THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
The Commonwealth of Australia is a self-governing federal state. It has got six states: New South Wales, Victoria, Queens¬land, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and two internal territories. It is situated in the south-west of the Pacific Ocean. The area of this country has got 7,687,000 square kilometres. Australia is the largest island in the world and it is the smallest continent. The Dutch were the first Euro¬peans to visit Australia. In 1770 the Eng¬lish captain James Cook discovered the east coast of Australia. Nearly twenty million people live in Australia. The capital of the country is Canberra. The city became the capital in 1927. Fe¬deral Government works in Canberra in the government buildings. It is interesting to know that there are no industrial plants in Canberra.
The population of Canberra is about 300,000 people.
There are many sights in the city. They are the Building of the Australian Academy of Sciences, the Australian National Univer¬sity and others. There are two big industrial cities in Australia: Sydney and Melbourne.
Australia's climate is dry and warm. Aus¬tralia is situated in the southern hemisphere and that's why there is summer, when we have winter and there is winter, when we have summer. It is interesting to know that January is the hottest month in Australia.
Australia is separated from many coun¬tries. The animals in Australia have a lot of original, and they are interesting.
The dingo is one of Australia's wild an¬imals. It is reddish, brown or yellow. The dingo is a wild dog, which kills other ani¬mals at night, sheep, for example. They can kill hens, chickens and small dogs.
You can see the kangaroo there. The kangaroo has got the pouch in which it carries her cub. There are many birds in the country, too. One can see parrots and cockatoos. The emu is the most interesting bird in Australia. It is big and can't fly.
There are many rivers and lakes in the country.
Australia is an industrial country. It has coal, nickel, zinc, gold. Several factories and plants work in the country. Australia is one of the most important producers of metals and minerals. It exports wool production, meat, fruit, sugar.
The country is situated near the ocean. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane are the ports of the country.
There are many universities, theatres and museums in Australia.
There are some political parties in Aus¬tralia: the Liberal Party, the Labour Par¬ty and the Socialist Party of Australia.
Задание 1. Ответьте на вопросы: 
1.	Is Australia a big country?
2.	Where is it situated?
3.	What is the capital of Australia?
4.	Are there any industrial plants in Canberra?
5.	Are there any lakes in Australia?
6.	There are many rivers in the country, aren't there?
7.	How many sights are there in the country?
8.	Have you read anything about Australia?
9.	 Do you like this country?
10.	 Have you been to Australia?

Задание 2. Переведите слова и выражения:
Самоуправляющееся федеральное государство, штат, южный, западный, внутренняя территория, площадь, южное полушарие, засушливый, теплый, производитель, экспортировать
Задание 3. Дополните предложения:
 Australia is situated south of …, between the … and the …oceans. Australia is the word’s driest …. Huge areas of land are so dry that they are …. There are rainforests in the north, snowfields in the south-east, desert in the centre and … in the south and south-west. Australia is also the … continent after Antarctica. (flattest, Asia, uninhabited, Pacific, Indian, fertile croplands)
Задание 4. Переведите на английский язык:
Аделаида – столица Южной Австралии. Промышленный город. Население примерно 1,100,000.
Канберра- столица Австралии. Только австралийская столица расположена не на морском побережье.
Сидней – столица Нового Южного Уэльса. Самый старый и крупный австралийский город. Примерно(nearly) четверть всех австралийцев живет здесь.
Задание 5. Составьте предложения:
1. discovered, Captain James Cook, Australia, 1770, in. 2. in, He, New South Wales, landed. 3. claimed, He, part of, the, this land, for, of England, the King. 4. gold, In, 1851, discovered, was, Sydney, west of, about, 300 km.5. a, had, Australia, very, constitution, limited. 6. In, gained, 1931, Australia, Great Britain, independence, from.