Unit 20. Geographical position of australia

20.1. Read and translate the text

Australia occupies the continent of Australia, which lies south­east of Asia and the island of Tasmania with a number of small islands. It is washed by the Timor Sea in the north, by the Coral and Tasman Seas in the east, and by the Indian Ocean in the south and west.

Australia is the most droughty continent on the earth. About one half of its territory is occupied by deserts and semi deserts. It is also the land of great plains.

The main part of Australia lies in tropics. Southwestern parts of the country are situated in subtropics. December, January and February are summer months in Australia. The average summer temperature there is from 20 to 30 degrees above zero. Winter comes in June, July and August. Then the average temperature is from 12 to 20 degrees above zero. Droughts are common in Australia. The rainfall in the country is rather small, and that’s why a special plan was worked out for irrigation of plains.

The largest rivers in Australia are the Darling and the Murray. In the middle part of Australia there are salt lakes, such as Lake Eyre and Torrance.

Australia is an agricultural country. Cattle breeding is highly developed in Australia. It exports sheep wool, wheat, meat, butter and cheese, and raw materials. Its major partners are Japan, the USA and Great Britain.

20.2. Answer the questions:

1. What is Australia washed by?

2. What occupies about one half of its territory?

3. What are summer and winter months in Australia?

4. What are the main industries in Australia?

Unit 21. “the dry continent”

21.1. Read and translate the text

The climate in Australia is varied and ranges from tropical to sub alpine.

Australia is also the driest inhabited continent on earth, but the eastern seaboard where the majority of the population is concentrated, is a lush and fertile area, with a climate ranging from temperate to tropical. The main mountain range is known as the Great Dividing Range has an area known as the Snowy Mountains, or otherwise known as the Australian Alps. This area actually receives snow than Switzerland, and is the only area suitable for skiing in Australia.

Most of the continent receives more than 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, or nearly 70% of the total possible.

Australia also contains many pockets of tropical and temperate rain forest on the eastern coast, but the predominate forest in Australia is Eucalypti forest.

The southwest corner of Western Australia has a Meditarranean climate and the Northern regions of this continent have areas of Rainforest and below that are large areas of savanna grasslands. Tasmania, the island state in the south has large areas of temperature wilderness and steep mountains.

Many parts of Australia have scanty and irregular rainfall. Only where rainfall is plentiful and reliable one can see tall trees are the blue gums of Tasmania, the Big Trees of eastern Victoria, which reach a height of 300 feet. Other tall trees grow along the rainy east coast and many other small trees and plants crowd the forest here, including the ferns and creepers.

The commonest trees of Australia are the eucalyptus, of which there are over 500 kinds.

Some Australian trees and plants produce hard woody fruits and seeds.

Australia has 20,000 species of plants and brilliant wild flowers such as the red and green kangaroo paw. The continent has many species eucalypti or gum trees. Many of the trees lose their bark not leaves and many flowers.

Nature fauna in Australia are protected and managed by state and territorial governments.

The climate of Australia varies greatly. The climate ranges from tropical (monsoonal) in the north to temperate in the south. The tropical region, which includes about 40 percent of the total area of Australia, has only two seasons: a hot, wet season with rains falling mainly in February and March, during which the northern and north-eastern coast have an average annual rainfall of 1524 mm in parts of Queensland overade annual rainfall exceeds 2540 mm.