Otázka: English Speaking Countries
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Petr Rychlý
O každé zemi:
- Basic facts
- Geography
- Cities
- Politics
- History
- Wildlife
- Why to visit – my opinion
New Zealand:
- New Zealand is an island nation located in the South Pacific. The island is quite isolated. It is situated 2000km from Australia. The official languages of New Zealand are English and Maori. The population is about 4,7 millions. The capital is Wellington.
- New Zealand is made up of two main islands and several small islands. The North Island has a subtropical climate – Hot summers, cool mild winters. It has a lot volcanic activity – Volcanos, hot mud springs and hot water springs. The South Island is much more mountainous. The Southern Alps run through the middle. It includes New Zealand’s highest peak – Mount cook (3754 metres high). Most people live in the North Island, even though the South is much larger. The country suffer a lot from earthquakes.
- North Island – Auckland – biggest city, 1,4 mil. people, Wellington – capital, parliament
- South Island – Christchurch, Dunedin
- New Zealand is the part of the British Commonwealth. It is a constitutional monarchy and the head of state is the monarch of United Kingdom. Her representative is the Governor General. The head of government is the prime minister. Parliament is one chambered.
- First settlers in New Zealand were maoris, that came there in the 13th century. They estabilished their own civilization based around tribal communities. In 1840 the Maori chiefs signed Treaty of Waitangi, which basically gave the island to Great Britain. In 1907 it gained dominion status and it was no longer just a colony of GB.
- New Zealand has many species that are unique to the islands. It is because of the isolation of the island. Some of them are Kiwi, Kakapo, Tuatara.
- Some famous people – Russel Crowe, Sam Neill. Lucy Lawless, Peter Jackson, …
- Famous sports – Rugby, Cricket
Australia:
- Austalia is the largest island and the smallest continent. It is located south of Asia between the Indian and Pacific oceands. It is made up of two territories and six states (Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria). Official language is English. The population is about 20 millions. The capital is Canberra.
- Australia has a hot centre, which is mostly a desert. There are some tropical regions in the north with heavy rain and the south is milder with hot summers and cool winters. Bushfires are a common thing in Australia. Most famous landform – Ayers Rock in the middle of the country. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef. The tallest mountain is Mount Kosciuszko, which is 2228 metres high. Longest river is Murray River.
- New South Wales is the oldest and most populous state – Sidney, largest city
Tasmania – Smallest state, Island
Western Australia – Largest state, lot of natural resources (iron, diamonds, coal)
Victoria – small state but many people, Melbourne. Cultural centre
South Australia – Dry, famous for its wines
- Australia is a federal state. It is a part of the Commonwealth. The head of the state is the monarch of the U.K (Queen Elizabeth II.). Her representative in Australia is the Governor General. Goverment is lead by the prime minister. The parliament has it seat in Canberra. It has two houses – The Senate and House of the Representatives. Voting is a must do thing in there.
- Australia was settled by Aboriginals about 50,000 year ago. It was based arround hunting. The Dutch discoveres the Australia first. James Cook claimed Australia for Britain in 1770. It was a prison colony for Britain. 1850 – gold hour. 1901 – became independent and agreed to become a federation.
- Thanks to the climate and geographical isolation of the continent, there are unique animals in Australia. Kangaroo, Koala, Tasmanian devil or the Platypus. Eucalyptus trees.
- Famous people – Patrick White – writer, Peter Carey, Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson, Ian Thorpe
- Sports + pastimes – Cricket, Rugby, football, Soccer, diving surfing
Canada:
- Canada is located in the north part of North America. It is the second largest country by area. Despite the big size, Canada has a small population of only 30 million people. It is a multicultural county with two offical languages – English, French.
- Canada is bordered by the Usa to the south and north-west (Alaska). Most people live 150 kilometres from the US-Canadian border. South is mostly covered with forests. Northern part is mostly tundra. There are the Canadian Rocky Mountains on the west coast. There are many lakes and rivers as well. Rivers – Mackenzie, St. Lawrence. The country is divided into ten provincies. Canada mostly has a continental climate with cold snowy winters and warm summers. The far north has a polar climate. Canada is a home for a lot animal species. For example – Beaver, moose, Canada goose, black bear, grizzly bear, polar bear and the coyote.
- Some of the most important Canada cities are Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg. Ottawa is where the Canada’s parliament is located. It is the prime ministers ome. There is also the National gallery.
- Canada is a constitutional monarchy. It is the part of the British Commonwealth. The monarch is currently the queen Elizabeth II. Her representative is the Governor General. Canada has a federal system of goverment. The parliament has two chambers – The Senate, House of Commons. The goverment sits in the House of Commons. The leader of the goverment is the prime minister. Each province has its own parliament – One chambered, Premier.
- First settlement in Canada goes back 25,000 years in some areas. First Portuguese in the 15th century – then replaced by French who estabilished the colony there up the 18th century. Since then the control moved to Britain. In 1867 the country became independent. In 1982 it became formally independent.
- Famous people – Margaret Atwood – writer, Leonard Cohen – song writer, Nelly Furtado, Celline Dion, Jim Carrey.
- Canada is a great sporting nation. Popular sports include ice hockey, American football, basketball, lacrosse, curling.
Ireland:
- Ireland is the name of the island where the Republic of Ireland covers about 80% of the island. It is a republic with two chamber parliament. The head of the state is the president (Michael D. Higgins). The head of the goverment is the prime minister. There are two official languages – English and Irish Gaelic.
- Ireland has a temperate, wet climate with warm summers and mild winters. The land is quite flat, covered by fields and grass. It gets a lot of rain, so the grass keeps green colour. The coastline of Ireland is very rugged with many cliffs and peninsulas. The longest river is the River Shannon.
- Dublin is the Irish capital. It is situated on the east coast of the Island. There are many traditional pubs. Famous buildings like Dublin castle and St. Patrick’s Catherdal are located there. Other famous places in Ireland include Kilkenny and Limmerick, which are medieaval towns. The Cliffs of Mother – spectacular cliffs. There are many other castles, churches, high crosses and beatifull villages in Ireland
- The first settlement on the island of Ireland took place 8000 BC. In the 5th century AD., Christian missionaries brought christianity there. In the middle ages, the island faced Viking and Norman invasions. In 1801, the Ireland became part of the United Kingdom. Irish history is marked with rebellions against British rule, but only 26 counties gained independence in 1922. The Northern Ireland stayed part of the United Kingdom.
- Famous people – Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, U2, Conor McGregor, Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan,….
- Irish symbols and holidays – St. Patrick’s day – March 17th – most famous holiday celebratin the patron Patrick.
