The Rooftop Vote
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in 4 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Cecile helps her neighbors choose between a rooftop garden and a small gym.
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Cecile's building had an empty rooftop. Last month, the owner said the people in the building could choose. They could have a vegetable garden or a small gym corner. They had two weeks, and then they had to vote.
Cecile did not know which one she liked. So she knocked on doors. She talked to people on every floor and wrote a list.
The gym needed machines. They cost three times more than the garden boxes. Machines also made noise. The top floor neighbors went to bed early. The garden was cheap and quiet.
Then she asked who would really use it every week. Only six people said they would use a gym. Fourteen said they would water the plants. An old man on the second floor said, "I cannot lift weights. But I can water tomatoes."
At home, Cecile made a table with two columns. In the garden column, she wrote: cheap, quiet, many people, fresh herbs. In the gym column, she wrote: expensive, noisy, few people.
Cecile loved sport, and she wanted the gym. But she knew the list was clear. A garden was better for the whole building. She could still run in the park.
At the meeting, she stood up and read her list. "I like to run," she said. "But I think we will use a garden more."
The neighbors voted. Nineteen hands went up for the garden. Only four went up for the gym.
On Saturday, Cecile carried the first bag of soil up the stairs.
