T: Who can say something about its history?

Sc: 30,000 years ago it was settled by its first settlers. Portuguese explorers came to PNG in 1510s. When World War II broke out, parts of the country were occupied by the Japanese. Papua New Guinea became independent in 1975 but retains strong ties to Australia.

Sd: But I got information about it like this: The first settlers to Papua New Guinea migrated from Southeast Asia probably at least 40,000 years ago during the ice age. At the beginning of World War I (1914-1918) an Australian military force occupied German New Guinea and remained there throughout the war. After Germany's defeat, the League of Nations granted Australia a mandate to rule the German colony, which was renamed the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. Plantation agriculture expanded and the discovery of gold in the 1920s created a gold rush. The Australians extended the education system, but they were generally less concerned with native rights in the mandated territory than in Papua.

T: Very good. Then how did it get its present name?

Se: In 1946 the United Nations granted Australia a trusteeship over the Territory of New Guinea. Although Australia maintained separate statistics for New Guinea, it administered the territory and Papua as one. The two territories increasingly became known as Papua New Guinea, and the native people came to be called Papua New Guineans. The administration continued its efforts to further education and to develop the economy. In order to prepare the territories for eventual autonomy and independence, the Australians sought to encourage democratic institutions. In 1951 a countrywide legislative council was created; it gave way in 1964 to a House of Assembly. On December 1, 1973, Papua and New Guinea became self-governing as Papua New Guinea. The country became fully independent on September 6, 1975.

T: Who can tell me something about its economy?

Sf: Let me have a try. It's a poor country, depending on its agriculture. A lot of children don't have the chance to receive enough education. Though it is rich in beautiful scenery, not many visitors come here because of its high crime rate.

T: What about its education?

Sg: About 73 percent of children enroll in primary school, but very few complete more than a few years of formal education. Children begin attending school at age 7. At age 12 they move from local schools to provincial high schools. A few become eligible to attend national high schools to prepare for university education.

T: Thank you for your wonderful information. It's really a pleasure to share information with each other, isn't it? Thank you again. From the information you collected, we know that PNG is very poor and few of its children complete formal education. Do you think you will volunteer to teach children in PNG if possible? ... Actually, there are already some volunteers there. Let's get to know one of them, Jo. First let's look at the pictures on Pages 29-30.

Ask the students to answer the questions listed in Pre-reading with the help of the pictures.

T: Jo is an Australian woman. She wrote a letter from PNG to her friend along with some pictures. Can you answer the questions in Pre-reading according to the pictures?