coast and in the south. Some Facts about Australia A typical Australian is a townsman. Only seven per cent of the population live and work like farmers. An Australian townsman dreams about life in the country, but such dreams almost never come true. He can spend time in the countryside only on Saturday or Sunday. And he goes there by car with a caravan or a comfortable tent. Yet the Australians like to think of themselves as people who are close to nature. Schools. Most children in Australia go to district schools. But about twenty thousand children live too far from a district school. That is why they have to work through correspondence courses until the end of the secondary school stage. The children's work is checked by one or both parents and then posted to the capital. In addition to the correspondence courses there are twelve Schools of the Air, which cover twelve million square miles. The children are linked with each other and with their teachers using a two-way radio. The teachers speak to the children over the radio and the students listen, write exercises and do homework. Over the radio they and their parents can talk to the teachers. The students send their exercise-books to their teachers, and they correct them. In this way they can learn like children who go to school in the towns of Australia. Games and Sports. About six million Australians are active in some kind of sport. Football is a very popular sport and a lot of families spend Saturday watching a match. Australians are very keen on cricket. Games like tennis and hockey are also very popular. 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. Most families with a boat want to take part in the beginning of the Sydney to Hobart (in Tasmania) yacht race. Many families spend all weekend on their boats. The Aboriginal Population in Australia The aborigines, who had their own rich culture, did not welcome the white people who took land. In 1788 there were about three hundred thousand aborigines in Australia. For a long time they have been a dying nation but now their living conditions are improving. The aboriginal population lives in towns, in the mining districts, on the cattle stations and in other parts of Australia. The aborigines love music. They sing and play their instruments and dance. When they dance they put colors on their faces, arms and legs. The aborigines say that the world is not round, it is flat. They say that there are worlds: the aboriginal world in Australia and the sky world. The sun, the moon, and star men live in the sky world. When a man dies, the aborigines say, his spirit comes out of his body and gets into a boat. The boatman takes the spirit to an island. This island is very far from Australia. It is in the sky, higher than the sun, and there are lots of camping places there. The dead man will see all his dead friends there. The aborigines know a lot of very old stories. They are like the old Greek and Scandinavian myths. Where is New Zealand? New Zealand is a country in Southwestern Oceania, southeast of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean, with two large islands (North and South Island), one smaller island (Stewart Island), and numerous much smaller islands. New Zealand has a total land area of 268,670 sq km and a coastline of 15,134 km. Time Zones New Zealand is 12 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) making it one of the first places in the world to see the new day. Landscape New Zealand is a long narrow country lying roughly North/South with mountain ranges running much of its length. The only `geographical feature' New Zealand doesn't have is live coral reef. New Zealand has all the rest: rainforest, desert, fiords, flooded valleys, gorges, plains, mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, geothermics, swamps, lakes, braided rivers, peneplains, badlands, and our very own continental plate junction... As a result of the latter, earthquakes are common, though usually not severe. The North Island has a number of large volcanoes (including the currently active Mount Ruapehu) and highly active thermal areas, while the South Island boasts the Southern Alps - a spine of magnificent mountains running almost its entire length. Another notable feature of New Zealand is its myriad rivers and lakes: notably the Whanganui River, Lake Taupo and the breathtaking lakes Waikaremoana and Wanaka. Flora and Fauna New Zealand has the worlds largest flightless parrot (kakapo), the only truly alpine parrot (kea), the oldest reptile (tuatara), the biggest earthworms, the largest weta, the smallest bats, some of the oldest trees, and many of the rarest birds, insects, and plants in the world.... New Zealand is home to the world famous Tuatara, a lizard-like reptile which dates back to the dinosaurs and perhaps before (260 mill years?). Introduced species - pigs, goats, possums, dogs, cats, deer and the ubiquitous sheep - are found throughout New Zealand but their proliferation in the wild has had a deleterious effect on the environment: over 150 native plants - 10% of the total number of native species - and many native birds are presently threatened with extinction. New Zealand's offshore waters hold a variety of fish, including tuna, marlin, snapper, trevally, kahawai and shark; while its marine mammals - dolphins, seals and whales - attract nature-lovers from around the world. There are 12 national, 20 forest, three maritime and two marine parks, plus two World Heritage Areas: Tongariro National Park in the North Island and Te Waihipouna-mu in the South Island. One of the most noticeable plants is the pohutakawa (known as the New Zealand Christmas tree) which detonates with brilliant red flowers around December. The great kauri trees in the few remaining kauri forests in Northland are very old with some believed to be up to 2000 years old. Much of the South Island is still forested, particularly the West Coast. Wellington Total population is about 3.7 million. Over 70% of the population are in the North Island. The largest centre is Auckland (over 1 million), and the capital Wellington.The official languages are English and Maori. English is more widely spoken. Politics ConstitutionNew Zealand shares with Britain and Israel the distinction of being one of the three developed countries that does not have a codified Constitution on the U.S. model. When the country was annexed by Britain in 1840, the British parliament enacted that all applicable law of England as at 1840 became the law of New Zealand. In 1856, the New Zealand parliament was given the power to enact its own law and nothing changed when full independence was achieved (26-9-1907) except that the British parliament lost its overriding authority. We have, thus, never had the problem that Australia and Canada have had of "repatriating" a constitution that was really an Act of the British parliament. Our constitution, like the British, consists of parliament's own conventions and rules of conduct, some legislation such as the New Zealand Constitution Act (1986, not enacted), and fundamental rules applied by the Courts which go back into English history. It evolves rather than is amended. The flag of New Zealand is blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation. The National Anthem of New Zealand is "God Defend New Zealand". AucklandThe largest city in New Zealand, Auckland, is almost enclosed by water and covered in volcanic hills. Auckland has a spectacular harbour and bridge (and a fanatical number of yachting enthusiasts) which has earned it the sobriquet 'City of Sails'. The capital city of New Zealand, Wellington, is situated on a splendid harbour at the southern tip of the North Island. Often maligned by its northern counterparts for its ill-tempered weather - the winds are often of gale-force calibre in winter - Wellington is a lively city of culture and arts (with festivals almost every month), and great ethnic restaurants and cafes.