Watch Out for the Kea Parrot

On the brighter side, the Kea Parrot of New Zealand is alive and well and is probably the rudest bird on earth! It is not afraid of humans, and nibbles at car’s tires or windshield wipers, or even people's fingers, if it gets close enough.

IV. Ask as many questions as possible to this text.

V. Tell what information have you known from this text.

Additional Tasks

What Do You Know About New Zealand?

Find Out

1. New Zealanders are often called Kiwis. Search the Internet and find out why.

2. Today, Aotearoa (the land of the long white cloud) is the Maori name usually used for New Zealand. The Māori also referred to the North Island as Te Ika a Māui ("the fish of Māui") and the South Island as Te Waka a Maui (the canoe of Maui). The South island can also be called Te Wai Pounamu ("the waters of greenstone") or Te Waka o Aoraki ("the canoe of Aoraki"). Search the Internet and find the story behind one of these names.

Tourist Advertisement

Make a brochure or advertisement for New Zealand to lure tourists to these beautiful islands. Watch New Zealand a Dream. Base your information on what you can see in this video, or find your own information.

Writing

Watch the YouTube video in the introduction once more, and write a letter back home or an entry in a travel blog based on what this guy experiences. Find a suitable title and time span.

Lesson 9 Australia / Австралия

I. Read and translate the following words:

hemisphere

inhabitant

explorer

indigenous

claim

convict

prison

immigrant

population

colony

establish

Commonwealth

II. Find the sentences with the words from the vocabulary and ask questions to them.

III. Read and translate the following text:

Geography

Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere. It is made up of the Australian mainland, the island of Tasmania and many other smaller islands in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

History

In 1606, Dutch explorers were the first Europeans who discovered Australia, but they did not settle there. Before this, for thousands of years, Australia was inhabited by the Aborigines. In 1770, the British claimed the eastern part of Australia. It was a useful place to send British convicts, instead of keeping them in prison in England. Gradually, other immigrants moved to Australia and the population grew. New South Wales was the first colony and five others were established in the 19th century. The six colonies joined together on January 1st 1901, to form the Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia Today

The population today is just over 21.7 million. The nation's capital city is Canberra. The other main cities are: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. 60% of the population live in and around these cities. Australia has a democratic political system and a high technology industry.

IV. Ask as many questions as possible to this text.

V. Tell what information have you known from this text.

Additional Tasks and Activities

Comprehension

Make 5 questions to this text then sit in pairs and take turns questioning and answering.

Australia - True or False Quiz

1. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901.

2. Australia is still a Commonwealth country today.

3. The population of Australia is approximately 7.5 million.

4. European settlement began in the 1700s (18th century).

5. The capital city of Australia is Sydney.

6. International comparisons show that Australia is an attractive country to live in.

7. Australia is the world's smallest continent.

8. New Zealand is found to the north-east of Australia.

9. Australia has a democratic political system.

10. Australia is not considered a multicultural country. The population mainly consists of descendants of British criminals.

Geography

Use the map of Australia to find the names of the 6 states or territories.

Can you find the main cities on the map? Which state are they in?

This geography quiz is difficult but give it a try Australia - Map Game

Describe Australia’s flag (its colour and the objects in it)

Here are some verbs. Can you find the nouns in the text which match them?
(e.g. verb: explore, noun: explorers)
Verbs: inhabit, convict, imprison, immigrate, populate, colonise

Discuss

Look at the two maps. They are both maps of Australia, but they are very different. Describe what they show you. Which one do you like best? Why?

Presentation

Choose one of the cities. Find pictures on the internet and make a short presentation of the city.