AUSTRALIA

Australia is surrounded by the South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is about 3000 kilometres southeast of mainland Asia. The name Australia comes from the Latin word australis, meaning southern.

The greatest population centre is Sydney, with a population of close to 4 million people. Other important city is Melbourne with a population of approximately 3.5 million people. The capital is Canberra.

Almost everybody lives in the big cities on the coast, because most of the country is desert and farmland. Farming is mainly sheep farming. There are probably seven sheep for every Australian. Surfing is very popular sport between people. It is part of beach scene, but it is not the main leisure sport. Because the weather’s is good, we’re an outdoor people. Bushwalking, fishing, horse riding, tennis, golf, sailing are all popular. There are a lot of spectacular places to see in Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is the biggest structure on the Earth made by living things. There is the desert and semi – desert area in the middle of the country. Kangaroos, koalas, platypuses and wombats are some of the animals that live in Australia.
The country was once a British colony, and most of the Australian people are British ancestry. When people moved to Australia from Great Britain, they took many British customs with them. For example, Australians drive on the left side of the road. A tea is a popular hot drink. Aborigines are the native Australians, but nowadays they make up about 1 per cent of the population.