Ten words about...

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Source: http://australianetwork.com/life/

About This Australian Life
What is life really like in Australia? How to do people think, interact, communicate, eat, work, play and relax? Join three young recent arrivals from the Asia Pacific region as they experience an 'ordinary' week in Australia. From the mundane (like buying food and doing the dishes) to the lofty (environmental concerns, moral frameworks, community ties), our guests are immersed in the real, intimate workings of Australian homes, families and workplaces and share their reactions and insights via video diaries.

This Australian Life is a new 10-part series that you can watch on TV and online. We are streaming full episodes of the program plus you can download exclusive Learning English videos and transcripts from each episode page.

Episode 1: This Wild Life
Episode 2: This Football Life
Episode 3: This Acting Life
Episode 4: This Sharing Life
Episode 5: This Show Life
Episode 6: This Family Life
Episode 7: This Restaurant Life
Episode 8: This Inner City Life
Episode 9: This Outback Life
Episode 10: This Shearing Life

[ 本帖最后由 pinxinge 于 2-9-2010 15:37 编辑 ]

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Animals living free, that haven’t come from another country, such as local birds and kangaroos, are called wildlife. They are also called native animals.
Many native animals, like this bird, a tawny frogmouth, are active mainly at night – they’re nocturnal.
Feral animals also roam freely, but they are descended from domestic animals that people keep as pets -- like dogs; or for food -- such as pigs; or to carry things -- like horses.
Because some native animals in Australia are the sort of furry mammals that have a pouch – marsupials – their tiny babies sometimes survive car accidents and are rescued and hand-reared by wildlife rescue organisations.
The pouch young need a lot of looking after, like this young kangaroo, which is called a joey.
Where possible the animals that are rescued and released back into the kind of place they naturally live – their habitat.
So that’s wildlife, native, nocturnal, feral, domestic, marsupials, hand-reared, pouch young, joey and habitat.

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In Australia, the type of football played in the southern states is called Australian Rules Football, or footy for short.
It’s played in local clubs, or teams, all through the suburbs.
There are lots of people involved. During a match, there are umpires, who make sure the players follow the rules. There are also goal umpires and boundary umpires.
You’ll also find coaches, who train the players, and strappers, who strap them up when they are hurt.
All players wear a guernsey, a jumper with the team colours on it.
You score with goals, and points, sometimes called behinds. A goal is worth 6 points,
When a player catches the ball, it’s called a mark. If they take a mark, they get a free kick.
You can kick the ball, or you can handpass it – that’s when you knock the ball to another player with your fist.
And when the fans come along and cheer, we call it barracking.
So that’s footy: clubs, umpires, coaches, strappers, guernseys, goals, points, marks, handpasses, and barracking.

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When you go to a theatre, chances are, you find some actors. Actors can be male or female, but sometimes female actors are called actresses.
The most important person is the director, who controls the production, and tells the actors what to do.
A rehearsal is a practice of the play before it opens. There are different types of rehearsals – for example technical, or tech rehearsals, where things like lights, costumes and props are checked.
And there are dress rehearsals, that are a complete performance of the play, but without an audience.
The set is the decoration for the stage – and at the back of the set is the backdrop – often painted, to give a feel of where the play is taking place.
On opening night, the audience arrives.
The actors wait in the wings, just offstage, ready for their cues, or signs to go on.
Sometimes a spotlight is shone on one of the actors – a single, strong light.
In theatre you’ll find dramatic plays, comedies, or, like this show, musicals – filled with songs and dances.
And a musical usually ends with a finale – the last, biggest and loudest scene, with everyone on stage.
And then, hopefully, the audience applauds.
So that’s theatre: actor, director, rehearsal, backdrop, set, wings, audience, spotlight, musical and finale.

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The people who live in a share house are the housemates. The housemates share the cost of day-to-day living, especially the cost of the house itself, the rent. People who pay rent to the owner of a house or flat, are that person’s tenants.
Many share houses manage by pooling money in what is known as a kitty.
From the kitty, the money for bills is taken. These bills are for all of the usual household utilities, like the water and the electricity.
These days the most important utility in a student share house is often the internet connection, or broadband connection.
In most share houses people also share around the jobs that need to be done – the housework. They might do this by drawing up a list of jobs, the roster, showing who will do them and when,. Often when young people start to share a house they’ll want to have a party to celebrate their new house, and that will be their housewarming party.
So that’s sharehouses: housemates, rent, tenants, kitty, bills, utilities, broadband, housework, roster and housewarming party.

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At agricultural shows, people come from the country to show their goods to city people.
And you’ll find lots of rides – just pick how scared you want to be.
One of the favourites is the Ferris Wheel – where you can get a great view without having to hang upside-down.
There’s the grand parade – an opportunity for the farmers whose animals have won prizes to show them off.
One of the favourite things for kids to buy at the Show is fairy floss, which is basically sugar on a stick.
You’ll also find displays of old trades – like blacksmiths and other bushies, or people who live in the bush.
You’ll find animal judging, where the best animal in show is awarded, and of course you’ll find the country folk who bring their animals to town.
And here are the dairy cattle – cows kept for milk to be made into butter, cheese and yoghurt.
The dairy cattle are in their stalls, places where animals sleep.
So that’s the show – rides, ferris wheel, grand parade, fairy floss, blacksmiths, bushies, animal judging, country folk, dairy cattle, stalls.

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The vast majority of Australians live in Urban Areas. Most Australian Families live in the outer parts of these urban areas and these are known as Suburbs.
Suburbs make up the outer fringe of a City. Where as a Suburb is made up mostly of family homes a city is full of tall office buildings and high-rise apartments.
Life in Australian suburbs is historically the setting for the typical Australian Family Life, where children are raised.
One thing that sets the suburban house apart from the city apartment is there is more room in the suburbs so people can have their own Back Yard. This is a great place for the kids to play and for the pets to roam.
Sometimes when people first move to the suburbs they start out in a house that need fixing or Renovating. This can be as simple as patching the cracks and adding a new coat of paint, or perhaps knocking the whole house down and starting again.
On the other side of your back fence you will find your Neighbours. A good neighbour is more than just the person who lives next door; they part of your local Community. They can be a major part of your life; your kids may play together and they might look after your pets when you go away as well as stopping for a chat at the letterbox.
Because of the Suburbs are more spacious than the inner city there is room for community areas like Parks. With so many families living in the suburbs these open spaces are popular for sports and for playing.
Many people that live in the suburbs work in the city. This means that every day they need to Commute to work. This is either by driving their car or by taking Public Transport.

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In restaurants, the head cook in charge in the kitchen is known as a chef.
When you sit down at your table, a waiter or waitress comes along to take your order - to find out what you want to eat and drink.
To help you choose from a variety of dishes, you read the menu.
A small dish to start the meal is an entrée.
That will be followed by a bigger meal – the main course.
Later, if you are still hungry, or you have a sweet tooth, you can order a dessert.
All these dishes have to be cleaned by the dishwasher, using the appliance also known as the dishwasher.
When your meal is finished, the waiter or waitress will bring your bill, so you know how much you have to pay.
In Australia, you don’t have to leave a tip – extra money for the staff, but if you really enjoyed the food and the service, you can.
So that’s restaurants: chef, waiter or waitress, order, menu, entrée, main course, dessert, dishwasher, bill and tip.

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People that choose to live in the inner city often live in an apartment. This is usually part of a large building.
To notify someone in an apartment that you have arrived you use an intercom to speak to them.
An apartment sometimes has an outside balcony or patio where you can sit and look at the view.
Apartments don’t usually have a garden, but a patio is good for keeping plants in pots, or pot plants.
To get around inner city areas people often walk to where they want to go – this makes them pedestrians.
The central part of a city is called the central business district and that is often shortened to cbd.
People often go to the local hotel at night, and that is usually called the pub.
The pub is a good place for people to get together or socialise.
On the weekend inner city people like to go out for a late breakfast or an early lunch. This is called brunch. They also like to go to the farmers market where they can buy fresh food directly from the grower.
So that’s inner city life - apartment, intercom, patio, pot plants, pedestrians, cbd, pub, socialise, brunch and farmers market.

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The great Australian outback is the country, the dry empty inland areas of Australia. It’s also known as the bush.
In the outback, you’ll find need to drive a 4 wheel drive, usually along dirt roads that are called unsealed roads.
If you’re lucky, you’ll come across a country pub, where you can have a beer in their front bar.
You’ll find people camping, sleeping in tents, and often using their rolled up camp bed, or swag.
They might be eating damper – traditional bread made from flour water and salt, baked in a camp oven.
And you’ll find a few trees in the landscape. Some of them are eucalypts –we call them gum trees.
So that’s the outback – the bush, 4 wheel drive, unsealed roads, country pub, front bar, camping, swag, damper, camp oven, and gum trees.

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Sheep shearing is an important industry in Australia. A female sheep is called a ewe.
A lamb is a young sheep, less than 12 months old.
The farmer herds the sheep with the help of a sheep dog.
He drives around the farm in a utility vehicle – known as a ute.
The sheep are organised in pens, and into a race – the narrow rails help to control the animals.
This is useful for dipping, where sheep are sprayed with medicine to protect them from disease.
Inside the shed, the shearer shears the sheep – up to 200 a day.
The rousabout is a wool handler, sweeping the wool from the floor and throwing it onto the table.
Each sheep produces about 4-5 kilograms of wool, known as the fleece.
The wool is sorted and classed into grades, and then pressed into a bale weighing almost 200 kilograms.
So that’s shearing: ewe, lamb, ute, sheep dog, race, dipping, shearer, rousabout, fleece and bale.