Australia

An island country, a whole continent, Australia has a remarkably cohesive personality and one which, much to our surprise, is markedly foreign. It is no longer the infant colony, peopled by British convicts and pioneers, but a maturing, perhaps still somewhat adolescent individual, ruggedly steering a vital new course in life.

Australia is a sprawl of rock and desert, fringed with lush valleys, snow fields, coral spectaculars, storm-stabbed cliffs and rolling beaches, a land rich in minerals, colors, curious flora , 230 species of mammals , 700 of birds, 400 of reptiles, 70 of amphibia, 2, 200 of fish and 50 , 000 species of insects — and seemingly infinite space . Australia is becoming the richest country in the world, materially.

Total area of the continent is about half as big as Europe, or 25 times the size of Britain and Ireland. Population is bunched mainly in coastal cities, the biggest of which are capitals of the country’s states and the federal capital Canberra . Canberra is a model of a planned garden city and is the seat of a major university. It is smallish in size , but big in importance. Sydney is the largest city, and commercial capital of the country.

Throughout the country, the basic accommodation unit is the motel, a flat prefabricated sprawl of bedrooms. But prices are reasonable and, most important, the rooms are excellent and equipped usually with air-conditioning, a refrigerator and tea and coffee making facilities. Bath tubs are rare, as Australians prefer the convenience and hygiene of a shower. Porterage and other services are rare , as Australians don’t like doing a job which smacks of servility. After all, this is the land of equality and opportunity.

參考譯文

澳大利亞

澳大利亞是一個島國, 但同時也是一個完整的大陸, 它具有突出一貫的個性。令人奇怪的是,這種性格同我們顯然不同。澳大利亞已不再是住著英國罪犯和拓荒者的新開辟的殖民地了,而是一個沿著嶄新的生活道路艱難前進的、不斷成熟的、也許仍然比較年輕的國家。

澳大利亞到處都是巖石和沙漠,分布毫無規(guī)則,但四周有青蔥的山谷,披著白雪的原野,形形色色的珊瑚礁,風雨侵蝕的懸崖絕壁和浪花片片的海灘。這片土地富于礦藏,色彩斑斕,擁有各種奇花異草。在這似乎無邊無際的大地上有230種哺乳動物, 700種鳥類,400種爬行動物,70種兩棲動物,2200種魚類和5萬種昆蟲。就物質(zhì)條件來講, 澳大利亞正在變成世界上最富饒的國家。

這片大陸的面積約等于半個歐洲, 或者25倍于英國和愛爾蘭的總面積。人口主要聚集在沿海城市, 其中最大的是澳大利亞各州首府和聯(lián)邦首府堪培拉。堪培拉是一個典型的有計劃性的公園城市, 國內(nèi)一所主要的大學也在這里。這座城市面積有點小, 但政治上很重要。悉尼是全國最大的城市,也是澳大利亞的商業(yè)中心。

澳大利亞的基本旅館住所是汽車旅館, 里邊的臥室是成套的預先設(shè)制好房間, 這種汽車旅館幾乎布滿全國。房租并不貴, 最重要的是房內(nèi)陳設(shè)漂亮,通常有空調(diào)、冰箱和烹茶煮咖啡的設(shè)備。澳大利亞人喜歡既方便又衛(wèi)生的淋浴, 因此很少用浴盆。搬運業(yè)和其他服務(wù)業(yè)也很少, 因為澳大利亞人不喜歡做帶有奴顏婢膝感覺的工作。畢竟這是一個平等的充滿機遇的國家。