The Yardman

The yardman comes every two weeks. He drives a gray pickup truck. The truck

is a Ford. It is about 15 years old, but it runs well. It doesn't burn oil, and it gets

decent gas mileage. The yardman's name is Byron.

In the back of his truck are a lawn mower, a leaf blower, a rake, and a shovel.

Byron uses the leaf blower to blow leaves and dirt from the back of the building

out to the front of the building. Then he rakes up the leaves into a bag. He

blows the dirt out into the street. He cuts the lawn with his lawn mower. He trims

the hedge. He uses the leaf blower to blow the dirt off each Welcome mat that

lies in front of each apartment door.

Then he puts all the leaves, the grass trimmings, and the hedge clippings into a

wheelbarrow. He pushes the wheelbarrow to the back of the building, where he

uses his big shovel to empty the wheelbarrow contents into the big dumpster. It

takes Byron about two hours to do this work.

When he is done, he goes half a block up the street to the house on the corner.

There he does the same work again.

A) Questions

1. How often does the yardman come?2. What type of vehicle dies he drive?3. What make is his pickup truck?4. How old is it?5. How does it run?6. Does his struck burn oil or gas?7. What are there in the back of his truck?8. What does Byron use the leaf blower for?9. What does he do with the fall leaves?10.How does he cut the lawn?11.What does he do to the edges?12.Where do the Welcome mats lie?13.Where does he put the leaves, the grass trimmings and the edge

clippings?14.How does he empty the wheelbarrow contents?15.Where does he empty the wheelbarrow contents into?

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16.How long does it take him to do this work?17.Would you liked to have a job like Byron´s? Why or why not?

B) Crossword PuzzleFill in the squares with the correct word.

Across:

4. Every summer, huge fires ___ throughout California's forests.

5. The number of miles a car can travel per gallon is the gas ___.

8. A homeowner will use a gas or electric ___ to keep the grass from growing too high.

10. Dogs like to roll around in the ___ and grass; so do little boys.

12. Police usually check the ___ of a suspect's pockets.

13. A ___ is the square or rectangle of streets that border homes or stores.

14. A tall, leafy ___ around his yard provides privacy and security for a homeowner.

15. A beautiful ___ requires a good sprinkler system and regular mowing.

16. A ___ helps you move loads of dirt from one place to another in your yard.

Down:

1. If you have a hedge in your yard, you should ___ it regularly so it will look nice.

2. ___ = gardener or landscaper.

3. Home Depot sells lawn tools and equipment at ___ prices.

6. Once a week, the garbage truck comes by to empty trash bins and ___s.

7. A ___ propels leaves from one side of the street to the other.

9. A hole in the ground is usually dug with a ___.

11. After you ___ autumn leaves into a big pile, gather them into a plastic bag.

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C) Now look back at the story, read it again silently two or three times. Then, translate the Portuguese version below back to English.

O jardineiro vem a cada duas semanas. Ele conduz uma camioneta de caixa aberta cinzenta. A camioneta é de marca Ford. Tem cerca de 15 anos de idade, mas funciona bem. Ela não funciona a óleo, e faz uma quilometragem decente. O nome do jardineiro é Byron.

Na parte traseira da camioneta dele estão um cortador de relva, um soprador de folhas, um ancinho e uma pá. O Byron usa o soprador de folhas para soprar as folhas e o lixo das traseiras do edifício para a frente do edifício. De seguida, ele varre ajuntando as folhas para dentro de um saco. Ele sopra a terra suja para a rua. Ele corta a relva com a máquina de cortar relva. Ele poda/apara a sebe. Ele usa o soprador de folhas para soprar a sujidade de cada tapete de boas-vindas que se encontra na frente da porta de cada apartamento

Em seguida, ele coloca todas as folhas, as aparas da relva, e os cortes da sebe em um carrinho de mão. Ele empurra o carrinho de mão para a parte de trás do prédio, onde ele usa a sua pá grande para esvaziar o conteúdo do carrinho de mão para dentro do grande contentor de lixo. É preciso. O Byron leva cerca de duas horas para fazer este trabalho.

Quando ele termina, ele sobe meio quarteirão até à casa na esquina. Lá ele faz novamente o mesmo trabalho.

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Answers Questions18.How often does the yardman come? - He comes every two weeks.19.What type of vehicle dies he drive? - He drives a pickup truck.20.What make is his pickup truck? - It is a Ford.21.How old is it? - It´s 15 years old.22.How does it run? – It runs well.23.Does his truck burn oil or gas? - The text doesn´t say.24.What are there in the back of his truck? - a lawn mower, a leaf

blower, a rake, and a shovel25.What does Byron use the leaf blower for? - to blow leaves and dirt

from the back of the building out to the front of the building.26.What does he do with the fallen leaves? - he rakes up the leaves

into a bag27.How does he cut the lawn? - with a lawn mower28.What does he do to the edges? - He trims them.29.Where do the Welcome mats lie? - in front of each apartment door30.Where does he put the leaves, the grass trimmings and the edge

clippings? - into a wheelbarrow.31.How does he empty the wheelbarrow contents? He uses a big shovel.32.Where does he empty the wheelbarrow contents into? – into a

dumpster.33.How long does it take him to do this work? - It takes him about two

hours.34.Would you liked to have a job like Byron´s? Why or why not? -

Students ‘own answers.

Crossword Puzzle

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