宜居的澳大利亚

文/Diego

Australia,theworld’ssixth-largestcountryby totalarea,isthelargestcountryinOceania（大洋洲）,andtheonlycountryintheworldthatoccupies（占据）anentirecontinent（大陆）.However,witha populationoflessthan24million,itsdensity（密度）isamere3.2personspersquarekilometer,which ranks236thworldwide.Withsuchavastterritory（领土）,abundant（充足的）resources,beautifulscenery（景色）andsmallpopulation,Australiaisregarded thesecond-bestcountrytolivein.

作为全世界面积第六大国家的澳大利亚，是大洋洲面积最大的国家，也是全世界唯一一个国土覆盖整个大陆的国家。然而，澳大利亚人口不到2400万，平均每平方公里只有约3.2人，人口密度位居世界第236位。这里地大物博、空旷美丽，在2017年被评为全世界第二大宜居国家。

澳大利亚人习惯了广阔的空间和多样化的户外活动，也因此拥有了全世界闻名的“放松文化”（laid-back culture）。

Australians are used to wide open spaces,diverse（多种多样的）outdooractivities,andtheir world-renown laid-back culture.

Surfers’Paradise

Surrounded by the ocean,Australia enjoys a coast of almost 37,000 kilometers long.With the Pacific Ocean to the east,Southern Ocean to the south,and the Indian Ocean to the west,residents（居民）in different cities of Australia are provided with abundant beaches and endless surfing opportunities.No matter what level a surfing lover is at,he can always find the best beach to match his skill in Australia.

冲浪者的天堂

澳大利亚四面环海，海岸线绵延近37 000千米，东边的太平洋、南边的南大洋和西边的印度洋一起，为澳大利亚不同城市的居民提供了各式各样的海滩和无尽的冲浪机会。无论是什么水平的冲浪爱好者，都能在澳大利亚找到最适合自己的海滩。

在澳大利亚沿海城市旅行，你总会看到冲浪者带着冲浪板在蓝天碧海中踏水而行的身影。这里的冲浪者，从来不分年纪和时间。当其他国家的小朋友们还在蹒跚学步之时，澳大利亚的孩子们早已在海水中开始了别样的探索。日出或黄昏之时，只要有浪，就会有踏浪者肆意追逐海浪的身姿。澳大利亚人对大海的热爱，已经远远超过了全世界任何其他的国家。

无怪乎，这里被称作“冲浪者的天堂”。位于澳大利亚昆士兰州黄金海岸的“冲浪者的天堂”海滩，更是名不虚传，不断吸引来自世界各地的游客前往。

放轻松

作为全世界经济最发达的国家之一，澳大利亚人也许有全球最高的工作效率，却很幸运地没有全球最长的工作时间。

澳大利亚人喜欢“娱乐”，更喜欢通过娱乐让生活变得轻松。在澳大利亚人心目中，一个不懂得放轻松的人，很难是一个值得信赖的工作伙伴。一个典型的澳大利亚人一天24小时的分配应该是这样的：8小时工作，8小时休息，8小时娱乐。无论是在悉尼、墨尔本还是珀斯，假如你在工作日的下午四五点钟走在小区的公园里，会看到爸爸带着孩子们打球、玩耍；周末的阳光之下，三两朋友在海边要么享受太阳浴，要么美滋滋地边烧烤边喝冰啤酒。

Travelling along the coast of Australia,visitors will always spot（看到）surfers having fun in the ocean on their surfboards.There is no age or time limit for surfers in Australia.When kids in other countries start to learn to walk,Australian children are exploring（探索）a different kinds of fun in the ocean.When the sun rises or during the evenings,as long as the waves are there,surfers will be chasing（追赶）after the waves.The amount of passion that Australians have for the ocean has surpassed（超越）all other people around the world.

No wonder it is called“Surfers’Paradise”,not to mention “The Surfers’ Paradise Beach” in Queensland of Australia,which has been attracting millions of visitors all over the world.

世界上很难再找出一个像澳大利亚一样喜欢用缩略词的国家了“W ish you have a good day”（祝你有美好的一天）在澳洲人口中常常被简化成“g day”，连和女王面对面也不会多加一词；“breakfast”（早餐） 说成“breakky”；“barbeque”（烧 烤） 说 成“barbie”；就连澳大利亚大型连锁超市W oolworth（伍尔沃斯）在当地人口中也被缩减成更为亲切的“woolies”。缩略和简化给澳大利亚人的生活带来了便利，更增加了奇妙的趣味性。

多样化

源自拉丁语的“澳大利亚”一词原意是“未知的南方大陆”。早在18世纪末期，当英国人将无处安放的“罪犯”发配到当时被看作一般人不愿踏足的澳大利亚作为惩罚时，“罪犯”们是没有基本人权和其他权利的。与同期到达的官员相比，“罪犯”和他们的后代永远无法超越“高人一等”的管理层，任何希望改变自己阶级和现状的追求都是无法企及的白日梦而已。而原本就居住在澳大利亚的原住民们，也一并被当时到达的英国官员们列为“需要改造的人群”，被驱逐出自己的家园，或者通过强制性带走孩童并进行教育的方式，来去除在当时管理人员眼中“粗俗的文化”。正是因为这曾经带有浓厚歧视色彩的政策，让后来的澳大利亚人不断反思。随着时间的推移，那些最早的移民者，成为第一批澳大利亚人，将“平等”和“权利”看得无比珍重，也逐渐形成了澳大利亚人人平等的文化。

Relax

As one of the most developed countries in the world,Australians might have the highest working efficiency globally,but fortunately not the longest working hours.

Australians love to “relax”,and enjoy making life better through relaxation.To Australians,a person who doesn’t know how to relax can hardly be a reliable（可靠的）co-worker.A typical 24-hour day for Australians should be：8-hour work,8-hour rest and 8-hour recreation. From Sydney to Melbourne to Perth,at 4 or 5 o’clock in a work day afternoon,you will see fathers playing ball and hanging out with their children.On sunny weekends,friends enjoy laying on the beach, enjoying a barbecue or some cold beer.

There is hardly any other culture in the world that like shortening words like Australians.“Wish you a good day”is “g day”,even when talking to the Queen. “Brekkie” is the nickname for“breakfast”, “barbie”for “barbeque”,and even big chain supermarket “Woolworth”is called“Woolies”by Australians.Shortening and simplification（简单化）brought conveniences and fun to Australians’lives.

D iversity

Derived from the Latin language,the name“Australia”meant“the unknown south land”.In late 1700s,when the British sent“criminals”（罪犯）away from the overcrowded prisons in England to Australia,the faraway place where no one really wanted to go as a punishment,convict（囚犯）settlers were deprived of basic human rights along with some other authority figures. Compared to the governors that were sent over to manage, the convicts could never improve their social status（地位；身份）and wished they could work hard to change their class and the situation.As for the aboriginals（土著居民的）who were residing（定居）in Australia long before the white settlement,they were expelled（驱逐）from their own homes,or their younger generations were taken away by force to be educated to erase（抹去；擦除）their“uncivilized culture”.Because of these racist（种族歧视者）policies back then,modern-day Australians have restored various rights to improve the aboriginal’s lives.With the time passing by,those earliest settlers,who became the first Australians,treasured and believed in equality and human rights,which developed into the equal culture in Australia.

Australia today is still an immigrant（移民）country,welcoming and accepting different cultures with open arms. One fourth of the Australian population was born abroad.Walking on the streets of Australia,it is easy to see people of all skin colors living in harmony（和谐）.

Warm sunshine,the never fading Australian blue,wide but never crowded beaches,all make Australia one of the top tourist destinations（目的地）and the best countries to live in around the world.

今天的澳大利亚，依然保持着其移民国家的特色，张开双臂欢迎和容纳不同的文化。澳大利亚人口的四分之一出生在澳大利亚以外的其他国家，而走在澳大利亚不同城市的街头，你可以看到各种肤色的人群和谐共处。

温暖但不灼人的阳光，永远可以期待的澳洲蓝，广阔却很少拥挤的海滩，都让澳大利亚成为全世界最受人欢迎的旅行目的地和最宜居的国家之一。

（中文仅供文意参考，请勿逐字逐句对比学习）