sand
sand — 名詞
1. the tiny broken pieces of rock and minerals that cover the ground in deserts and
沙子
岩石碎粒，分布在沙灘和沙漠
the tiny broken pieces of rock and minerals that cover the ground in deserts and form the soft surface of beaches; used in building materials and glass-making, and often poured into hourglasses to measure time.
Tuan brushed the sand off his towel before sitting down on the beach.
Tuan 在海灘上坐下前，先把毛巾上的沙子拍掉。
collocation: brush sand off [something]
The children built a tall castle out of wet sand near the water's edge.
孩子們在水邊用濕沙堆了一座高高的沙堡。
collocation: wet sand / build sandcastles
Gita burned her toes on hot sand when she ran to the water without sandals.
Gita 沒穿拖鞋跑向海水時，腳趾被熱燙的沙子燙傷了。
Chidi spread a pile of sand across the backyard for his children to play in.
Chidi 把一堆沙子鋪在後院，讓孩子們在裡面玩。
At the glass factory, Asher watched workers heat sand and other ingredients into liquid glass.
在玻璃工廠，Asher 看著工人把沙子和其他原料加熱成液態玻璃。
scene-based: sand as raw material in glass-making
- a grain of sand
- a handful of sand
- wet sand
- dry sand
- fine sand
- coarse sand
- a pile of sand
- a bag of sand
- a layer of sand
文法句型
sand + verb
a grain of sand
a handful of sand
用法筆記
Sand is an uncountable noun in this sense — you say 'some sand' or 'a grain of sand', never 'a sand'. Commonly used with the verb 'brush' (brush sand off), 'sift' (sift sand), and 'pour' (pour sand).
常見錯誤
2. a wide open area covered with sand, especially along a coast or in a desert; oft
沙灘；沙地
海岸或沙漠的大片沙地
a wide open area covered with sand, especially along a coast or in a desert; often used in the plural form 'sands' to describe large stretches of such land.
Mira and her family walked across the golden sands of the beach at sunset.
Mira 和家人傍晚時分漫步在沙灘金黃色的沙地上。
plural form: the sands of [place]
The hotel was built right on the white sands of the Caribbean coast.
那間旅館就蓋在加勒比海沿岸的白色沙灘上。
Camels have padded feet that help them walk across hot desert sands without sinking.
駱駝的腳掌有厚墊，能在炎熱的沙漠沙地上行走而不會陷下去。
A small wooden sign marked the path across the sands to the ancient temple ruins.
一根小木牌標示了穿過沙地前往古廟遺跡的路徑。
- the sands of the desert
- golden sands
- white sands
- desert sands
- shifting sands
文法句型
the sands of [place]
on the sands
用法筆記
In British English, 'the sands' commonly refers to a beach or a stretch of sand near the sea. 'Sand' (uncountable) and 'sands' (countable plural) overlap in meaning — 'sands' emphasises the expanse or variety of the area.
to deliberately ignore an unpleasant situation or refuse to face a problem, hoping it will go away on its own.
採取鴕鳥心態；逃避現實
Saira knew her rent was overdue, but she buried her head in the sand and did not open the landlord's letters.
The company kept losing money, yet the manager buried his head in the sand and refused to change the business plan.
to set a clear limit beyond which you will not accept something, often to show that you are ready to defend your position.
劃定界線；設定底線
After three late payments, the landlord decided to draw a line in the sand and evict the tenant.
Bilal drew a line in the sand and told the team he would not work more than fifty hours a week.
shifting sands
idioma situation that changes frequently and unpredictably, making it difficult to plan or feel secure.
變動不居的局面；情勢變幻莫測
The political landscape in the region is like shifting sands — no alliance lasts more than a few months.
New technology has turned the publishing industry into shifting sands, with old business models disappearing every year.
sand — 動詞
- sandpresent simple I / you / we / they
- sands3rd person singular
- sanding-ing form
- sandedpast simple
1. to rub a surface with sandpaper to make it smooth, remove old paint, or prepare
打磨；砂磨
用砂紙等磨光表面
to rub a surface with sandpaper to make it smooth, remove old paint, or prepare it for new paint or varnish.
Andrei sanded the old wooden table by hand before painting it white.
Andrei 用砂紙把那張舊木桌用手打磨了一遍，才漆成白色。
Sand the edges of the shelf until they are smooth and safe to touch.
把層架的邊緣磨平，摸起來才不會刮手。
grammar pattern: sand + noun phrase + so clause
Vinícius sanded down the door frame after filling the cracks with wood filler.
Vinícius 把門框的裂縫用補土填好之後，再用砂紙磨平。
phrasal use: sand down
Hannah spent the whole afternoon sanding the floorboards until the surface felt completely smooth.
Hannah 花了一整個下午打磨地板，直到表面完全平滑為止。
The carpenter sands each piece twice — once with coarse paper and once with fine paper.
那位木匠每件作品都打磨兩次——先用粗砂紙，再用細砂紙。
collocation: coarse/fine sandpaper
- sand something smooth
- sand something down
- sand the edges
- sand the surface
- sand the wood
- sand the floor
- sand by hand
- sand with coarse paper
- sand until smooth
- roughen
to make a surface rough on purpose
文法句型
sand + noun phrase
sand [noun] down
sand [noun] smooth
用法筆記
Often used with the particle 'down' (sand something down) when the goal is to remove old paint or smooth a rough surface. The tool used is called sandpaper, and the process is called sanding. An electric sander can also be used for large jobs.