Canberra is the eighth largest city in Australia. It is 238 km from Sydney and 507 km from Melbourne. Melbourne was once the capital of Australia. Sydney people also wished to make their city the capital. It was difficult for the government (政府) to choose. Then in 1911 the government chose a place to build the new capital. It was between Sydney and Melbourne, the two largest cities. In 1927 the city became the capital and was named Canberra. “Canberra” means “a place for friends to get together.”

Canberra is a beautiful city with trees and flowers everywhere. There’s a flower festival in September each year. People can enjoy all kinds of beautiful flowers and welcome the spring to arrive. A man-made lake, Lake Bertey Griffin, is in the centre of the city. It’s about 25 km long. People like to ride bikes, walk or run around the lake. In Canberra there are many famous universities like the Australian National University and the University of Canberra. The National Library and the National Museum of Australia are also famous places that people like to visit.

Why was Beijing chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games instead of colder areas such as Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces? When choosing a place for hosting the Winter Olympic Games, 【小题1】. This is because when the temperatures get too low, it will affect the athletes’ performances and can easily lead to injuries.

According to the IOC (国际奥委会), temperatures should be between -12℃ and 2℃. If the temperature is higher, the snow will become softened, which will increase friction (摩擦力), 【小题2】. The athletes are less able to control their movement. So the lowest temperature at the place of a winter Olympic Games should not be below -17℃, 【小题3】, obviously (明显地) not meeting the requirements.

What’s more, a place where water freezes quickly or snowstorms frequently (频繁地) hit is also not a suitable place where athletes can compete outdoors. There are two core meteorological indicators(核心气象指标) for the Winter Olympic Games. One is that the average temperature in February is below 0℃, and the other is that 【小题4】. The average annual (每年的) snowfall in Chongli, Zhangjiakou is 63.5 cm, 【小题5】, and the average winter temperature is 3.3℃. There is snow in this area in winter, but it is not particularly cold. Most of the snow events for the 2022 Winter Olympics were held there.