Bondi Beach
Australia
Life’s a beach
Life’s a beach
Part 1
Listen to Dave, who grew up near Sydney, talking about something he misses. Click on the audio button and close your eyes. Do not look at the transcript.
Australian slang:
arvo – afternoon
mate – friend
yakka – work
defo – definitely
Now do Part 1: Getting the gist and Checking details.
back to topPart 2
The coastline of mainland Australia is 30,000 km long, and there are thousands of incredibly beautiful beaches. There are busy city beaches with numerous cafes and restaurants, well-known tourist beaches like Bondi Beach in Sydney and countless unspoiled beaches in the coastal national parks.
Unlike in Norway, beaches are also used for big celebrations. You’ll find big crowds on the city beaches watching the firework displays marking the New Year, and international tourists, in particular, flock to Bondi Beach on Christmas Day. How do you celebrate Norway’s National Day? Many families celebrate Australia Day (26 January) on the beach, and there are often organised sports, competitions and community barbeques.
With so many people on the beach and in the sea, things can go wrong. There are sharks off the coast in some areas. That may be one reason why the slang name for body boards is shark biscuits! Tides can be very strong, too, so it’s good there are life-savers on many of the busiest beaches. As a matter of fact, Australia was the first country in the world to start a Surf Live Saving Club, in 1907. Life-savers are volunteers who help people who are in trouble, and every year many lives are saved. A great number of teenagers train to be surf life-savers. They learn first aid and water safety skills, they make friends and compete in surf sports. What’s not to like about spending a day on the beach?
Now do Part 2: Checking details, Word building and Your turn to write and talk.
back to topPart 2: Word building
In Australia people are told to be SunSmart. What do you think this means?
- Brainstorm some ideas with a partner. Do not check online.
- Look at this video.
- Send your first ideas and what you learnt from the video to another pair for feedback.
- Look at an older video.
- What are the differences between the two videos? Which do you like best, and why?