Australia, or the Commonwealth of Australia, as it is officially called, is situated on the island continent. It also occupies the Island of Tasmania and some minor islands round the coast of the continent.
It is a highly developed industrial-agrarian country. Its area is about 8 million km2. It is the only state in the world that occupies the territory of a whole continent.
The capital of Australia is Canberra, which became the capital only in 1927.
From 1787 to 1867 Australia was a place where criminals were sent from Britain. That is why the official language of Australia is English.
Almost one half of Australian territory is occupied by deserts and semideserts. For quite a long period of time it was thought to be useless for economic development. But it is rich in coal, iron ore, bauxites, uranium, lead and many other mineral resources.
Australia is the sixth country in the world by size of territory, and it is the only country occupying a whole continent. Australian Union includes the Australian mainland and several Islands, the largest of which is Tasmania. On the mainland diverse nature coexists with modern densely populated cities. Австралия – шестая в мире страна по размеру территории, и это единственное государство, занимающее целый континент. Австралийский союз включает в себя Австралийский материк и несколько островов, крупнейшим из которых является Тасмания. На территории материка разнообразная природа соседствует с современными густонаселенными мегаполисами
B. Let's stay at home for a change tonight and catch up on our reading.