Total area of the continent is about half as big as Europe, or 25 times the size of Britain and Ireland. Population is bunched mainly in coastal cities, the biggest of which are capitals of the country’s states and the federal capital Canberra5 . Canberra is a model of a planned garden city and is the seat of a major university. It is smallish in size , but big in importance. Sydney is the largest city, and commercial capital of the country.

　　Throughout the country, the basic accommodation unit is the motel, a flat prefabricated6 sprawl of bedrooms. But prices are reasonable and, most important, the rooms are excellent and equipped usually with air-conditioning, a refrigerator and tea and coffee making facilities. Bath tubs are rare, as Australians prefer the convenience and hygiene of a shower. Porterage and other services are rare , as Australians don’t like doing a job which smacks of7 servility. After all, this is the land of equality and opportunity.

　　閱讀自測

　　Ⅰ. Are the sesta tements True or False according to the article ?

　　1. Australia is as big as Europe , or 25 times the size of Britain and Ireland. 2. Canberra is not only the capital but also the biggest city of Australia . 3. Motel is very popular for accommodation in Australia.

　　Ⅱ. Match the following countries with their corre sponding capita ls :

　　1. Egypt Wellington 2. Australia Athens 3. New Zealand Seoul 4. Canada Cairo 5. Greece Ottawa 6. South Korea Canberra

　　參考譯文

　　年輕的大陸———澳大利亞

　　澳 大利亞是一個島國, 但同時也是一個完整的大陸, 它具有突出一貫的個性。令人奇 怪的是, 這種性格同我們顯然不同。澳大利亞已不再是住著英國罪犯和拓荒者的新開辟的 殖民地了, 而是一個沿著嶄新的生活道路艱難前進(jìn)的、不斷成熟的、也許仍然比較年輕的 國家。

　　澳大利亞到處都是巖石和沙漠, 分布毫無規(guī)則, 但四周有青蔥的山谷, 披著白雪的原 野, 形形色色的珊瑚礁, 風(fēng)雨侵蝕的懸崖絕壁和浪花片片的海灘。這片土地富于礦藏, 色彩 斑斕, 擁有各種奇花異草。在這似乎無邊無際的大地上有230 種哺乳動物, 700 種鳥類, 400 種爬行動物, 70 種兩棲動物, 2200 種魚類和5 萬種昆蟲。就物質(zhì)條件來講, 澳大利亞正在 變成世界上最富饒的國家。

　　這片大陸的面積約等于半個歐洲, 或者25 倍于英國和愛爾蘭的總面積。人口主要聚 集在沿海城市, 其中最大的是澳大利亞各州首府和聯(lián)邦首府堪培拉。堪培拉是一個典型的 有計劃性的公園城市, 國內(nèi)一所主要的大學(xué)也在這里。這座城市面積有點(diǎn)小, 但政治上很 重要。悉尼是全國最大的城市, 也是澳大利亞的商業(yè)中心。

　　澳大利亞的基本旅館住所是汽車旅館, 里邊的臥室是成套的預(yù)先設(shè)制好房間, 這種汽 車旅館幾乎布滿全國。房租并不貴, 最重要的是房內(nèi)陳設(shè)漂亮, 通常有空調(diào)、冰箱和烹茶煮 咖啡的設(shè)備。澳大利亞人喜歡既方便又衛(wèi)生的淋浴, 因此很少用浴盆。搬運(yùn)業(yè)和其他服務(wù) 業(yè)也很少, 因為澳大利亞人不喜歡做帶有奴顏婢膝感覺的工作。畢竟這是一個平等的充滿 機(jī)遇的國家。