Commuters used face masks，originally intended to protect them from the spread of swine flu，to hurry across the blocked streets on their way to work.Some schools were closed and sports activities were called off as the conditions pushed air pollution levels to 1,500 times their normal levels—the highest on record.

　　Passengers at the busy Sydney Airport faced delays of up to six hours for international flights and three hours for domestic trips，and even some international flights were cancelled as visibility was reduced to just a few feet.

　　Locals，phoning radio stations to express their shock at the red dawn.“It’s like a nuclear winter morning，” tourist Peter Wilson told Daily Telegraph，“It is so terrible.” adding that when he awoke the sky was “bright red” and “all the cars were covered in dirt”．

　　The dust hanging over Sydney had largely cleared by midafternoon，although national carrier Qantas said severe delays would last all day because of direction－changed and late－running flights.

　　The sand storm，which measured more than 310 miles wide and 620 miles long，was caused by dust clouds blowing east from Australia’s dry places，which has been attacked by the worst drought on record.It covered dozens of towns and cities in two states as strong winds swept away tons of topsoil threw it high into the sky and carried it hundreds of miles.

　　1．What was the face mask originally intended for？(No more than 10 words)

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