Урок на тему "Австралія"

Wild and Funny Australia

Hello! Id like to start our lesson with the quote said by Charles M. Schultz “Do not worry about the world ending today… it`s already tomorrow in Australia”.

There are a lot of funny Australian idioms. Take a look at a couple of them:

1)Mad as a cut snake.   This idiom means “to be crazy with rage or eccentric”.

2)As useful as lips on a chicken.  This one means “to be useless”.

Listen attentively to the text “Australia”:

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. It is an island and it is located on the world`s smallest continent. Australia is the flattest and the driest world continent. The capital of Australia is Canberra; the biggest city is Sydney. The Sydney Opera House is one of the wonders of the modern world. Australian Flag is blue with a British flag and stars. People in Australia pay with Australian dollar. The first people in Australia were Aborigines. It is said that James Cook discovered Australia. Later British prisoners were sent there.

Australia has some very poisonous snakes and spiders. At school children have to learn first aid for snakes and spiders bites. A lot of Australia`s animals, like the kangaroo, the koala and the platypus, are unique.

Australian English sounds quite different from British and American English, and has a lot of unusual slang words. For example:

“aussie” - Australian

“daks” – trousers

“sunnies” – sunglasses

“barbie” – barbeque

“brekkie” – breakfast

“postie” – postman

“roo” – kangaroo

“ambo” - ambulance

And now I want you to read some interesting facts about Australia:

• Did you know that a kangaroo is only one centimetre long when it is born?
• Did you know that a platypus is the only animal that has no stomach?
• Did you know that Uluru (Ayers Rock) is taller than the Eiffel Tower of Paris, standing at 348 m (1141 feet) above the ground?
• Did you know that the cleanest air in the world can be found in Tasmania?
• Did you know that if all the sails of the Opera House roof were combined, they would create a perfect sphere because the architect was inspired while eating an orange?
• Did you know that if you visit one beach in Australia every day, it would take over 27 years to see them all?
• Did you know that Australia has three times more sheep than people?

It is time to write the superlative forms of the adjectives:

1. Australia is (small)…………….continent on the Earth.
2. It is also (flat)……………….and one of the (sunny)……………….. .
3. Uluru is(fascinating)………………….. sight.
4. The didgeridoo is (ancient)……………….. musical instrument in the world.
5. Nicole Kidman is (pretty)……………….Australian actress.

Read the text and choose the best answer a,b,c,d:

The Lucky Country Australia

Australia`s first settlers 1………the Aboriginals, a dark-skinned race of hunters and food-gatherers. They arrived from Asia at least 38.000 years 2…….. . Some of them used a 3…….. bridge which was linking the two continents at that time, but later was covered by rising sea levels, other people 4…….. with the help of rafts and canoes.

About the time European settlement, the Aboriginal population 5…….. to have numbered some 30.000.

The continent 6…….. by the Dutch in 1606, who called it New Holland.

7…….. 1770 Captain Cook made his first visit to Australia. He landed at Botany Bay. Excursions inland 8…….. , but the bay proved unsuitable and the first settlement was made instead at Port Jackson, on the site of present-day Sydney. (The first 9………came from Britain in 1788).

In 1804 Captain Matthew Flinders 10…….. the name of AUSTRALIA, but the term 11………… into general use until the 1820s.

1. a)have been        b)were                    c)had been              d)are    
2. a)until                 b)before                   c)ago                      d)since    
3. a)soil                  b)ground                  c)river                    d)land    
4. a)swim               b)swam                    c)swimmed            d)were swimming    
5. a)is believed       b)was believed        c)are believed        d)believed    
6. a)discovered       b)is discovered        c)was discovered   d)has been discovered    
7. a)On April          b)In the April           c)In april                d)In April    
8. a)was made        b)have been made    c)were maked        d)were made    
9. a)Aboriginals     b)settlers                   c)Indians               d)Americans    
10. a)was proposed  b)is proposed            c)proposed            d)has proposed    
11. a)didn`t come     b)hasn`t come          c)doesn`t come      d)wasn`t come