1、Experience the iconic features of Australia25 SepNext week Im travelling to Australia to visit a friend there over the school holidays. I plan to keep this blog to record my experiences and_1_ I learn. I have already done some research on the country. _2_(locate) to the south of the equator, below m
2、any other countries on the globe, its often informally referred to _3_ down under. I have also read about some iconic sites, such as the Sydney Opera House and the Great Ocean Road, and animals like the cute koalas and kangaroos. I cant wait to see all of them! However, as I major _4_ social studies
3、, Im more interested in meeting people in Australia and _5_ (experience) their culture, food, and way of life.1 OctIm here in Sydney! Since I arrived, my friend _6_(bring) me to my first open-air barbecue and has also shared many different but yummy meals with me, so my first impressions of Australi
4、a have been all about food! A lot of_7_(type) Australian food, such as the Sunday roast, is originally British. Bakeries, fast-food joints, butcher shops, cafes, and restaurants everywhere provide some of the premier food experiences in the world. The influence of Asian cultures, on the other hand,
5、_8_(lead) to the introduction of bean curd and Asian herbs, along with Australian versions of foods like the Chinese-inspired dim sim.3 OctMy friend and I have arrived in Katherine, _9_ town in Australias Northern Territory. Were here to learn about the life and customs of the Aborigines, who are na
6、tive _10_ Australia. The Aboriginal population might be small, but its influence is still visible. For example, Bondi in Bondi Beach is an Aboriginal word _11_(mean) water breaking over rocks. _12_(survive) in this vast land on the ocean, the Aborigines had to be in close contact _13_ nature. This s
7、hows in their music, too, _14_ celebrates the natural world and the spiritual world around them. Most of their musical instruments are really just sticks found on the ground, among _15_ there is an amazing instrument _16_(call) the didgeridoo.The didgeridoo is made from a tree branch _17_ is hollow.
8、 To play the didgeridoo, you put your mouth on one end and blow while _18_(vibrate) your lips. Unlike a horn, there are no finger holes. The didgeridoo player has to change the shape of his mouth in order to change pitch. A _19_(skill) player can play for a long time without stopping _20_(breathe).
9、He does this by continually breathing in _21_ his nose while breathing out through his mouth and into the didgeridoo. I tried to learn how to play it, but after trying for hours, I was _22_(convince) that I could never make a musical sound with this instrument!6 OctIts almost time for me to say good
10、bye to Australia. Ive enjoyed my time here very much. After being here for a while, my biggest impression is the complicated mix of peoples and cultures _23_ make up the nation. Although the main cultural influence since 1788 _24_(be) Western culture, minority cultures have also played a part in _25
11、_(shape) the unique Australian culture, with many of the new cultural influences _26_(contribute) by immigrants. It is said that now nearly half of all Australian citizens were _27_ born overseas or have parents who were born overseas. _28_(personal) speaking, what I like most about Australia is the
12、 people _29_(them). They have a straightforward and free-and-easy attitude _30_ life, and their friendliness and warmth made me feel at home _31_ I went.After _32_(experience) Australia, I have to say that I agree with the tourism slogan: Theres nothing like Australia.THE AMAZING ANIMALS OF AUSTRALI
13、AOur topic today is Creatures Unique to Australia, _1_ questions answered by wildlife expert, Dr Jim Smith. Australia has lots of unique animals, but which animal is a symbol of the country?It has to be the kangaroo, as it has a wide _2_(distribute) throughout the country. Its a tough animal _3_ has
14、 to survive in a difficult environment. Also, it cannot walk backwards, _4_ it is always moving forwards. This expresses the _5_(strong) and resolve of the Australians as individuals and as a nation. A baby kangaroos _6_(weigh) only two grammes at birth. They then find their way into their mothers p
15、ouch - _7_ kind of pocket - to stay safe and warm. They sleep and drink milk in that temporary, _8_(protect) environment until they are about seven or eight months old. After this phase, they go out _9_(try) their legs. After they learn to jump, they gradually spend less time with their mother and l
16、earn to be _10_(dependent). Kangaroos may look cute, but encounters with them dont always end so well. Kangaroos can hit and kick very hard, so please folks, if you see some kangaroos, remember theyre not for _11_(pet)! Koalas are cute, and we see so many pictures of people _12_(hold) them. But in m
17、any places in Australia, it is against the law to even touch them. Can you clarify that?They are really quite cute, but the truth is, koalas are very sensitive creatures who can easily panic because of even small changes in their environment. They spend quite a lot of time eating, sleeping, and hang
18、ing _13_ tree trunks, so interaction with humans can cause them a lot of stress. Because of this, the government began to make laws against touching koalas, in the interest of animal protection, as well as public _14_(safe). So, if you see one in the wild, you shouldnt approach it to pick it up or e
19、ven touch it. If you want to hold a koala, you have to go to certain licensed zoos _15_ animal experts make sure that the koalas selected for each session are in a good state for human contact and that they _16_(handle) for only a limited time and on a limited frequency of occasions. So, weve talked
20、 about some cute animals. What about animals which arent so cute? My favourite is a little creature _17_(call) the Tasmanian devil. If you are out camping in Tasmania and come across one, the experience might scare you! Tasmanian devils hunt _18_ night, so you wont usually see them, but you may hear
21、 their loud _19_(cry) when they are fighting or eating. The noise they make could wake the dead. Frightening! They are about the size of small dogs and look like rather large black rats. They also have _20_ terrible smell! Their diet is mostly dead animals. _21_(fortunate), despite their name, they
22、are generally not violent towards people.Australia also has some animals that many people have never heard of, for example, the duck-billed platypus. Is that some kind of bird?Not at all. While it may lay eggs in a nest like a bird, its really a primitive mammal, _22_ a unique biology. Its eggs hatc
23、h after about ten days, and then the baby platypus nurses from its mother like all other mammals. Its nose looks like a ducks bill, and it has feet like a ducks so it can dive under the water, but it _23_(cover) in hair. Do you know whats really strange about a platypus? The platypus doesnt use its
24、senses of sight or smell to find food. It has a capacity _24_(find) food in the water by using electrical sensors in its bill. There are only a small handful of animals in the world that can do that!WHATS COOKING IN AUSTRALIA?To _1_(full) appreciate Australian cuisine, you have to consider the uniqu
25、e nature of its wildlife and geography. For one thing, there are the wide plains in the interior of the country, which are home _2_ millions of grazing animals. For another, there is Australias long coastline, _3_ is next to all the riches of the sea. _4_ is no wonder then that much of Australian cu
26、isine centres around red meat and seafood.One of the most popular red meats in Australia is also unique _5_ the continent: kangaroo. This may seem strange as the kangaroo is a national symbol of Australia. _6_, in recent years, kangaroos have increased in number to around 45 million. These kangaroos
27、 wander onto the roads and into cities, _7_(make) trouble. Their _8_(increase) numbers have also harmed plants and other wildlife. As _9_ consequence, the government is encouraging people to use these animals as food, and kangaroo has become one of the most popular _10_(item) on the Australian dinne
28、r table.As for seafood, many of the first Europeans who came to Australia _11_(love) the sea. Perhaps this is one reason _12_ so many Australians live near the coast. Since the coastline is so long, each region has its own dishes that are related _13_ the seafood found in its waters. The list of sea
29、food available at the local fish market is like _14_ tour of the coast: salmon, prawns, oysters, tuna, shark, crab, and many more. However, if you want to really take _15_ the full experience, you should go to the fish market in Sydney early in the morning and see the fish _16_(prepare) for sale. Be
30、tter yet, you can sign _17_ to go deep-sea fishing. But then, how is all this food cooked? Perhaps the favourite way of cooking food in Australia is the barbecue, or barbie. _18_(given) the fine weather, Australians love to eat outside. Casual friendliness is the key _19_ such meals. It is a time fo
31、r friends and relatives _(get) together and have fun. Even strangers _20_(pass) through will be offered a seat, a cold drink, and something off the grill. Often these barbecues feature a mixed grill, which means _21_(cook) all kinds of meat, seafood, and vegetables. So, at an Australian barbecue, yo
32、u dont have to eat kangaroo - or even eat meat at all - _22_ you dont want to. Beyond this, what is Australian cooking? As Australia is a diverse country _23_ people from many nations, Australian cooking now has flavours and cuisines from around the globe. No matter who you are and no matter _24_ cu
33、isine interests you, you are always sure to find a warm welcome and a full plate _25_(wait) for you in Australia.THE KIWIThe kiwi is a _1_(flight) New Zealand bird _2_ which New Zealanders are very proud. This unusual bird has become _3_ national symbol of the country. New Zealanders _4_(them) are a
34、lso known all over the world as Kiwis, _5_ nickname they are very proud of. The bird has also lent its name to a small, brown, and egg-shaped fruit, the kiwi fruit, though outside New Zealand, often this fruits name _6_(shorten) to kiwi. The FruitThe kiwi fruit is actually native_7_ China and was or
35、iginally collected from the wild for use in medicine. In the early 1900s, the fruit spread from China to New Zealand, where farmers began to grow them _8_ sale. In the 1940s, the Americans and the British _9_(station) in New Zealand during the war discovered this amazing fruit, and soon after that,
36、the kiwi fruit began to be exported to the UK and later to the US. It was _10_ the fruit began to be sold in the US that it received the nickname kiwi fruit, which was quickly shortened to kiwi. The PeopleThe nickname Kiwi used to refer _11_ the country of New Zealand, but after the First World War,
37、 New Zealanders began _12_(refer) to (and to refer to themselves) by the nickname Kiwis. A large part of the reason was that there were some New Zealand soldier units that put a picture of the kiwi (the bird) on their badges. Today, the birds picture is used on many New Zealand products and _13_(wea
38、r) on the sports clothes of many national sporting teams.The BirdThe kiwi bird is nocturnal, _14_(wake) up and coming out of its nest on the ground to feed only at night. It is the only bird in the world that has its nostrils _15_ the end of its beak. All other birds have them above their beaks, clo
39、se to their face. The female kiwi holds the world record for _16_(lay) the largest egg in proportion to its body size. Although the kiwi is only about the size of a chicken, the female lays a single egg almost as big as an ostrich egg. The name kiwi comes from the Maori language and is _17_ imitatio
40、n of the loud cry the male kiwi makes during the mating season. _18_(fortunately), the kiwi is an endangered species. It _19_(threaten) by non-native animals, such as cats and dogs, and by the _20_(lose) of its habitat. Kiwis (the people) are doing their best to save the kiwi (the bird) and there ar
41、e many programmes in place for this purpose. It would, indeed, be sad _21_ New Zealands national symbol were to become extinct.THE THORN BIRDS (Adapted)Colleen McCulloughPaddy and the boys loved it. Sometimes they spent days on end riding horses, miles away from home and _(camp) at night under a sky
42、 so vast and _(fill) with stars. The grey-brown land was full of life. Kangaroos in flocks of thousands _(stream) leaping through the trees, taking fences _ ease, lovely in their grace and freedom and numbers; emus built their nests in the middle of the grassy plain and walked like giants about thei
43、r territorial boundaries, taking fright at anything strange and _(run) fleeter than horses away from their dark-green, football-sized eggs; termites built rusty towers like miniature skyscrapers; huge ants with a savage bite poured in rivers down holes in the ground.The bird life was so rich and var
44、ied there seemed no end _ new kinds, and they lived not in ones and twos but in thousands upon thousands: tiny green-and-yellow parakeets Fee used to call lovebirds, but which the locals called budgerigars; scarlet-and-blue smallish parrots called rosellas; big pale-grey parrots _ brilliant purplish
45、-pink breasts, underwings and heads, called galahs; and the great pure white birds with cheeky yellow combs called sulphur-crested cockatoos. The strong brown kingfishers called kookaburras laughed joyfully or dived _ snakes, their favourite food. They were almost human, all these birds, and completely _ fear, sitting in hundreds in the trees looking about with bright intelligent eyes, screaming, talking, laughing, imitating anything that _
