高中英语Unit 3 Australia背景知识.docVIP

Unit 3 Australia Part Two: Teaching Resources Section 2: Background information for Unit 3 Australia Origin and history of the name of Australia The name Australia is derived from the Latin australis, meaning southern. Legends of an unknown southern land (terra australis incognita) date back to the Roman times and were commonplace in medi?val geography, but they were not based on any actual knowledge of the continent. The Dutch adjectival form Australische (Australian, in the sense of southern) was used by Dutch officials in Batavia to refer to the newly discovered land to the south as early a