IntroductiontoAustralia 　　Inlandarea,AustraliaisthesixthlargestnationafterRussia,Canada,China,theUnitedStatesofAmericaandBrazil.Ithas,however,arelativelysmallpopulation.澳大利亚地域宽广却人口稀少. 　　Australiaistheonlynationtogovernanentirecontinentanditsoutlyingislands.Themainlandisthelargestislandandthesmallest,flattestcontinentonEarth.Itliesbetween10°and39°Southlatitude.澳大利亚的地理位置（经度、纬度）以及土地概况. 　　Thehighestpointonthemainland,MountKosciuszko,isonly2228metres.ApartfromAntarctica,Australiaisthedriestcontinent. 　　Australiaisthedriestinhabitedcontinentonearth.Itsinteriorhasoneofthelowestrainfallsintheworldandaboutthree-quartersofthelandisaridorsemi-arid.Itsfertileareasarewell-watered,however,andtheseareusedveryeffectivelytohelpfeedtheworld.Sheepandcattlegrazeindrycountry,butcaremustbetakenwiththesoil.SomegrazinglandbecamedesertwhenthelongcyclesthatinfluencerainfallinAustraliaturnedtodrought. 　　TheAustralianfederationconsistsofsixStatesandtwoTerritories.Mostinlandbordersfollowlinesoflongitudeandlatitude.ThelargestState,WesternAustralia,isaboutthesamesizeasWesternEurope. 　　ImmigrationisanimportantfeatureofAustraliansociety.Since1945,oversixmillionpeoplefrom200countrieshavecometoAustraliaasnewsettlers.MigrantshavemadeamajorcontributiontoshapingmodernAustralia.Peoplebornoverseasmakeupalmostonequarterofthetotalpopulation.