II. BEFORE YOU READ. A. Practice your pronunciation:

A. Practice your pronunciation:

Tasman Sea ['tæzmən siː]

Arafura Sea [ˌɑːrə'fuːrə siː]

New Zealand [njuː'ziːlənd]

island ['aɪlənd]

isolation [ˌaɪs(ə)'leɪʃ(ə)n]

urbanized ['ɜːb(ə)naɪzd]

neighbouring ['neɪb(ə)rɪŋ]

bicameral [baɪ'kæm(ə)rəl]

Quentin Bryce ['kwentn brɪs]

Julia Gillard ['ʤuːlɪə 'gɪlɪəd]

Melbourne ['melbən]

Adelaide ['æd(ə)leɪd]

echidna [e'kɪdnə]

marsupial [mɑː'suːpɪəl]

venomous ['venəməs]

ancestry ['ænsestrɪ]

accent ['æks(ə)nt]

B. Are you a broad-minded person? Check yourself. Which statements about Australia, its population, flora and fauna are true? Discuss them with your partner.

· Western Australia, the largest state in the country, is almost the same size as the entire Western Europe.

· Australia is the only continent that has an active volcano on it.

· The Winter season begins in the month of June, and the Summer season begins around Christmas time, on this continent.

· After Athens, the second most Greek populated area in the world is Melbourne.

· The first police force in Australia was made up of 12 people. These 12 were their best behaved convicts.

· The Koala and the Kookaburra, two animals unique only to Australia, are present on the coat of arms of Australia.

· The Tasmanian Devil is not only a fictional cartoon character. Actually, it is the smallest carnivorous marsupial in the world, and can be found in Australia.