Task II. Finish the statements using the facts from the text

1. Australia is the world's sixth largest country by…………..

2. The main legislative body in the country is ……………….

3. In the 18^th century Britain decided to use Australia as a ………..

4. For years Australia’s population has increased………………….

5. Australia is a wealthy country; it generates its income from various sources including……………………………………......

6. Australia is a major exporter of …………………………………

7. Australia'swildlifeis unique and diverse and a great number of plants, mammals, birds and fish ………………………………...

 

Task III. Match the beginnings of the sentences with their ends

1. Australia is a constitutional monarchy	a. on the 26th of January.
2. The executive power belongs to	b. endemic animals.
3. Canberra	c. Japan, China, the US, South Korea, and New Zealand.
4. Australia Day is celebrated	d. is among the lowest in the world.
5. Australia’s population density	e. the queen and the government.
6. Australia's largest export markets are	f. is the capital city.
7. Australia is home to many	g. with the Queen of the UK at its head.

 

Task IV. Check your memory. Remember the meanings of the given words or expressions and the contexts they were used in the text. Some words can be used in several contexts

E.g. the Commonwealth of Australia: The Commonwealth of Australia is an official name of Australia.

the mainland,    the Governor General,   six states, indigenous, an explorer, immigrants, a living space, to generate income, wheat and wool, natural resources, geographic isolation, diverse, well-known, venomous snakes.

Task V. Give the equivalents for the following words and phrases

a. to comprise the mainland; to be represented by; to appoint the advisory cabinet; to chart the coastline; a British settlement; a penal colony; a living space; a wide variety; a desert; variable weather patterns; flat; flowering plants; species of reptiles.

b. соседствующие страны; национальное правительство; исполнительная власть; законодательный орган; плотность населения; на человека; увеличиваться; богатая страна; национальная валюта; сельское хозяйство; тропические леса; сухой; известный; опасный.

Task VI. Fill in the gaps using the lexical units from Task V (a, b)

1. Federal Parliament is the main ……………… ………….. of the country.

2. Indonesia is one of the ………….  ………… of Australia.

3. Australians have more living space ………………… than the inhabitants of any other nation.

4. Part of Australia is occupied by a very dry …………………

5. Immigrants from various countries …………………… the population of Australia.

6. Exports of …………………. products and natural recourses make Australia a …………….. ……………..

7. 85% of …………….. ……………… in Australia are endemic.

8. Among the most ………………….Australian animals and birds are the kangaroo, koala, and the emu.

Task VII. Match the words with their definitions

1. a fleet	a. smooth, without high or low areas
2. flat	b. very different from each other
3. to appoint	c. a piece of land completely surrounded by water
4. indigenous	d. to choose somebody for a position or job
5. an island	e. a group of ships in the navy
6. diverse	f. these people have grown and lived in this particular place

Task VIII. Make your own definitions of any word from the text and let your group mates guess it. Here are some words that you can use (if you don’t want to look through the text and choose your own variants): a kangaroo, a mammal, a government, an inhabitant, an explorer, etc.

Task IX. Discuss the following questions

1. What can you say about the geographical position of Australia?

2. How many states are included in Australia? What is its capital?

3. When did the first recorded contact of European people with Australia take place?

4. What do you know about the first British settlers? When did they come?

5. Who are the Aborigines and what information about them have you learnt from the text?

6. Give some facts from the text to show that Australia is a wealthy country with a developed economy.

7. Is Australia's wildlife unique and diverse? Why?

8. How can you explain the term “endemic species”? Give some examples concerning the wildlife of Australia.

Task X. Together with your group mates make a list of words and phrases, the so called “key words” (15-20),write them on the black/whiteboard and try to tell about Australia without looking at the text. You can do it in turns – 1 sentence for each.

Grammar Focus

Task I. Complete the chart below

dry	drier
		the flattest
	better
	larger
beautiful		the most beautiful
bad
		the widest
interesting

Task II. Remember the ways of forming the comparative and the superlative degrees for English adjectives. There are several examples in the text, please, find them