Overview of Australia
Sydney is the capital of New South Wales, the largest and oldest city in Australia, and an increasingly international metropolis. The 2 Sydney Olympic Games made Sydney's international reputation and popularity unprecedented.
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< br> Country name: The Commonwealth of Australia
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< br> The word "australia" means "southern continent". When Europeans discovered this continent in the early 17th century, they mistakenly thought it was a land that went straight to the South Pole, so they named it "Australia", which was changed from the Latin terraaustralis.
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< br> National flag: it is a horizontal rectangle with the ratio of length to width of 2: 1. The flag is dark blue, with the word "rice" in red and white on the upper left, and a large white seven-pointed star under the word "rice". There are five white stars on the right side of the flag land, one of which is pentagonal and the others are heptagonal. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth and the Queen of England is Australia's head of state. The upper left corner of the national flag is the pattern of the British flag, which shows the traditional relationship between Australia and Britain. The largest seven-pointed star symbolizes the six states and federal districts (Northern Territory and Capital Territory) that make up the Commonwealth of Australia. Five small stars represent the Southern Cross constellation (one of the small constellations in the southern sky, although the constellation is small, there are many bright stars). It means "southern continent", indicating that the country is in the southern hemisphere.
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< br> National Emblem: The national emblem of Australia has a kangaroo on the left and an emu on the right. These two animals are unique to Australia, and they are national symbols and national symbols. There is a shield in the middle, and there are six groups of patterns on the shield to symbolize the six states of this country. The red St. George's cross (with a lion and four stars on the cross) symbolizes New South Wales; The southern cross constellation under the crown represents Victoria; The blue Maltese cross represents Queensland; Shrike represents South Australia; The black swan symbolizes Western Australia; The red lion symbolizes Tasmania. Above the shield is a seven-pointed star symbolizing the Commonwealth countries. Surrounded by the Australian flower acacia, the ribbon at the bottom reads "Australia" in English.
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< br> National Day: January 26th (1788)
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< br> National flower: acacia
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< br> National tree: Eucalyptus
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< br> National bird: Qin bird. It looks like a pheasant and often walks on land. The male bird has a magnificent piano-shaped tail and is famous for its spectacular tail feathers. The tail feather of a lyre bird is very similar to a Greek lyre, hence its name. It is not only beautiful and moving, but also can imitate the sounds of other animals, and its voice is very beautiful.
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< br> State dignitaries: Governor Michael Jeffery was sworn in in August 23; Prime Minister Howard took office in October 24.
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< br> Physical geography: Located between the South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, it is composed of islands such as the Australian mainland and Tasmania. Australia is surrounded by the sea, bordering New Zealand in the southeast by tasman sea, and facing East Timor, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea in the north by Timor Sea and Torres Strait. It covers an area of 7.692 million square kilometers. It accounts for the vast majority of Oceania. The coastline is 36,735 kilometers long. Although surrounded by water, deserts and semi-deserts account for 35% of the country's area. The whole country is divided into three areas: the eastern mountainous area, the central plain and the western plateau. The highest mountain in China, Kosciusko, is 223 meters high, and the longest river, Melbourne River, is 349 miles long. Lake Eyre in the middle is the lowest point in Australia, and the lake is 12 meters below sea level. On the east coast, there is the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world. The north is tropical, and most of it belongs to temperate zone. The average annual temperature is 27℃ in the north and 14℃ in the south. The inland areas are dry and lack of rain, and the annual precipitation is less than 2mm, while the eastern mountainous areas are 5-12mm.
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< br> Population: 19.2 million (June 2), of which 74.2% are of British and Irish descent; Asians account for 4.9% (including about 45, Chinese and overseas Chinese); Indigenous people account for 2%, about 375, people. General English. Among the residents, 7. 3% believe in Christianity, 3. 4% believe in other religions, and a few believe in Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. The non-religious population accounts for 25. 1%. The common language is English.
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< br> The shadow of the roof of Sydney Opera House in Australia is reflected in the accumulated water on the ground after the rain. The roof of Sydney Opera House is covered with thousands of white tiles, which is praised as "a white clam shell, just like a sail at sea", while the designer of the Opera House, Danish architect Ding Utzon, described it as "just like < P > <: br> A huge and exotic bird. " > > >
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< br> Australia is a typical immigrant country, which is described by sociologists as a "national platter". Since British immigrants set foot on this beautiful land, immigrants from 12 countries and 14 nationalities have come here to make a living and develop. Multi-culture formed by multi-ethnic groups has become a prominent feature of Australian society.
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< br> Capital: Canberra, with a population of about 31, (June 2), with an annual average temperature of 2℃. Canberra Spring Flower Show
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< br> Administrative Districts: Australia is divided into six states and two territories. Each state has its own parliament, government, governor and premier. The six states are: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania; The two regions are: the northern region and the Capital Territory.
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< br> "new york in the Southern Hemisphere" —— Sydney
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< br> Strange "Bird Man" Competition in Sydney
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< br> Brief history: Australia was originally inhabited by aborigines. In 177, the British navigator james cook landed on the east coast of Australia and declared Australia a British colony. On January 26th, 1788, the first British immigrants arrived in Australia, which was later designated as Australia's National Day. Since then, Britain has successively established some scattered colonial areas in various parts of Australia. In the second half of the 19th century, autonomous governments were successively established in various Australian colonies. In July 19, the British Parliament passed the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia. On January 1, 191, the Australian colonies formed the Commonwealth of Australia and became a British dominion. In 1931, Australia became an independent country within the Commonwealth.