beach

Examples

• A1

  We spent the whole afternoon on the beach, swimming in the warm sea, building sandcastles with the children, and eating ice cream as the sun began to get lower in the sky — one of those perfect summer days that you remember for years afterwards as capturing exactly what a holiday should feel like.

• A1

  The beach was crowded in the middle of August with families, couples, and groups of young people, all competing for the best spots near the water — we arrived early to claim a good position and spent several pleasant hours there before the heat became too intense and we retreated to the shade of a nearby café.

• A2

  The beachcomber spent hours walking slowly along the tideline, eyes fixed downward on the sand and pebbles, occasionally bending to pick up an interesting shell or a piece of sea glass worn smooth and opaque by decades of wave action — a meditative practice that required little but time and attention and rewarded patience with occasional small treasures.

• A2

  The whale beached itself on the sandy shore during the night, and by morning a large crowd had gathered, with volunteers and marine conservation workers attempting to keep the animal wet with sea water while veterinary experts assessed its condition and decided on the best course of action to try to return it safely to the sea.

• B1

  Coastal erosion — the gradual wearing away of beach sand and cliffs by wave action, storm surges, and rising sea levels — is an increasing concern as climate change intensifies: many beaches that have existed for centuries are narrowing significantly; protective sea walls and groynes can slow but not stop the process; and the costly "beach nourishment" programmes that replenish eroded sand are often temporary fixes that require repeated investment to maintain any beach at its current extent.

• B1

  Beach volleyball became an Olympic sport at the Atlanta Games in 1996, growing from a recreational activity that developed on the beaches of California in the 1920s into a highly professional and athletically demanding sport; unlike indoor volleyball with six players per side, beach volleyball uses only two players per team on a smaller court with the additional challenge of playing on sand, which absorbs impact differently from a hard court and makes movement significantly more demanding.

• B2

  The cultural history of the beach as a leisure space is relatively recent: before the late eighteenth century, the seashore was primarily a working environment (for fishing, shipping, and salt production) and was not widely regarded as attractive or healthy; sea bathing for health benefits began to be advocated by physicians in the mid-eighteenth century, leading to the development of seaside resorts; the railway era made beaches accessible to working-class populations for the first time; and the twentieth century development of affordable package tourism transformed Mediterranean beaches into mass leisure destinations.

• B2

  Beach culture — the distinctive social norms, dress codes, activities, and attitudes associated with beach environments — varies significantly across cultures: Nordic beaches are associated with naturism and unselfconscious exposure to sun and sea; British seaside culture involves fish and chips, arcades, and a cheerful willingness to sit in light rain; Australian beach culture is closely linked to surfing and a particular style of outdoor masculinity; and tourist beach cultures in developing countries exist in complex relationship with local communities whose access to their own coastlines is frequently restricted by hotel developments and privatisation.