激情澳大利亚
澳大利亚是世界上最大的岛屿和最小的大陆，从草木青翠茂盛的热带雨林，到延绵数百里原始纯净的沙滩；从松林滑雪道、枯萎的沙漠，到令人炫目的、生动的城市，这是一个奇妙的地方。
在这个崇尚自由、多姿多彩的国家，人民生活悠闲兼平易近人，热烈的欢迎及友善的言辞，皆不虞匮乏。无论到澳大利亚何处旅游，到处可见独特的自然景致和令人喝彩的野生动物。
悉尼为全球最美的城市，全世界最适宜居住的地方，全球最受欢迎的城市……，这般众多的形容词，似乎都不足以形容这个美丽的城市所带给旅客的悸动。在天气晴朗时，以蓝天碧海为布幕下的悉尼港湾上，帆影点点，成群的海鸥则优雅的飞翔在波光粼粼的海面上，处处散发出一种悠闲自在的模样。黄昏下的巡游则最为浪漫，在泛黄柔美的光线投射下，悉尼歌剧院与海港大桥更显得优美浪漫。站在甲板上，伴着凉凉的海风，看着远方的天际由鹅黄色转为艳红色，又渐转为黑色，多了点想象空间的悉尼夜晚，有种扑朔迷离的韵味。
您或许会很诧异。无论如何，悉尼确实不是澳大利亚的首都。首都的荣誉尽属于堪培拉--这个整洁、安全、现代的城市，离奥林匹克城西南只有300公里。今天，澳大利亚首都堪培拉更是以清新的空气、翠绿的田园，来欢迎到访客人。堪培拉被形容为一个分布于大公园中的城市，四周围着苍郁的山岳。在蔚蓝的晴空下，旗帜飘飘，色彩飞扬……在宽阔大路和林荫街道上，人们徐徐穿梭……在贝理·格里芬湖（Lake Burley Griffin）沿岸，男女蜿蜒前行……堪培拉实在是一个叫人赞叹的城市，它与自然并存。
澳大利亚充满活力及时尚气息的城市，讨人喜爱。无污染的绿色环境，跟大自然交相辉映，不失活力及刺激的特色，让人流连忘返。到赛马场赌一下运气、试一下由澳大利亚设计师所设计的服饰、观赏歌剧或是静静地坐着呼吸新鲜空气，甚至喝一口冰啤酒，都可以感受到澳大利亚人轻松惬意的生活模式。
Australia is a country of contrasts and is a fascinatingfascinating adj.迷人的， 醉人的， 着魔的 place to visit， with unique fauna and flora found no where else in the world， a coral reef stretching from north to south on both it，s east and west coasts， though the latter， the Great Barrier Reef is better known， and a myriad of other wonderful things to discover， explore and learn about. Not only is it the closest Western country to Asia， it，s also clean， safe and easy to get to.
Australia has come a long way since the days when Captain Cook stumbled ashore to find an aboriginalaboriginal adj.土着的， 原来的 n.土着居民 way of life that went back for tens of thousands of years. Even the outdated images of Crocodile Dundee types swilling beer around the Opera House have long been replaced by a forwardlooking attitude that embraces Australia，s Pacific Rim location and a growing reputation for firstclass cuisine and high fashion notablenotable adj.值得注意的， 显着的， 着名的 in its cosmopolitan， twentyfirst century metropolis， Sydney.
The high quality of life in the country，s effervescent largest city is enhanced by one of the world，s great harbors， but there is far more to Australia city - wise than just Sydney. Its big rival， Melbourne， is blessed with a more European ambienceambience n.周围环境， 气氛， with trams and pavement cafes as much a part of the experience as the buzzing sports and cultural scene， while coastal Darwin， Perth and Brisbane offer other worlds to explore.
Away from the cities， Australia，s stunningly diverse landscape boasts everything from vast， barren deserts， where kangarookangaroo n.［动］袋鼠 and emu bound through the arid surroundings， to tropical rainforests， rugged mountains and pristine beaches， such as worldclass Bondi， Cable Beach and Whitehaven. Then， of course， there，s the epicepic n.史诗， 伟大事迹 adj.英雄的， 壮丽的， 大规模的 monolithmonolith n.独块巨石， 整体塑制品 of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the Great Barrier Reef， where another undiscovered world opens up beneath the surf. With tourist numbers up and interest in Australia never higher， this is the perfect time to bury those anachronistic Crocodile Dundee clichés and discover the real Australia.
Geography
Australia is bounded by the Arafura Sea and Timor Seas to the north， the Coral and Tasman Seas of the South Pacific to the east， the Southern Ocean to the south， and the Indian Ocean to the west. Its coastlinecoastline n.海岸线 covers 36，738km (22，814 miles). Most of the population has settled along the eastern and southeastern coastal strip. Australia is the smallest continent (and the largest island) in the world. About 40 percent of the continent is within the tropics and Australia is almost the same size as the mainland of the United States of America. The terrain is extremely varied， ranging from tortured red desert to lush green rainforestrainforest ［生态］雨林. Australia，s beaches and surfing are world renowned， while the country is also rich in reminders of its mysterious past. These range from prehistoric Aboriginal art to Victorian colonial architecture. The landscape consists mainly of a low plateauplateau n.高地， 高原(上升后的)稳定水平(或时期、状态) mottled with lakes and rivers and skirted with coastal mountain ranges， highest in the east with the Great Dividing Range. There are rainforests in the far northeast (Cape York Peninsula). The southeast is a huge fertile plain. Further to the north lies the enormous Great Barrier Reef， a 2000km (1200 mile) strip of coral that covers a total area of 345，000 sq km. Although Australia is the driest land on Earth， it nevertheless has enormous snowfields the size of Switzerland. There are vast mineral deposits. More detailed geographical descriptions of each State can be found in the individual State entries.
Australian Capital Territory
Canberra is located in the Australian Capital Territory on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range， and was conceived in the early 1900s in order to create a capital city in a federal Statefederal state联邦国家 separate from any of the uniting States. Spectacular green countryside is ringed by mountains nearly 600m (2000ft) above sea level. Lake BurleyGriffin， an artificialartificial adj.人造的， 假的， 非原产地的 lake， is the main feature of this constantly expanding modern capital. Hills， trees and greenery remain prominent among the architecture of a city that is attractive， tidy， spacious and efficient as befits the national capital city.
New South Wales
The landscape ranges from the subtropicalsubtropical adj.亚热带的 north to the Snowy Mountains in the south， which contain Australia，s highest point， Mount Kosciuszko. There are over 1300km (800 miles) of coastline with golden beaches and picturesque waterways and rivers， including the 1900km (1200mile) Murray River.
Northern Territory
A wilderness stretching roughly 1670km (1038 miles) northsouth and 1000km (620 miles) eastwest， the Northern Territory comprisescomprise v.包含， 由……组成 nearly onesixth of Australia. The geography of the Northern Territory is the closest to the popular image of the Great Australian Outback.