Тексты для восприятия и понимания речи на слух к учебному пособию для гимназий и лицеев Английский язык/Англійская мова. 11 класс”. Минск. Вышэйшая школа, 2015. Unit 1: Family

When he turned 17 everyone around already understood it was the beginning of a fascinating sports career. For two decades Wayne Gretzky dominated the game of hockey. He went from one hockey team to another, played and scored in Canada and in the USA. Gretzky had a certain grace and his own style when he played that made him the Michael Jordan of hockey.

Gretzky's domination helped him re-write the record books of National Hockey League. He has held or shared 61 NHL records and scored 894 goals. Gretzky was also partially responsible for the fact that hockey matches in National League grew in popularity in the United States. Almost immediately after he retired in 1999, Gretzky was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame. He has statues in honour of him in front of the Los Angeles Kings' home arena.

But not only is he a fantastic hockey player! After he retired, Wayne Gretzky took part in charity work to put smiles on a million children's faces. Together with his wife and five children he attended and helped in many projects in Canada and abroad.

When people think of Australia they usually think of koalas, kangaroos, surfing or the Great Barrier Reef. In many ways Australia is a unique country which remains half-unknown. The country is officially called the Commonwealth of Australia. The name Australia comes from Latin australis meaning southern, and dates back to the 2^nd century legends of an ‘unknown southern land’ (that is terra australis incognita). As Australia lies in the southern hemisphere people often call it ‘the land down under’ since it lies south of the equator, 'below' many other countries on the globe.

Australia is an island continent and also the only continent occupied by a single nation. It consists of the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the smallest and least populated of the inhabited continents. Most of the population lives on or near the coast in the east and south of the country. Australia contains six states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania) and two internal territories (the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory). Canberra is Australia's capital city but the largest city is Sydney.

It is also the driest continent on earth with the average annual rainfall of less than 600 millimetres. Like all countries in the southern hemisphere, Australia's seasons are opposite to those in the northern hemisphere. December to February is summer; March to May is autumn; June to August is winter; and September to November is spring.

The geography of the country is extremely diverse, ranging from the snow-capped mountains of the Australian Alps and Tasmania to large deserts, tropical and temperate forests. It is the flattest continent. Mountain Kosciuszko with a height of 2,228 metres is the highest mountain on the Australian continent.

Although Australia is a small continent, it is the sixth largest country in the world: only Russia, Canada, the United States, China, and Brazil have larger areas.

Australia's first inhabitants, its indigenous population or the Aboriginal people, are believed to have migrated from some unknown point in Asia to Australia between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago. While Captain James Cook is credited with Australia's European discovery in 1770, a Portuguese possibly first sighted the country, while the Dutch are known to have explored the coastal regions in the 1640s.

The first European settlement of Australia was in January 1788. It was established by the British Empire as a penal colony, though by the 1830s the number of free settlers was increasing.

Of Australia's 17.7 million inhabitants, about 23 percent were born elsewhere, and 1.5 percent are of aboriginal descent. Over 86 percent of Australia's people live in cities, yet only 10 percent of its area is cultivated. Australia enjoys one of the world's highest standards of living – it is the 16th among the industrialized nations. It is a diverse, technologically advanced industrial economy, which leads the world in wool production and coal exports.

Australia’s best-known animals are the kangaroo, koala, platypus, wombat and spiny anteater. Almost half of the mammals are marsupials. There are over 60 species of kangaroo, ranging from some that stand as tall as a man to others as small as cats. Of the bird species listed in Australia, 400 – including the large, flightless emu – are found nowhere else. There are 55 species of parrots in Australia, and one of the earliest navigators suggested the Australian continent should be called ‘the land of parrots’.

The Australian National Flag has three elements on a blue background. The Union Jack acknowledges Australia’s historical links with the United Kingdom. Below the Union Jack is a white Commonwealth Star. It has seven points representing the unity of the six states and the territories of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Southern Cross is shown on the right hand side of the flag. This constellation of five stars can be seen only from the southern hemisphere and is a reminder of Australia’s geography.

The Australian coat of arms consists of a shield with the symbols of all the six states. The kangaroo and emu are the native animals that hold the shield with pride. Some say the kangaroo and emu were chosen to symbolise a nation moving forward. This is based on the common belief that neither animal can move backwards easily.

It’s not really so. The matter is that Australia has never adopted any official faunal emblem. By popular tradition, however, the kangaroo and emu are widely accepted as such.

The golden wattle, also found on the coat of arms, was proclaimed the official national floral emblem in August 1988. Above, there is the Commonwealth Star. The national colours are green and gold.

Yes, that is the Australian Aboriginal Flag. It is a flag that represents Indigenous Australians. It is one of the official "Flags of Australia", and holds special legal and political status, but it is not the Australian National Flag. It was designed in 1971 by Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas. Black here represents the Aboriginal people of Australia; red represents the red earth and a spiritual relation to the land and yellow – the Sun, the giver of life and protector.

No, it isn’t. ‘Advance Australia Fair' was adopted as the National Anthem in 1984. It replaced ‘God Save the Queen', which became the Royal Anthem and was played only during the monarch's presence. ‘Waltzing Matilda', a bush ballad, Australia's best-known song, was written in about 1895 and today is considered the unofficial national anthem.

Once a jolly swagman sat beside a billabong

You’ll come a Waltzing Matilda with me

You’ll come a Waltzing Matilda with me

And he sang as he sat and he waited by the billabong

You’ll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Up jumped the swagman and seized him with glee

You’ll come a Waltzing Matilda with me

Down came the stockman riding on his thoroughbred

You’ll come a Waltzing Matilda with me

Up jumped the swagman and plunged into the billabong

If you're an exhausted employee suffering from the Monday blues you may be considering taking another job. How do you fancy applying for the position of a park ranger, outback adventurer or even ‘chief funster’?

These are some of the roles on offer as part of Tourism Australia’s ‘Best Job in the World’ competition, with each position offering the successful applicant a six-month contract in the sun and a $100,000 salary package. The competition is revived after the success of Tourism Australia’s campaign to find a 'caretaker' of Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef in 2009 who would share his or her experiences through social media channels and blogs.

But this time, there are not one but six dream jobs on offer from every state of the country, including an outback adventurer in the Northern Territory; a park ranger in Queensland; a wildlife caretaker in South Australia; a ‘lifestyle photographer’ in Melbourne, Victoria; a ‘taste master’ in Western Australia; and ‘chief funster’ in New South Wales. These six extraordinary jobs in six extraordinary areas, collectively represent the best of our country and the best that Australian tourism has to offer the world’s youth travellers.

Tourism Australia said the initiative was part of a campaign to promote Australia’s 12-month Working Holiday Maker visa programmes for 18 to 30 year olds.

The best job in the world. Part 2

Briton Ben Southall beat over 34,000 applicants from over 200 countries to win the dream job in 2009, which required him ‘to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel, make friends with the locals and generally enjoy the tropical Queensland climate and lifestyle.’

After winning Tourism Australia's competition in 2009, Mr Southall stayed in five-star resorts and enjoyed jet skiing and diving on Australia's stunning Hamilton Island. But Mr Southall said that he found the “dream job” exhausting due to the combination of long hours and a strong work ethic. “It should have been called, ‘the busiest job in the world’,” he joked.

Ben also had a close meeting with death soon after he started the role after he was stung by a poisonous jellyfish. After his contract was over, Ben Southall was offered the job of 'tourism ambassador'. 'The job has allowed me to have adventures and keep exploring, write about it and learn new skills like filming, editing, presenting, public speaking and TV work,' he said.

The world’s greatest tennis players come to Melbourne Park in January for the Australian Open, the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific and the first Grand Slam title of the tennis season. While the international stars of tennis battle it out for the trophy on the court, festivities continue all day round. There are night-time music concerts and continuous live entertainment on and off the court. The Australian Open is a sporting event that combines the fun and enjoyment of tennis with social and cultural activities that celebrate Australia's love of the great outdoors.

The castle was built in the late 15th or early 16th century (the first reference to it dates from 1531) by the Ilyinichi family. The initial work consisted of building the walls and towers in the Gothic style but it was subsequently extended and reconstructed, first in the Renaissance and then in the Baroque style. In 1569 the castle passed to the Radziwill family. It was badly damaged during the Napoleonic period, in 1794 and again in 1812, and it remained in a state of ruinous abandon until the late 19th century. The complex was purchased by the Duke of Svyatopolk-Mirsky, who began laying out a landscape park with a lake. A new palace (destroyed in 1914) and other structures (chapel, watchman's house, etc) were erected within the grounds. The old castle survived as a romantic ruin. Some restoration work was carried out in the 1920s and 1930s. During World War II it served as a prison camp and a ghetto. Restoration did not start until 1982.

The Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh is located in central Belarus. The Radziwill dynasty, who built and kept the ensemble from the 16th century until 1939, gave birth to some of the most important personalities in European history and culture. In 1706, the Castle was occupied by the Swedes, who destroyed the fortifications. After their departure, the Castle was renovated by Michal Radziwill in 1732-58, who used architects from Germany, Italy, Poland and Belarus. In the 19th century, the castle remained uninhabited until the ownership passed to Antoni Radziwill and his French wife Maria de Castellane, who renovated the interiors in 1881-86. They also designed and built the romantic landscape park around the castle complex (1878–1911). After 1939, it was first taken over by the Soviet army, and subsequently the Germans used it as military hospital. From 1945 to 2001, it was used as a sanatorium. Since then it has been subject to restoration and adaptation to use as museum and as a cultural and visitor centre. In 2002, a fire destroyed the upper part of the residence and a part of the gallery, which were rebuilt in 2003.