CHAPTER 1: AN ENORMOUS LAND
SUMMARY
1.Write about the main facts about Australia:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Surface /serfes/: 7,686,848 sq km
Size: Western Australia (the biggest state in Australia) is four times as big as Texas, so Australia is ten times Texas
Population: 2.5 inhabitants / sq km; in total, 20 million people
Climate: hot and dry; 35ºC in summer and about 20ºC in the winter
Geographical features: the country is low and flat; there are hills, mountain ranges, lakes, big rivers, beaches and
deserts
2.Write these numbers in letters:
2/3 two thirds; two thirds of Australia are desert (basically the centre of the country)
80% eighty percent; eighty percent of the country gets less than 600ml³ of rain every year
7,686,848: seven million six hundred eighty-six thousand eight hundred forty-eight; this is Australia’s surface
25,760: twenty-five thousand seven hundred and sixty; this is Australia’s perimetre
2.6: two point six; in Australia there are 2.6 people per sq km
CHAPTER 2: AUSTRALIA’S PAST
-
40,000 years ago  Aborigines went to live in Australia (first people there); they came from South East Asia
-
2,500 years ago (MISTAKE!!)  Chinese sailors visited Australia
-
1606  Willem Janzoon arrived in Australia to make maps
-
1642  Abel Tasman arrived in Australia to make maps
-
1770  Captain James Cook landed on the east coast of Australia and colonised it (said it belonged to Britain)
-
Until 1780s Britain had sent its convicts to the USA
-
1783  USA won the War of Independence
-
1787  eleven ships sailed from Portsmouth to Port Jackson (now known as Sydney) carrying British convicts
-
26th January 1788  the eleven ships arrived in Sydney
-
1851 gold was found in New South Wales and Victoria; the gold rush started
-
1st January 1901  the six Australian states became one country; Australia is born as such
-
WWI (1914-1918)  thousands of Australians went to fight for Britain in Europe; 60,000 of them died
-
WWII (1939-1945)  Australians fought for Britain and the USA in Europe and Asia
-
After 1945  the Australian government opened its doors to new immigrants; since then, more than 6.5 million people have
moved to Australia to start a new life.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND - Vocabulary from chapters 1-3
CLUES
Across
Down
2. to argue physically (v): fight
1. the opposite of narrow (adj): wide
3. to be a possession of (v): belong
4. the Australian desert (n): outback
9. the place where boats are kept (n): harbour
5. the opposite of uneven (adj): flat
11. a group of cows and bulls: cattle [cattle=bestiar; herd=ramat]
6. covered with water or another liquid (adj): wet
14. worth a lot of money (adj): valuable
7. to take with you (v): carry
16. a lot of (adv): plenty
8. to understand clearly, to notice (v): realise
18. a small mountain with grass (n):
19. made from trees (adj): wooden
21. to travel by boat (v): sail
hill
10. to arrive at a destination (v): reach
12. a thief or criminal (n): convict
13. to create or make, for example, a house (v): build
22. pretty, great, very nice (adj): lovely
15. the opposite of high (adj): low
23. the opposite of humid (adj): dry
17. a route from one place to another (n): journey
22. sad because you are alone (adj): lonely
20. very big (adj): enormous
CHAPTER 4: THE ABORIGINES
SUMMARY
Write the summary of the chapter using your own words.
The Aborigines lived peacefully in Australia before British people went there in 1788. They had their own land, language and
traditions. They were nomads, so they changed their home often to be respectful with nature and not to damage it.
But after 1788 the British invaded them and killed a lot of them. Others died from diseases that the British had brought with
them.
Between 1900 and 1930 special places were created for them to live in (similar to the reservations for Native Americans in
the USA) and they were separated from the rest of Australians; nobody counted them in the Australian population, so life was
very hard for them.
Between 1900 and 1969 many Aboriginal children were taken away from their parents and that’s why in 1998 the first
National Sorry Day was celebrated to apologise to them for that.
Since 2002 Aborigines have got some of their land back and their living conditions are better, but some of them still feel that
they belong neither to Aboriginal Australia nor to white Australia.
AUSTRALIA READER – CHAPTERS 3,4,5 VOCABULARY REVISION
CHAPTER 3
1. How do you call the place where it’s safe to “park” a boat? Harbour/harbor
2. What’s an expression to say “internationally”? all around the world / all over the world
3. What’s another way of saying “an iconic sight”? (For example, Sagrada Família is one of Barcelona’s most popular iconic
sights). A landmark
4. Can you name two iconic sights of Sydney? (x2)
Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge
5. How do you say what tourists usually do when they go visit all the important monuments and places in a city? (2 words) go
sightseeing
6. How do you call the room in a house which is under the roof in English? The attic
7. What about the part of a building which is partly or completely below the level of the ground? basement
8. How do you say in English “el sostre”? ceiling
9. How do you call the part of a boat which is made of cloth, fixed to a tall pole and used for catching wind and making the boat
move? sail
10. What does the Sydney Opera House look like? The sails of a boat
11. What’s another way of saying “While you’re going home, remember to buy some bread”? on your way home
12. What does BTW stand for? How do you say it in Catalan? (x2) By the way = per cert
13. What does “I’m on my way” mean? I’m coming
14. How can you say “She goes her own way” differently? She does what she wants, she does whatever she wants, she
does her own thing
15. What do you call a farm that grows grapes and produces wine? A vineyard
16. What does ACT stand for? What is its capital? (x2)
Australia Capital Territory; capital: Canberra
17. Where are the two UN headquarters located?
In New York and in Geneva
18. What’s the capital of Sweden? And the capital of Switzerland? Stockholm / Bern
19. What’s the opposite of “wide”? For example, a wide street. narrow
20. What’s the opposite of “flat” when it comes to terrain? Uneven, mountainous
21. What do you call a group of cows and bulls kept in a farm for their meat and milk? Cattle (bestiar)
22. What is a herd? A group of cows or sheep (ramat)
23. What’s another way of saying “a lorry”? truck
24. What’s a synonym for “sick”? ill
25. When you’re surrounded by nothing, you can say you’re _________________. isolated
26. What’s another way of saying “When I was in Australia, I got the opportunity to meet some Aborigines and learn about their
culture”. Got/had the chance
27. What’s the opposite of “losing touch”? (x2) keep in touch / get in touch
28. What’s another way of saying “occasionally”? (x2)
From time to time, sporadically
29. What’s another way of saying “baggage”? luggage
30. What do you call the trip from one place to another? journey
31. What is a stilt house? (like the ones in Brisbane, for example) A house which sits on wooden poles to let air circulate
underneath it
32. What’s an adjective to describe something which is worth a lot? valuable
33. What’s another way of saying “to have a boat”?
Own a boat / be a boat-owner
CHAPTER 4
34. Can you name three parts of a tree? (x3) leaves, trunk, branches
35. What’s another way of saying “lifestyle”? way of life
36. What’s a synonym for “destroy nature”? damage nature
37. Before the British arrived in Australia, the Aborigines had their own land and lived a nomadic lifestyle.
38. What’s another way of saying “a sickness”? (x2) An illness, a disease
39. What’s National Sorry Day?
A national celebration to apologise to the Aboriginal children who were taken away from their parents between
1900 and 1969.
40. What’s another way of saying “actually”? For example, “I’ve read a lot about Australia and I can tell you quite a lot, but I’ve
never actually been there”.
Really, in fact
41. What are two other ways of saying these sentences: (x4)
“I really liked the film “En Solitario”, and my friend did, too”.
“I really liked the film “En Solitario” and so did my friend”.
“Both my friend and I really liked the film “En Solitario”.
“I haven’t won the lottery this Christmas and my parents haven’t, either”.
“I haven’t won the lottery this Christmas and neither have my parents”.
“Neither my parents nor I have won the lottery this Christmas”.
42. What’s another way of saying “to be part of”? For example, I belong to the Sol-Azpilicueta family.
CHAPTER 5
43. What is special about the houses in Coober Peddy?
That they’re dug out of the rock.
44. What do you call a large expensive boat in English?
A yacht
45. Why is Uluru unique?
46. What’s another way of saying “to make a hole”?
To dig a hole
47. What tool do you usually use to make holes in the ground?
A shovel
CHAPTER 6: SHEEP, CATTLE, MINERALS AND WHEAT
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Answer these questions in your own words.
1. What are the main sources of income of the Australia economy? And mention the region that they come
from.
The main sources of income of the Australia economy are sheep (which come from New South Wales and Victoria),
cattle (which are in the drier parts of the north and centre of Australia), minerals and oil (which are found in the
Northern Territory, New South Wales and Western Australia), wheat and fruit (in Western Australia and New South
Wales) and finally wine.
2. Where can you find the big cattle stations?
They’re mostly in the north and centre of Australia, basically in the outback.
3. What product does Australia sell to the USA?
Australia sells wheat to the USA.
4. What do they grow in Queensland?
Bananas are grown there.
5. Which countries buy most of the products coming from Australia?
Japan, China, South Korea and the USA do.
6. Could we say that Australian economy is mainly based on the agricultural income?
No, because two thirds of Australians society work in the service sector.
Exercises at the end of the reader: WHILE READING
AUSTRALIA READER P. 62 – CHAPTERS 4,5,6
QUESTIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
How did the Aborigines think that the world began?
What problems do Aborigines have in Australia today?
Why did Australians have National Sorry Day?
What happens to Uluru when the sun goes down?
Why do people live underground in Coober Peddy?
What is unusual about the boats at the Todd River Regatta?
Why do merino sheep do well in Australia?
Where are oil and minerals found in Australia?
Which country is Australia’s best customer?
ANSWERS
1. Aborigines thought that the world was made by animals, plants and humans. They refer to the origin of the world
as “Dreamtime”.
2. Nowadays, they have health problems and shorter lives. Also, they leave school earlier so it’s harder for them to
find a job. Some of them also have problems with alcohol and with the law.
3. Australians had National Sorry Day to apologize to Aboriginal children that were taken away from their parents
between 1900 and 1969.
4. When the sun goes down, Uluru changes its colour and it becomes reddish.
5. In Coober Peddy people live underground because the houses there are dug out of the rock.
6. What is unusual about the boats in the Todd River Regatta is that they don’t have bottom, so people have to carry
them along the dry river.
7. They do well in Australia because the climate is warm and dry.
8. Oil and minerals are found in the regions of Northern Territory, New South Wales (NSW) and Western Australia.
9. Japan is the best customers.