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【背景阅读材料】 A A SANDSTORM struck Beijing yesterday, covering homes, streets and cars in brown dust and leaving the skies a murky yellow as the city suffered its worst pollution in years ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The sandstorm originated(起源) on the border of China and Mongolia and started affecting Beijing on Sunday night. “Unlike the particulate(微粒的) matter that often exists in Beijing’s air, the suspending granules hitting the city today are bigger, though still less than 100 microns in diameter,” said Wang Xiaoming, an official with the municipal environmental protection bureau(局). “That’s why we feel sand is raining down.” The particulate matter that often hovers over Beijing is mostly less than 10 microns in diameter, he added. The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau warned the sandstorm could be harmful. “Sandstorms can affect the human body, especially the respiratory(呼吸的) system,” an official with the bureau said. Hospitals have dealt with a sharp increase in patients with respiratory diseases, and news -papers warned people to wear masks outdoors. Sandstorms could easily occur at places with little rainfall, scarce vegetation and frequent gales, said Qiao Lin, an expert with the China Meteorological Administration. Northern China experiences sandstorms almost every spring. The situation is worsened by higher temperatures this spring and the prolonged drought in northern China, Qiao said. China launched an afforestation（造林）project in 2000 in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which is regarded as the source of sandstorm. The project, however, has not been able to control the desertification. B NW China sandstorm shuts airports, schools BEIJING -- A sandstorm hit regions of northwest China Thursday, delaying flights, stranding thousands of passengers and forcing schools to suspend(暂停) classes.  Parts of five provincial regions were affected, including Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Inne