英語趣味課堂：澳大利亞 the land of Austrialia

Todd: Now, Aaron, Australia's a big place. Can you describe the Australian landscape?

Aaron: No worries. In Australia, there are cities and then there is country. Not many people live in the country, and the desert. About 70% of the population live on the East Coast on a very small area, and 80% maybe 70% of Australia is just desert. Nobody lives there, or it's just farms and nobody lives there as well. The cities aren't like Japan. They're very small cities, and there's a one high-rise area and then the rest of it is just flat.

Todd: How about the natural landscapes like deserts and rainforests, and things like that?

Aaron: No worries. The rainforests are in the south, mainly in Tasmania, and in the tropics1 to the north, but the desert is the center of Australia and the north of Australia as well and on the west coast. There's not much rainforest. There's a lot of desert. Not many rainforests and the rest is just built up area. Suburban areas.

Todd: Um, Australia is know for it's beaches. What area has the nicest beaches?

Aaron: The nicest beaches are probably in Queensland, or the Gold Coast. The West Coast has some great beaches as well, but there are now cities over there, so it's not so popular, but I think the best beaches are in Queensland, cause the pollution is so low. In the cities, in the south, the beaches are a bit dirty, so you can't always swim there.

學(xué)習(xí)內(nèi)容：

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

landscape

Can you describe the Australian landscape?

In this case 'landscape' refers to the natural look of the land in areas where people haven't changed it, like the country. Notice the following:

There are all different types of landscapes in a small area of this country.

The landscape here is flat and boring

country

In Australia, not many people live in the country.

The 'country' is are that is mostly open land, sometimes used for farming, and doesn't have many people that live there. It is not urban and doesn't have big buildings or many cars. Notice the following:

He bought a house in the country to escape from the crazy life of the city.

We own a farm in the country.

flat

There's one high-rise area and the rest is just flat.

A 'flat' area doesn't have any hills or mountains. Notice the following:

It is a lot easier to run here because the trail5 is flat.

You need a really flat area to play soccer.

built-up area

The rest of Australia is just built-up areas.

A 'built-up area' is an area where a lot of human construction or changes have happened. Notice the following:

The city continues to grow and they have built up the surrounding areas so it can expand.

This area has been built up a lot and looks nothing like it did one hundred years ago.

pollution

The best beaches are in Queensland, where pollution is low.

'Pollution' is the contamination6 or natural things, such as air and water, that are a result of human actions. An example is smoke from cars or factories that causes problems in the air. Notice the following:

The city is doing a lot to reduce water pollution and make the lakes safer for swimming and fishing.

Now that more people have cars air pollution has become a big problem.

1 tropics

(名)熱帶

參考例句：

The disease is thought to have originated in the tropics. 這種疾病據(jù)說起源于熱帶地區(qū)。

I went to the tropics for the first time last year. 我去年第一次去了熱帶地區(qū)。

2 suburban

adj.城郊的，在郊區(qū)的

參考例句：

Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效區(qū)的商業(yè)中心在美國(guó)如雨后春筍般地興起。

There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊區(qū)生活是有許多優(yōu)點(diǎn)。

3 urban

adj.都市的，住在都市的，習(xí)慣于都市的

參考例句：

Traffic is a major urban problem.交通是城市的一個(gè)主要問題。

The spread of urban areas endangers wildlife.擴(kuò)大城市面積危害著野生物。

4 farming

n.農(nóng)事;耕作

參考例句：

He lives by farming.他靠務(wù)農(nóng)過活。

He is farming in Africa.他在非洲經(jīng)營(yíng)農(nóng)場(chǎng)。

5 trail

n.蹤跡，痕跡，一串，尾部，小徑，尾，持槍姿勢(shì);vt.拖，尾隨，追蹤，落后于

參考例句：

The car raised a trail of dust.汽車掀起了一股塵土。

The hound found the trail of the rabbit.獵狗發(fā)現(xiàn)了兔子的蹤跡。

6 contamination

n.污染

參考例句：

We must ensure our children against contamination by bad ideas. 我們必須保護(hù)我們的兒童不受壞思想的侵蝕。

There is a danger of serious contamination from radioactive waste. 放射性廢棄物有嚴(yán)重污染的危險(xiǎn)。