Экзаменационный (типовой) материал ОГЭ / Английский / 13-19 задание / 60

         The Aboriginal people are the people who lived in Australia before the Europeans arrived. Archaeologists believe that they have lived in Australia for about 50,000 to 60,000 years! Today, they make up a little more than two percent of the population of Australia.
         In the past, the Aboriginal people were hunters and gatherers. This means that they lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering plants. They did not live all the time in one place. Instead, they moved around the continent when they needed to find more food to eat. The Aboriginal people had, and still have, a strong respect for and connection to the land and nature. You can see that almost in every part of their culture, from food and shelter to art and religion.
         Things quickly changed for the Aboriginal people when Europeans began arriving in Australia in 1788. They brought illnesses that the Aboriginal people had never had before. The Aboriginal people also had to fight for the land that was theirs. There were many years of difficult times. The Aboriginal people had to learn to live in a society that was very different from how they had lived before. They had to fight to keep their culture alive. At the time of European occupation, there were over 700 different Aboriginal languages and dialects spoken in Australia. Now there are less than 250 still in use.
         The situation started to improve for the Aboriginal people in the 1960s. They were finally given the right to vote. Later, the Australian government also began trying to make up for some of the unfair treatment the people had suffered. They returned some of the land to the Aboriginal people that had been taken more than a century before.
         The contributions of Aboriginal people to Australia can be seen in many areas. For example, they created the boomerang, a curved piece of wood that has been used both as a weapon and for sport. Aboriginal rock paintings can be found in caves in many areas of Australia. Some are believed to be 30,000 years old. The didgeridoo is a well-known Australian musical instrument. It is a straight trumpet made from a hollow piece of wood or bamboo. Some people believe it may be one of the world’s oldest wind musical instruments.
         The Aboriginal people are an important and valuable part of Australian society. Today, many still live a traditional lifestyle in the bush, or Australian wilderness. Others have become a part of modern-day Australian culture and live in cities around the country. Their influences can be found in many aspects of Australian life.

13. A long time ago, the Aboriginal people used to be farmers.