- Read the text and decide if each sentence is correct or incorrect. Choose the correct answer.
Tasmania – island of many secrets
Most people would find it difficult to locate Tasmania on a map. In fact, many confuse it with Tanzania in Africa. But Tasmania is an island state of Australia located on the edge of the world. Its nearest neighbours are the mainland of Australia to the north and Antarctica to the south.
THE PAST
For thousands of years, the only inhabitants of Tasmania were the native Aborigines. But in the early nineteenth century, when prisons in Britain were very overcrowded, it became an island prison for convicts (prisoners). The last prisoners were transported in 1852 and by that time around 70 000 convicts had been sent to the island. If they survived their hard life in the prisons, the convicts were eventually set free to begin their lives at the other end of the world. They built towns and villages that would remind them of their home.
THE ISLAND’S SECRETS
Tasmania today is a wonderful place to visit. For a start, it is unlike any other place on Earth. More than 40 per cent of the island is protected or has World Heritage status. The land is covered in mountains and there are many beautiful beaches, pretty cities and lively towns and villages.
It is also a place of extremes. It has Australia’s deepest lake, oldest theatre, rarest fish and longest cave. It is proud to have the world’s tallest flowering plant and the most ancient trees on the planet. It is the home of the Tasmanian devil, the world’s largest meat-eating marsupial. And according to the locals, Tasmania has the cleanest air and the purest water in the world! No wonder they believe that their home is the finest place on Earth.
TODAY
With its rich variety of scenery, touring the island by car is one of the most popular ways of seeing it. But many people like to go on long bushwalks when they visit. A popular walk is the Overland Track. It is a 65-kilometre walk through dramatic scenery in the Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park. But if six days of walking is not for you, many of the island’s rainforests can be seen by boat, while cruising down the world-famous Gordon River. And a visit to Tasmania would not be complete without an evening ghost tour of the historic Port Arthur site, the prison built by the convicts themselves!
1. Most people do not really know where Tasmania is. [Correct]
2. Nobody lived in Tasmania before the prisoners arrived in the nineteenth century. [Incorrect]
3. The convicts sent to Tasmania spent the rest of their lives in prison. [Incorrect]
4. The whole island is a protected World Heritage site. [Incorrect]
5. In Tasmania you can see the oldest theatre in the world. [Incorrect]
6. Tasmania’s forests have the oldest trees in the world. [Correct]
7. Tasmania’s air and water are of a very high quality. [Correct]
8. Many people drive around Tasmania when they visit. [Correct]
9. The only way to see Tasmania’s forests is on foot. [Incorrect]
10. You can go on a ghost tour of the Port Arthur site any time of day.[Incorrect]