If you go to Australia it will seem to you rather an upside-down world.
The seasons are the other way round. Summer is from December to
February, autumn from March to May, winter from June to August, and
spring from September to November. New Year is at midsummer, midwinter
is in June. Hot winds blow from the north; cold winds blow from the
south. The farther north you go, the hotter it gets.
You will be dazzled with magnificent landscapes and unusual plants. It
will seem strange to you that trees lose their bark, not their leaves
and a lot of flowers have no smell. Even stranger than plants are the
animals. Many of them are found nowhere else in the world. There live
kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, platypi and a lot of rare birds.
Australia is the world’s largest island and its smallest continent.
People often call Australia the «land down-under» because it lies
entirely south of the equator.
Australia is the oldest of all continents. Its mountains are the worn
and ancient stumps that were once higher than the Himalayas; its desert
sands rose from the waves of the sea millions of years ago and still
fossils of the marine creatures that formerly swarm over them. Its
animals are ancient and unique. Its wandering aboriginal tribes still
live like the men of the Stone Age.
Australia is the driest continent on earth. The four great deserts of
central Australia cover 2,000,000 square kilometers. There are few
rivers there. Australian lakes which look impressive on the map, are
usually little more than clay and salt pans.
Australia is the flattest of all continents. Unlike any other continent,
it lacks mountains of truly alpine structure and elevation. Its most
significant mountain chain is the Great Dividing Range running down most
of east coast. Because of its overall flatness and regular coastline,
Australia is often called a «sprawling pancake».
An island continent, Australia was cut off from the rest of the world
for millions of years. As a result, it was the last continent to be
discovered and settled be Europeans.
Australia is the only continent that is also a country. As a country, it
has the sixth largest area in the world after Russia, Canada, China<
the United States and Brazil.
Australia is the least populated of the continents. Only 0.3% of the
world’s population live here. However, Australia is the most urbanized
country in the world. Two out of three of its citizens live in eight
largest cities.
The capital of Australia is Canberra.
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