Задание №1
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In Canada there are two official languages: English and______________
· Spanish
· Welsh
· French
Задание №2
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Canada is the world’s ________________ country in total area.
· first-largest
· second-largest
· third-largest
Задание №3
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The______________ is the Monarch’s representative in Canada.
· Lieutenant-Governor
· Governor General
· Prime Minister
Задание №4
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The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in ______________.
· Manitoba
· Quebec
· British Columbia
Задание №5
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Canada has large oil and natural gas recourses centered in ______________.
· Alberta
· New Brunswick
· Ontario
Задание №6
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Canada is composed of ______________provinces and three territories.
· 10
· 11
· 13
| Commonwealth of Australia | ||||
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| Capital | Canberra 35°18′S, 149°08′E | |||
| Largest city | Sydney | |||
| Official languages | English (de facto 1) | |||
| Government | Federal constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy | |||
| - | Queen | Elizabeth II | ||
| - | Governor-General | Michael Jeffery | ||
| - | Prime Minister | John Howard | ||
| Area | ||||
| - | Total | 7,741,220 km² (6th) | ||
| - | Water (%) |
The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania and a number of other islands in the Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.
On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth Realm. The capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory. The population is 20.8 million, and is concentrated in the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
Australia also has several minor territories; the federal government administers a separate area within New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, as a naval base and sea port for the national capital. In addition Australia has the following, inhabited, external territories: Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and several largely uninhabited external territories: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.
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Australia's 7,617,930 square kilometres landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. Australia has a total 34,218 kilometres of coastline (excluding all offshore islands) and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres. This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.
The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometres. Mount Augustus claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 metres, Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island is taller at 2,745 metres.
By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid. Australia is the flattest continent, has the oldest and least fertile soils, and is the driest inhabited continent. Only the south-east and south-west corners of the continent have a temperate climate. Most of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The landscapes of the northern part of the country, with a tropical climate, consist of rainforest, woodland, grassland, mangrove swamps and desert. The climate is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia.
The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne was the first building in Australia to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.
Australia has a long history of visual arts, starting with the cave and bark paintings of its indigenous peoples. From the time of European settlement, a common theme in Australian art has been the Australian landscape, seen in the works of Arthur Streeton, Arthur Boyd and Albert Namatjira, among others. The traditions of indigenous Australians are largely transmitted orally and are closely tied to ceremony and the telling of the stories of the Dreamtime. Australian Aboriginal music, dance and art have a palpable influence on contemporary Australian visual and performing arts. Australia has an active tradition of music, ballet and theatre; many of its performing arts companies receive public funding through the federal government's Australia Council. There is a symphony orchestra in each capital city, and a national opera company, Opera Australia, first made prominent by the renowned diva Dame Joan Sutherland; Australian music includes classical, jazz, and many popular genres.
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Australian literature has also been influenced by the landscape; the works of writers such as Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson captured the experience of the Australian bush. The character of colonial Australia, as embodied in early literature, resonates with modern Australia and its perceived emphasis on egalitarianism, mateship, and anti-authoritarianism. In 1973, Patrick White was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the only Australian have achieved this; he is recognised as one of the great English-language writers of the 20th century. Australian English is a major variety of the language; its grammar and spelling are largely based on those of British English, overlaid with a rich vernacular of unique lexical items and phrases, some of which have found their way into standard English.
Sport plays an important part in Australian culture, assisted by a climate that favours outdoor activities. At an international level, Australia has particularly strong teams in cricket, hockey, netball, rugby league, rugby union, and performs well in cycling, rowing and swimming. Nationally, other popular sports include Australian rules football, horse racing, soccer and motor racing. Australia has participated in every summer Olympic Games of the modern era, and every Commonwealth Games. Australia has hosted the 1956 and 2000 Summer Olympics, and has ranked among the top five medal-takers since 2000. Other major international events held regularly in Australia include the Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, annual international cricket matches and the Formula One Australian Grand Prix. Corporate and government sponsorship of many sports and elite athletes is common in Australia. Televised sport is popular; some of the highest rating television programs include the summer Olympic Games and the grand finals of local and international football competitions.
Parliament House in Canberra was opened in 1988 replacing the provisional Parliament House building opened in 1927.
The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth Realms. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General at Federal level and by the Governors at State level. Although the Constitution gives extensive executive powers to the Governor-General, these are normally exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister.
There are three branches of government:
The legislature: the Commonwealth Parliament, comprising the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Representatives; the Queen is represented by the Governor-General, whose powers are limited to assenting to laws.
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The executive: the Federal Executive Council (the Governor-General as advised by the Executive Councillors); in practice, the councillors are the Prime Minister and Ministers of State.
The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other federal courts.
The bicameral Commonwealth Parliament consists of the Queen, the Senate (the upper house) of 76 senators, and a House of Representatives (the lower house) of 150 members. Members of the lower house are elected from single-member constituencies, commonly known as 'electorates' or 'seats'. Seats in the House of Representatives are allocated to states on the basis of population, with each original state guaranteed a minimum of five seats. In the Senate, each state is represented by 12 senators, and the territories (the ACT and the NT) by two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years; Senators have overlapping six-year terms, and only half of the seats are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a double dissolution. The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms government, and its leader becomes Prime Minister.
There are three major political parties: the Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the National Party. Independent members and several minor parties — including the Greens and the Australian Democrats — have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses. Since the 1996 election, the Liberal/National Coalition led by the Prime Minister, John Howard, has been in power in Canberra. In the 2004 election, the Coalition won control of the Senate - the first time in more than 20 years that a party (or coalition) has done so while in government. The Labor Party is in power in every state and territory. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in each state and territory and at the federal level; such enrolment is compulsory in all jurisdictions but South Australia.
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Australia has a prosperous, Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP slightly higher than those of the UK, Germany and France in terms of purchasing power parity. The country was ranked third in the United Nations' 2006 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index 2005. The absence of an export-oriented manufacturing industry has been considered a key weakness of the Australian economy. More recently, rising prices for Australia's commodity exports and increasing tourism have made this criticism less relevant.
The Super Pit in Kalgoorlie, Australia's largest open cast gold mine
The Hawke Government started the process of economic reform by floating the Australian dollar in 1983, and partially deregulating the financial system. The Howard government has continued the process of microeconomic reform, including a partial deregulation of the labour market and the privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notably in the telecommunications industry. The indirect tax system was substantially reformed in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10% Goods and Services Tax, which has slightly reduced the heavy reliance on personal and company income tax that characterises Australia's tax system.