Inglés para adolescentes: 10 amazing facts about Australia

Te invitamos a leer 10 datos asombrosos sobre Australia en inglés: 10 amazing facts about Australia. Una lectura muy entretenida, de la mano de la revista para aprender inglés I Love English, que ayudará a los niños entre 12 y 15 años a mejorar su nivel de inglés.

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10 amazing facts about Australia: 10 datos sorprendentes sobre Australia en inglés

1. Aboriginal culture is the oldest culture on earth. Indigenous people were settled on Australia for around 50,000 years before the British colonised the country. They brought with them a very large amount of convicts in boats. Many of these lawbreakers died on the way, and those who survived were kept in prison camps. The first Police Force in Australia was made up of the most well-behaved convicts!
   
   
2. Australia, along Greenland, is the biggest island in the world and the sixth largest country after Russia, Canada, USA, China and Brazil.
   
   
3. Australia is moreover the world?s driest inhabited continent. About 70% of Australia is covered by deserts or the so-called Australian "Outback", i.e. semi-arid areas. That?s why most Australians (around 90%) live on the coast or less than 50 km from the coastline, as Australia has thousands of surf towns and beaches. Indeed, you can visit more than 10,000 beaches across the country!
   
   
4. There are around 200 different types of ethnic groups and cultures in Australia, making it one of the most multi-cultural nations in the world. 65% of Australia?s inhabitants do not live in the country?s largest state, which is Western Australia, but they live in the state of New South Wales.
   
   
5. Over 300 different languages and dialects are spoken in Australia (including 45 Indigenous languages). Indeed, 21% of Australians don't speak English at home! And did you know that the largest Greek population in the world beside Athens in Greece can be found in the Australian city of Melbourne?
   
   
6. An interesting detail is that Australia has three times more sheep than people! Therefore, it is not surprising that this country is one of the world?s main producers of wool. It is also the world?s largest exporter of coal.
   
   
7. The Great Barrier Reef in Eastern Australia is the biggest coral reef system in the world with more than 3,000 reefs that are home to over 300 species of corals and over 1,000 species of fish. For this reason, snorkelling and diving is a highlight of any trip to Australia.
   
   
8. Mount Augustus in Western Australia and Uluru (previously called Ayers Rock) in the centre of Australia are considered to be the world?s largest rocks. 2.5 km of Uluru is underground. It is one of the few places on earth to be listed twice as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
   
   
9. The highest mountain of this country is Mount Kosciuszko with 2,228 metres or 7,310 feet. It belongs to the longest mountain range, which stretches over 3,500 km or 2,175 miles.
   
   
10. Most of Australia?s flora and fauna cannot be found anywhere else in the world. 91% of the country is covered by native vegetation, and 80% of animals are unique to Australia: marsupials such as kangaroos (60 different types!), wombats, quokkas and koalas, as well as platypuses and echidnas (the only two mammals in the world which lay eggs!), and a huge variety of birds and fishes like the blue ring octopus and the stone fish. Only 25% of species are known to humans. The rest is yet undiscovered.

Gema Marcos (redactora revista I Love English)