Bondi Beach
Australia
Life’s a beach
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Secret beach near Great Ocean Road
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Surf rescue team
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: Your turn to write and talk
Work in pairs.
- Choose one of the beaches in the photographs.
- Write one paragraph about a day at this beach. Describe sounds and smells and what you can feel and see.
- Start a second paragraph. Write one or two sentences about something that suddenly happens.
- Swap what you have written with a partner, and finish each other’s second paragraph.
- Discuss your stories.