SPORT IN AUSTRALIA

A lot of Australians think you shouldn't worry too much about life.

But some things in life are really important, and to many Australian men, one of these things is sport. It's something they don't joke about. Sport matters. In pubs, clubs and even at work you'll often find men who can talk about only one thing — sport.

Australians are lucky. They have a perfect climate, and an endless amount of land. They have wonderful waves for surfers on their beaches. They also have a strong wish to win. Put these together and you get a lot of good sportsmen and women. In fact, Australia has a very high number of world champions, in all kinds of sports, for a country of only 16 million people. Around the country you'll find plenty of opportunities for golf, squash, tennis, trail riding (horse or motorcycle), fishing and so on. Surfing is almost a religion for many Australians who follow the waves around the country and there are a number of important surfing contests.

You'll find football of assorted types including the unique Australian Rules Football. Then, there's motor racing and motorcycle racing, horse racing, yacht racing, cricket matches and lots more.

The best thing, of course, is to play sport yourself. But if you can't, or you don't want to, then you can watch other people doing it. Every year, more than 100,000 people go to the final of Australian Rules Football. Crowds of more than 90,000 watch the big cricket matches against India, Pakistan, New Zealand and England. ¹

There are sport happenings and holidays in Australia year round. Here are some of them.

In February there's Regatta Day with boat races and other water activities.

In June in Darwin the Beer Can Regatta takes place when there are boat races for boats constructed entirely out of beer cans — there are plenty of those in the world's beer drinking capital.

In August in the Northern Territory camel racing is on in Alice Springs, and then the Apex Rodeo is held, one of the biggest rodeo in Australia — the town fills up with cowboys.

Meanwhile in Sydney, Australians biggest race takes place with 25,000 competitors running the 14 km from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach in the city of Surf.

In September sporting attention turns to Melbourne with the Grand Final for Australian Rules Football. Australian Rules Football is only played in Australia. It is a fast game with 18 players on each side. Players can hit the ball with both their hands and their feet. It is an intensely physical game, and injured players are simply carried from the arena to be replaced by fresh warriors. The Grand Final is the biggest sporting event in Australia.

In November the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday is Australia's premier horse race. It is a public holiday in Victoria but the whole country shuts down for the three minutes or so winch the race takes.

In December the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race starts on the 26^th, a fantastic sight as the yachts stream out of the harbor and head south.

Questions:

1.What do a lot of Australians think?

2.Why are Australians lucky?

3.What is surfing for many Australians?

4.Where do more that 100 000 people go every year?

5.What takes place in June in Darwin?

6.When does Alice Springs fill up with cowboys?

7.When does sporting attention turn to Melbourne?

8.Where is Australian Rules Football played?

CANADA

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area. Canada's common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world. Ottawa is the capital of the state.

The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal people. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom.

A federation consisting of ten provinces and three territories, Canada is governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual nation with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. One of the world's highly developed countries, Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. It is a member of the G8, G-20, NATO, OECD, WTO, Commonwealth, Francophonie, OAS, APEC, and UN.

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