Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada

The specific part of maturita topic 14 (Climate and weather, fauna and flora), at B2 level: the geography, climate and weather of four English-speaking countries and how they compare. Each country starts with a short profile; the comparison table and the typical questions are at the end.

Australia

• Basic facts: the only country that is also a continent; about 7.7 million km² and about 27 million people. The capital is Canberra, the largest cities are Sydney and Melbourne. It has six states and two territories. It is a constitutional monarchy – King Charles III is the head of state, represented by the Governor-General.
• Geography: most of the interior, called the Outback, is flat, dry desert or semi-desert, with the famous red rock Uluru (Ayers Rock), a sacred place of the Aboriginal people. The Great Dividing Range runs along the east coast; its highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m), is the highest point of the continent. Off the north-east coast lies the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef system in the world, which can even be seen from space. The longest river is the Murray.
• Climate and weather: tropical in the north, with a wet and a dry season; desert in the centre; temperate in the south-east and south-west, where most people live. The seasons are reversed – Christmas is in summer. Australia often suffers from droughts, heatwaves and bushfires, which are getting worse because of climate change.
• Fauna and flora: Australia is famous for unique animals, especially marsupials, which carry their young in a pouch – the kangaroo, the koala, which eats only eucalyptus leaves, and the wombat. Other typical animals are the platypus, a mammal that lays eggs, the emu, a big bird that cannot fly, and many dangerous snakes, spiders and crocodiles. The most common tree is the eucalyptus.

New Zealand

• Basic facts: two main islands, the North Island and the South Island, about 2,000 km south-east of Australia; about 270,000 km² and 5.3 million people. The capital is Wellington, the largest city Auckland. The original inhabitants are the Māori; the Māori language and New Zealand Sign Language are official languages, while English is used in everyday life.
• Geography: the country lies on the border of two tectonic plates, so there are earthquakes and volcanoes. The North Island has active volcanoes, hot springs and geysers around Rotorua, and the largest lake, Taupo. The South Island is covered by the Southern Alps, with Aoraki / Mount Cook (3,724 m), glaciers and deep fjords such as Milford Sound. The landscapes were made famous by The Lord of the Rings films.
• Climate and weather: mild and temperate, influenced by the ocean, with plenty of rain, especially on the west coast. Winters are cool rather than cold, except in the mountains, and the weather can change quickly.
• Fauna and flora: because the islands were isolated for millions of years, about 80 % of the plants and many animals live nowhere else. The national symbol is the kiwi, a small brown bird that cannot fly – New Zealanders call themselves “Kiwis”. There were no native land mammals apart from bats, but there are millions of sheep – several for every person.

Ireland

• Basic facts: the island west of Great Britain is divided into the Republic of Ireland (about 70,000 km², about 5.4 million people, capital Dublin) and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. The Republic is a member of the EU and uses the euro; its official languages are Irish (Gaelic) and English.
• Geography: a flat, green centre with lakes, bogs and fields surrounded by low mountains along the coast. The highest mountain is Carrauntoohil (1,039 m), the longest river the Shannon. The west coast is rocky and wild, with the Cliffs of Moher and the Wild Atlantic Way.
• Climate and weather: a mild, wet oceanic climate influenced by the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream – no great heat, no hard frost, but a lot of rain and wind, sometimes several kinds of weather in one day. That is why the country is so green and is called the Emerald Isle.
• Fauna and flora: green meadows full of cattle and sheep, peat bogs and wild flowers. According to legend, St Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland – in fact there have been none since the Ice Age. The national symbol is the shamrock.

Canada

• Basic facts: the second largest country in the world (almost 10 million km²), but with only about 41 million people, most of whom live within a few hundred kilometres of the border with the USA. The capital is Ottawa, the largest city Toronto; other important cities are Montreal and Vancouver. It has ten provinces and three territories, and two official languages – English and French, which is spoken mainly in Quebec. It is a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as head of state.
• Geography: the Rocky Mountains in the west, with Mount Logan (5,959 m) in the Yukon as the highest peak; huge prairies in the middle; the rocky Canadian Shield with thousands of lakes and forests; and the Arctic islands in the north. Canada has the longest coastline in the world and more lakes than any other country, including part of the Great Lakes. The Niagara Falls are on the border with the USA; the Canadian part is called the Horseshoe Falls.
• Climate and weather: mostly continental, with long, very cold winters and short, warm summers; the far north is arctic. The west coast around Vancouver is much milder and rainier thanks to the Pacific Ocean. Snowstorms and severe frost are common – that is why ice hockey is the national winter sport.
• Fauna and flora: huge forests of conifers and maples – the maple leaf is on the flag – and wild animals such as the beaver (the national animal), the moose, grizzly and polar bears, wolves and caribou.

Comparison

Weather and climate vocabulary

Useful phrases

• The climate is much milder / harsher than in the Czech Republic.
• It hardly ever snows there, whereas…
• What they have in common is that…
• The biggest difference between… and… is…
• I’d rather live in…, because I can’t stand…
• Climate change is making… worse.

Questions the examiner may ask

Try to answer each question in two or three sentences, then click on the hint to compare.