Updated for October 2026
This revised edition of Under The Sand follows Simon, a metal detectorist who makes a disturbing discovery on a deserted winter beach. Read the story and use the comprehension, vocabulary and discussion activities to practise English reading and speaking.
Video for Listening
Listen to Under the Sand in the video above to practise your English listening skills. First, try listening without reading the story. Then listen again and follow the text below to check your understanding.
For speaking practice, pause the video and repeat short sentences aloud. You can also try shadowing: speak along with the recording, copying the pronunciation, rhythm and intonation. Replay any parts you find difficult and practise at your own pace.
Under The Sand
No one understood what he did.
No one really got it.
But Simon knew. He knew the value of it.
He moved his metal detector slowly from side to side, keeping it just above the sand. Each movement was careful and precise. He had been doing this for years, and he knew exactly what he was doing.
His father used to laugh at him.
“Found any buried treasure today, Simon?”
If Simon came home empty-handed, his father made jokes. If he found something interesting, his father barely looked at it.
Simon had learnt not to expect much from people.
He preferred being alone.
Over the years, he had found rings, watches and old coins. Some were worth quite a bit of money. He had certainly earned back everything he had spent on equipment.
His latest detector, the MetalPro 3000, had cost a small fortune. He had ordered it from America.
It was one of the best machines available.
He had posted pictures of it on an online metal-detecting forum. Several members had congratulated him. Others had said nothing.
Simon suspected they were jealous.
Those people on the forum were the closest thing he had to friends.
And now, as usual, he was alone on a deserted beach.
It was the middle of winter. A bitter wind blew in from the sea, carrying fine grains of sand across the empty shore. Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon.
Simon pulled his scarf tighter around his neck.
He had been searching for nearly two hours. So far, he had found five one-pound coins, a broken watch and several old drinks cans.
People had no respect for the environment.
He was considering heading back to his car when his detector suddenly beeped.
Simon stopped.
That was unusual.
He moved the detector over the same patch of sand.
Another signal. Long and deep.
He frowned.
Whatever was buried down there was much larger than a coin.
He lowered his detector onto the sand, removed his backpack and took out his folding shovel.
Then he began to dig.
The first few inches were easy. Beneath them, the sand was wet and tightly packed.
He dug deeper.
Suddenly, his shovel struck something hard.
Metal.
Simon knelt and brushed away the sand with his gloved hands.
A thick chain appeared.
He pulled at it, but it wouldn’t move.
He dug around it, uncovering something wrapped in blue tarpaulin. The chain had been wound tightly around the material.
Simon stared at it.
What on earth was this?
He continued digging.
The object was long. Almost six feet.
A strange feeling passed through him.
He stopped for a moment and looked towards the sea.
There was nobody around.
He turned back to the tarpaulin.
Carefully, he pulled at one corner.
Something pale appeared beneath it.
At first, he couldn’t understand what he was looking at.
Then he saw an ear.
And a face.
Simon fell backwards onto the sand.
It was a man.
A dead man.
His eyes were open, cloudy and lifeless. His mouth hung slightly open.
Simon stared in horror.
Then he noticed the man’s throat.
A deep wound ran across his neck. Dark, dried blood covered the skin beneath it.
Simon scrambled to his feet.
“Oh my god.”
He backed away.
For several seconds, he couldn’t move. He could only stare at the body lying in the sand.
He had found a murdered man.
He had to call the police.
Of course he did.
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his phone.
His fingers were shaking.
Then he stopped.
What would he tell them?
That he had been digging on a deserted beach and had found a dead body?
They would ask questions.
Lots of questions.
Why had he come here? Why was he alone? Why had he been digging in that particular spot?
Simon hated questions.
He remembered being seventeen and getting stopped by two police officers outside a shopping centre. Someone had reported a boy stealing from a nearby shop.
Simon hadn’t stolen anything.
But the officers had questioned him anyway.
He had become so nervous that he could barely speak. His answers had sounded confused and suspicious.
Eventually, they had let him go.
He still remembered the way they had looked at him.
As though he were lying.
Now he looked down at the body.
This was far worse.
A murdered man.
And Simon was standing beside him, holding a shovel.
He imagined sitting in a police interview room, trying to explain himself.
He imagined the officers exchanging looks.
He imagined them asking the same questions again and again.
His breathing became faster.
No.
He couldn’t do it.
He looked along the beach in both directions.
Empty.
The light was fading. Soon it would be dark.
Nobody knew he was here.
Nobody had seen him arrive.
He looked down at his phone.
Then he put it back into his pocket.
He could just leave.
But the body was exposed now. Someone might find it tomorrow. The police would search the beach.
They might discover his footprints. His shovel marks.
He had touched the chain. The tarpaulin.
Simon swallowed.
He had made a terrible mistake.
He should never have started digging.
He picked up his shovel.
For a moment, he stood motionless.
Then he began pushing sand back over the body.
He worked quickly, almost desperately.
The dead man’s face disappeared beneath the sand. Then the blue tarpaulin. Then the chain.
Simon kept digging until everything was covered.
He knew what he was doing was wrong.
He knew he should stop.
But he couldn’t.
He just wanted everything to be the way it had been twenty minutes earlier.
Before the signal.
Before the chain.
Before the dead man’s face.
At last, he stopped.
His arms ached. Sweat ran down his back despite the freezing wind.
He stood looking at the disturbed sand.
There was nothing to see now.
Nothing except a slightly raised patch near the dunes.
He told himself the wind would smooth it over. The rain would come. Perhaps the tide would reach this far.
Soon there would be no sign that anyone had been digging.
Simon packed away his shovel.
He picked up the MetalPro 3000 and switched it off.
Then he started walking towards the road.
He didn’t look back.
The sky was growing darker. The wind whistled across the empty beach.
He walked faster.
Almost there.
He could get into his car, drive home and forget the whole thing.
Nobody would ever know.
As he climbed the path towards the road, he saw a vehicle parked near the entrance.
A police car.
Simon stopped.
Had it been there before?
Two officers stood beside it.
One was speaking into a radio.
The other was looking directly at him.
Simon felt his stomach tighten.
The officer raised a hand.
“Sir! Could you come over here, please?”
Simon froze.
Perhaps they were looking for someone.
Perhaps they already knew about the body.
Perhaps someone had seen him digging.
“Sir?”
Simon glanced towards the road.
Could he run?
No. That would make everything worse.
The officer began walking towards him.
“Stay where you are, please.”
Simon stood motionless.
His mind filled with explanations.
He was just doing some metal detecting.
He had been doing it for years.
The MetalPro 3000 was an expensive machine. One of the best. He had ordered it from America.
And the shovel?
Everyone who went metal detecting carried a shovel. That was perfectly normal. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, not really. He was a metal detectorist. Not a murderer.
Reading Comprehension Questions
- Who is the main character in this story?
- Where does the story take place?
- What is the main character doing at the beginning of the story?
- What is Simon’s hobby?
- Does he like this hobby?
- What tools does he use for this hobby?
- How long has he been doing this?
- What do other people think about his interest?
- What does Simon’s father think about his hobby?
- In the past, what has Simon found while metal detecting?
- What is the model name of his new metal-detecting machine?
- Where did he have to order it from?
- Who are the closest thing Simon has to friends?
- How do the people on the metal-detecting forum react to his new machine?
- In the story, what has Simon found so far on the beach?
- How is the weather on the beach in the story?
- What two signals does Simon’s detector make that catch his attention?
- What does Simon realise about the size of the buried object?
- What does he have in his backpack?
- What does Simon find buried beneath the sand?
- Is Simon shocked by what he sees there?
- Is Simon alone on the beach? Or are there other people around?
- What time of day is it? How do you know?
- Why does Simon hesitate to call the police? What happened to him when he was seventeen?
- What does Simon do with the body under the sand?
- What does Simon plan to do?
- What does Simon hope will hide the signs that he has been digging?
- What does Simon see on the road?
- How many people are there?
- How does the story end?
Essential Vocabulary
| value | metal detector | precise |
| empty-handed | equipment | small fortune |
| forum | congratulated | jealous |
| deserted | bitter | horizon |
| scarf | grains | gathering |
| beep | signal | frowned |
| folding | shovel | tightly packed |
| gloved | chain | tarpaulin |
| uncovering | pale | lifeless |
| throat | wound | scrambled |
| murdered | shaking | questioned |
| nervous | suspicious | interview |
| exposed | footprints | evidence |
| desperately | motionless | dunes |
| disturbed | fading | murderer |
Exercise
Write down all the words and phrases in your vocabulary notebook. Look in your dictionary and find the meaning of each word. Write the definition next to each word.
Then make up your own sentences using each word or phrase.
For example:
Precise — exact and careful about details.
Value — the worth, importance or usefulness of something.
Then write a sentence of your own that uses the new word or phrase correctly.
She made a precise measurement before cutting the wood.
This book my grandfather gave me has a lot of personal value.
Do this with all the vocabulary and, over time, this will help improve all your English skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Discussion Questions
- In your own words, give a summary of this story.
- Is metal detecting popular in your country?
- What kind of people like metal detecting?
- Are these people strange? Why/why not?
- What is the appeal of metal detecting? Why do people do it?
- What kinds of things can people find by metal detecting?
- Do people find very valuable things do you think? What kinds of things?
- What are the most common things that people can find?
- If a metal detectorist found a valuable but ancient object, would they have to hand it over to the authorities? Or keep it?
- Where are the best places to go metal detecting? Why?
- Are metal detectorists a danger to the environment?
- In the story, Simon finds a dead body. What do you think he should have done upon discovering it?
- What would you have done?
- Why did he react the way he did?
- Why does Simon remember his earlier encounter with the police? Do you think the officers will suspect him of murder?
- What explanation could Simon give the officers? Why might he struggle to explain himself?
- Simon knows burying the body again is wrong. Why does he do it? Could the story end well or badly for him?
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