He looked up and down the street; there was no one in sight, and the canal lay black and silent, an ugly trench between two straight and slimy walls.

他在街上上下打量；看不见任何人，运河漆黑而寂静，两堵笔直而黏糊糊的墙之间是一条丑陋的沟渠。

The middle classes moved into new housing developments with straight walls and carefully trimmed lawns, and it soon grew clear to Ove that his parental home stood in the way of progress.

中产阶级兴建新型住宅区，房屋笔挺，草坪齐整，没过多久欧维就得知，父母的房子挡在了发展进程的道路上。