1 . When most of us think of sand, we immediately think of sunny beaches and summer holidays. But actually it’s in pretty much everything that surrounds us in our everyday lives. From the walls of our homes to the glass bottles in our kitchens and even the mobile phones in our hands. Sand is the second most used resource in the world after water: it accounts for more than two-thirds of everything that’s being dug out of the ground. But there isn’t a limitless supply. In fact, a UN report says we might be running out.
According to the report, we use an estimated 15 billion tons of sand every year in the construction industry alone. That’s enough to build a 20m × 20m wall around the equator every year. However, sand can take tens of thousands of years to form: the process starts with rock being eroded(侵蚀) in the mountains and ends, eventually, with sand being in river beds and on the seafloor.
Sand is heavy and difficult to transport, so in developing countries, sand is often mined from the nearest convenient source, and quite often that means a river bed or beach. But beaches and rivers are delicately balanced ecosystems and when a large amount of sand is removed, the balance is upset. The smallest fish, which eat organic matter on the sand in river beds, from the base of the food chain in a river. If this sand is removed, so is the source of food for the bottom feeders. All organisms in a food chain share the joys and the sorrows. Thus, when they disappear, so does the food for the larger fish which would have been caught and eaten, or sold by fishermen.
It is high time we took into consideration the big problem concerning the tiny thing. More and more conservationists are calling for alternatives to sand especially in the construction industry.
1. Why are the things in our daily life mentioned in the beginning?| A．To show the uses of sand. | B．To indicate our relationship with nature. |
| C．To introduce our lifestyles. | D．To stress the convenience of modern life. |
| A．Sand is actually our most used natural resource. |
| B．Sand is used more quickly than it’s formed. |
| C．The construction industry doesn’t use sand wisely. |
| D．The problem of washing sand is worsening. |
| A．The river beds. | B．The fishermen. |
| C．The larger fish. | D．The smallest fish. |
| A．The world is running out of sand | B．Alternatives to sand will be found soon |
| C．Sand mining is unfriendly to nature | D．Sand is in need of immediate conservation |
