In 1791, a Frenchman named Comte de Sivrac invented and owned the first bicycle. Mrs. Sivrac rode the bicycle in Paris. The handles and the seat were wooden. This bicycle was very difficult to move. A rider even had to pick up the front wheel to change direction. What's worse, the bicycle had no brakes for stopping or pedals for the feet! Riding a bicycle took great risk.
In 1817, a German named Baron von Drais de Sauerbrun made the first bicycle better. The seat became more comfortable. The wheel could now change direction. His ride in the forest took only one hour instead of three hours on foot, which surprised people at that time.
Sauerbrun brought this kind of bicycle from Germany to France. Then Denis Johnson, an Englishman, made a bicycle for women. It had space for their dresses to hang down. But these bicycles still had no brakes or pedals, and riders often got hurt. These bicycles and the people who rode them were not very popular.
It took another forty-five years for the bicycle to become popular. More than 100 years later, bicycle riding is more popular than ever. In fact, in India and China, there are still many more bicycles than cars.
56. According to the passage, people ride bicycles in order to ______.
A. find good jobs
B. take exercise
C. be liked by others
D. live in cities
57. The first bicycle was ______.
【天津市宝坻区2016-2017学年高二11月联考英语试卷】相关文章:
★ 辽宁省普通高中2016-2017学年高二上学期学业水平模拟英语试卷
★ 浙江省杭州二中2014-2015学年高一上学期期中考试英语 Word版含答案
★ 浙江省舟山中学2014-2015学年高一上学期期中考试英语试卷
★ 河北省保定市高阳中学2015届高三上学期第十五次周练英语试卷
★ 重庆市南开中学2015届高三12月月考英语试卷Word版缺答案
★ 江西省南昌市五校2016-2017学年高二上学期第二次联考英语试卷
★ 河北省正定中学2014-2015学年高一上学期期中英语试卷Word版含答案
最新
2019-11-15
2019-11-15
2019-11-14
2019-11-14
2019-11-11
2019-11-11