A beach that was washed away by storms more than 30 years ago has reappeared off the west coast of Ireland. The sands at Dooagh on County Mayo’s Achill Island vanished in the winter of 1984, leaving nothing but bare rocks and rock pools. But over the course of a few days in April 2017 the Atlantic returned what it had stolen, bringing in thousands of tons of sand and creating a brand new 300-meter golden strand(海岸).

The storms of 1984 “completely took every last grain of sand off the beach,” Sean Molloy of Achill Tourism said. But last month, “about eight or ten days, these very strong winds came from the north.” he explains. “Apparently, it blows the surface water back, because this is a south-facing beach. The sea then takes the sands underneath and brings the sands up. That’s what I’ve been told.”

Achill is Ireland’s largest island. Beaches have inspired writers including Graham Greene. With a population of fewer than 3,000, the main economy is tourism and the arrival of the new beach has given things an unexpected boost. “It’s lovely,” says Roisin Lavelle, owner of Teach Cruachan B&B. “Mostly all you see is waves and rocks, so it has been really lovely to see a big expanse(一大片) of sand.”

Molloy estimates that Achill receives around 150,000 to 180,000 visitors a year, but the sunshine and the new beach have been bringing in the crowds. This past weekend “looked like a bank holiday(法定假日) weekend, so many people came”.

“But while the beach is wonderful for an Atlantic walk,” Heinrich Boll, the manager of Cruachan B&B said, “we don’t recommend people to swim there right now. Because of the sand coming in, we don’t know how safe the beach is now because currents could be changed and it’ll take a little bit of time.” It’s best to leave the swimming to the dolphins which regularly arrive in Dooagh Bay in large numbers.

“A lot of people come to Achill to look at the power of nature because you see the cliffs and the beaches and mountains,” says Molloy. “This is just one very vivid example of the power of nature.”

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1.What does the underlined word “vanished” in the first paragraph mean?

A Washed.

B Disappeared.

C Returned.

D Blew.

解析：选B。词义猜测题。根据第一段中的leaving nothing but bare rocks and rock pools可以得知那里的沙滩“消失”了。故选B。

2.Who stole the golden strand in 1984?

A Storms.

B Strong rivers.

C Bare rocks.

D Rock pools.

解析：选A。细节理解题。根据第二段第一句的The storms of 1984 "completely took every last grain of sand off the beach”可以得知是暴风带走了沙子。故选A。

3.Who once wrote about Achill?

A Roisin Lavelle.

B Sean Molloy.

C Graham Greene.

D Heinrich Boll.

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据第三段第一、二句的Achill is Ireland's largest island. Beaches have inspired writers including Graham Greene可以得知Graham Greene到这个岛上寻找写作灵感，因此可以推知该作家写过关于小岛的内容。故选C。

4.Why does the manager of Cruachan B&B ask people not to swim there ?

A Because the beach is just suitable for people to walk.

B Because the beach has a great number of dolphins.

C Because the beach receives 180,000 visitors a year.

D Because the beach may be dangerous for people to swim.

解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第五段第二句的we don't know how safe the beach is now because currents could be changed and it'll take a little bit of time可以得知由于水流可能会改变方向，因此在那里游泳是不安全的，所以他不建议人们在那里游泳。故选D。