Views #405 | Low-Intermediate 4

Australia

Marion talks about the land down under.

Views # | Intermediate (B1)

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Script
Vocab
Quiz

Marion

The Australian flag has the Union Jack in the top left-hand corner. The rest of the flag is dark blue and then it has six white stars on it. I think they represent six different states in Australia, but I'm not really sure.

My favorite city in Australia is Sydney. I lived there for about 6 months and it's a really lively city. There are lots of young people and lots of things to do. There are also lots of tourist sites to visit, for example, the Sydney Opera House.

Most people when they think about Australia, they think about the Outback. Very few people in Australia live in the Outback really, which is why it is so empty. There are huge empty spaces, like deserts, sometimes, where you can go for hours without seeing even one other person.

When I was in the Outback, the most amazing sight I saw was Ayers Rock, or Uluru as it's called now, which is its Aboriginal name. So Uluru is the biggest rock in the world, and it really is amazing when you travel through the Outback and then suddenly, out of nowhere, you see a huge rock that looks like a mountain. It's an amazing sight, one of the best I saw in Australia.

Learn vocabulary from the lesson!

a really lively city

Sydney is a really lively city, because there are lots of young people and lots of things to do.

A 'really lively city' has a lot of activity going on all the time. There are many things to do and see. Notice the following:

During vacation times this becomes a really lively city.
It's fun to live in a really lively city, but sometimes it's a little noisy.

huge empty spaces, like deserts

There are huge empty spaces, like deserts, where you can go for hours without seeing even one person.

'Huge empty spaces' are big areas of land where there is nothing natural growing and nothing has been built. A 'desert' is an open area where nothing grows or exists. The example is comparing the open areas of Australia to a desert. Notice the following:

Some people like to live in huge empty spaces, like deserts.
Traveling by bus you can see all of the huge empty spaces, like deserts, before you reach the coast.

aboriginal name

The Ayers Rock, or Uluru as it's called now, which is its aboriginal name.

'Aboriginal people' are native people to an area, the indigenous population. An aboriginal name was given to an area by the native aboriginal people. Most of the time these words are not from the current language of an area. Notice the following:

Some of the original names are really difficult to say.
They want to give their baby an aboriginal name.

out of nowhere

Suddenly, out of nowhere, you see a huge rock that looks like a mountain.

If something appears 'out of nowhere' it means that it surprises you because nothing prepares you for it. For example, if the land is really flat and then you see a big mountain the mountain would surprise you. Notice the following: