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Text A Australia—the World's Largest Island
The Commonwealth of Australia is made up of six states. Five are on the mainland-New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. The sixth is the island state of Tasmania. There are also two territories on the mainland. In the north is the large Northern Territory. In the southeast is the small Australian Capital Territory, which includes Canberra, the federal capital.
Australia is the world’s largest island and its smallest continent. Its total area of 7,686,900 square kilometers is about the same as that of the continental United States (excluding Alaska). Australia’s major landforms are low plateaus and broad, level plains. Unlike Europe, Asia, or the Americas, Australia has no very high mountains or deep valleys. The three natural regions extend as broad bands from north to south across the continent. These are the eastern highlands, the central lowland, and the western plateau. The vast island on which the Australians live extends more than 3.200kilometers from north to south and about 3,800 kilometers from east to west. Asia is the continent nearest to Australia, and the numerous islands of Indonesia form stepping-stones between the two continents. To the west of Australia stretches the vast Indian Ocean. The icy shores of Antarctica lie to the south, New Zealand lies to the east.
The one third of Australia that lies north of the Tropic of Capricorn has tropical temperatures. Darwin on the north coast has an average monthly temperature around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The rest of Australia has a moderate climate. Summers are generally hot and winters mild. As it is often warm enough in winter, Australians usually enjoy tennis, lawn
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Most Australians live near the coast, mainly in the southeast, south, and southwest, where the climate and soil are best suited to their needs. And eighty-five percent of the people live in cities, especially in the six states capitals-Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Hobart. The cities have tree-lined streets, lovely parks, large department stores, and supermarkets. They look little different from cities in other parts of the English-speaking world and are often compared with such British cities as London and Edinburgh. Life for most Australians is congenial. Few are so rich that they need not work; few are so poor that they cannot afford a good
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吉林大学远程教育学院
Distant Education College, Jilin University
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