英美概况澳大利亚篇.ppt

Unit 15 THE LAND AND THE PEOPLES OF THE DREAMING The natural environment of Australia Australia is the largest island (最大的岛); the smallest, flattest and driest continent in the world (最小、最平和最干的大陆). The country also includes Tasmania(塔斯马尼亚岛), an island just to the south, the Torres Straits Islands (托雷斯海峡岛屿) off the northern coast of the mainland and a small number of islands in the Pacific and the Indian Oceans. 80% of Australia’s population lives in the eastern, southern and southwestern borders of the country and in Mediterranean and temperate climates(温带地中海型气候). Distinctive features of the land Two of the country’s most distinctive physical features are the Great Dividing Range (大分水岭), which extends as an almost unbroken series of plateaus down the East Coast of Australia, from northern Queensland, through New South Wales and into Victoria and the Great Barrier Reef(大堡礁), the largest coral structure in the world, which extends along he coast of Queensland. the Great Dividing Range (大分水岭) the Great Barrier Reef(大堡礁) Uluru (Ayes Rock) (澳大利亚中部一块在平坦的沙漠中天然形成的红色花岗岩巨石) — Located in the flat desert of the center of Australia, it is the largest monolith (独块巨石)in the world. It is a holy place for the Aboriginal people living around it. It is also called Ayers Rock by white settlers. Distinctive animals of the land　 Australia’s distinctive flora and fauna evolved through its long period as an island continent (澳大利亚独特的动植物群是由其大陆岛的地理特征逐渐演变形成的)。Animals unique to the continent include: the platypus(鸭嘴兽), kangaroo (袋鼠), koala(树袋熊) and wombat(毛鼻袋鼠)。 The indigenous peoples Since the First Fleet bringing the first convicts (罪犯) to Australia arrived in 1788, there have been only 8 generations of settlers. However, there have been at least 18,500 generations of the Peoples of the Dreaming since 47,000 years ago. Young indigenous women were forced to help the white settlers in sealing(捕猎海豹), which was one of the first industries of Australia. White sealers and pastoralists exploi