Lesson 2 Skyway Sweeper

Swish, swush. Swish, swush. Frederick had always thought the broom had two different sounds to it. Swish was the outward stroke①; swush was the inward stroke.It was the only sound he heard all day, really. The padded plastorub② floors of the skyways didn’t make any noise. Most people wore shoes made of plastorub as well,so there was no chance of making a sound.

Noise had become a big problem about a century ago. There were so many people making so much noise that no one could stand it. People wore ear plugs③.New illnesses were blamed on noise pollution. Governments passed laws against noise. Then, a team of scientists came up with④ plastorub. People put it everywhere,and the noise died down.

Between plastorub and the big building boom, things were pretty quiet now.The buildings were so big and so tall that people didn’t even have to go outside.People lived, worked, and shopped all in the same building.

Not Frederick, though. Frederick was a sweeper. Each night he slept in a different sweeper’s lodge⑤ as he made his rounds from skyway to skyway. Swish,swush. Swish, swush.

Frederick liked his job. He liked seeing how things changed from one year the next. Buildings went up or came down. Skyways sprouted and branched off ⑥ to new places. He always liked the view, no matter what it was.

Through all of his sweeping travels, though, Frederick had never set foot on the ground. He had seen it a few times, through a window, but he had never actually stepped on it. People said it was hard and unpleasant. He imagined⑦ taking off his plastorub shoes and walking barefoot, just to feel the solid planet at the foot of him.Fredrick wondered what it was like to hear a footstep.

（301 words）

Notes

① outward stroke 向外扫

② padded plastorub 填了塑料橡胶

③ ear plugs 耳塞

④ come up with 提出，想出，赶上

⑤ lodge [lɒdʒ] n. 旅馆；门房；集会处；山林小屋

vt. 提出；寄存；借住；嵌入

vi. 寄宿；临时住宿

⑥ sprout and branch off 如雨后春笋一样增长

⑦ imagine [ɪ'mædʒɪn] vt. 想象；猜想；臆断

vi. 想象；猜想；想象起来

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Check the details] What is Frederick’s job?

A. An officer. 　B. A walker. 　C. A cleaner.

2. [Note the fact] When Fredrick pushed the broom, it made a swishing sound.What does it refer to?

A. Footstep. 　B. A broom. 　C. Music.

3. [Evaluate the information] What did governments do to make the noise die down?

A. They passed laws against noise.

B. They came up with plastorub.

C. They asked people to wear ear plugs.

Ⅱ. Read for words.

1. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

（1） The padded plastorub floors of the skyways didn’t make any noise. （Para.1, line 4）

A. 高架公路 　B. 人行天桥 　C. 飞机跑道

（2） There were so many people making so much noise that no one could stand it. （Para. 2, line 2）

A. deal with 　B. come up with 　C. put up with

（3） He imagined taking off his plastorub shoes and walking barefoot, just to feel the solid planet at the foot of him. （Para. 6, line 4）

A. with bad foot 　B. without foot 　C. without shoes

2. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined expressions.

（1） New illnesses were blamed on noise pollution. （Para. 2, line 3）

A. 导致 　B. 归咎于 　C. 指责

（2） Through all of his sweeping travels, though, Frederick had never set foot on the ground. （Para. 6, line 1）

A. stepped 　B. kept walking 　C. went on dancing

Ⅲ. Writing practice.

1. What does Frederick think about as he works?

2. As the story gives details, several sounds are mentioned. What are they?

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