e. So many immigrants come to Australia by promise of high paying jobs.Australia has admitted about 4 million immigrants since World War II (1939-1945). About half of the newcomers come from Great Britain. Most of the others come from mainland Europe, especially Italy, Greece, Germany, and the Netherlands. Since the 1970s the number of immigrants from New Zealand and southwest Asia has increased rapidly.About 70 percent of Australias people live in cities of more that 100,000 people. Most city dwellers live in suburbs, the residential areas that extend outward from a central business district. Most families live in single story houses with their own yard and garden. Australian cities have few apartments.The official language of Australia is English. The Australian English includes many British terms but is different from British English in certain ways. The British settlers developed a new vocabulary to describe the many new plants and animals. In some cases they borrowed words from the Aborigines. For example Kangaroo and Koala are Aborigine words. Pioneer settlers in the Australian interior also invented a large and different vocabulary. Ranches became know as stations, wild horses as brundies, and bucking broncos as buckjumpers. Understanding Australias most famous song, Waltzing Matilda, requires translation of many local terms. A matilda is a bedroll and to waltz is to tramp the roads.Every Australian state and the Northern Territory has its own law about education. The federal government regulates education in other areas not assigned to a state or territory, such as islands.Australian children attend elementary school for six to eight years, in some cases including a year of kindergarten, depending on which state or territory. The secondary schools of Australia offer five to six years of education. Half of the students leave school when they reach the age requirement, they may only complete three or four years of secondary educat...
