The First Bicycle
i! S' h/ d+ b9 F* W. ]: S; e/ ~ The history of the bicycle goes back more than 200 years. In 1791,Count de Sivrac (1) ________onlookers in a park in Paris as he showed off his two-wheeled invention ,a machine called the celeriferé. It was basically an (2) ________version of a children’s toy which had been in (3) ________ for many years. Sivrac's "celeriferé had a wooden frame,made in the (4) ________ of a horse ,which was mounted on a wheel at either end. To ride it ,you sat on a small seat ,just like a modem bicycle ,and pushed (5) ________ against the (6) ________ with your legs—there were no pedals. It was impossible to steer a celeriferé and it had no brakes,but despite these problems the invention very much (7) ________to the fashionable young men of Paris. Soon they were (8) ________ races up and down the streets.0 r8 y# \+ B0 u, z, }, D+ [
Minor (9) ________were common as riders attempted a final burst of ( 10 ) ________ . Controlling the machine was difficult ,as the only way to change (11) ________ was to pull up the front of the "celeriferé" and (12) ________it round while the front wheel was (13) ________ in the air. "Celeriferés" were not popular for long ,however ,as the (14) ________of no springs ,no steering and rough roads made riding them very uncomfortable. Even so,the wooden celeriferé was the (15) ________of the modem bicycle.6 d& c- x7 f* N. w8 G
词汇: 7 j" j/ z$ x; `0 N1 J R$ u9 T8 @
count / kaunt / n. 伯爵 brake / breik / n. 闸,刹车
- ]$ C, j2 C0 X( k, c0 s0 ~5 @% t onlooker / 'ɔn,lukə / n. 观众 burst / bə:st / v. 爆发,突发,爆炸
9 r. m5 B0 s" @# w pedal / 'pedl / n. 踏板,脚蹬子 spring / spriŋ / n. ' 弹簧
4 }/ C0 x7 G7 ^. G2 f steer / stiə / v. 驾驶,操纵,控制 rough / rʌf / adj, 粗糙的,不平整的
# U/ x& i: f6 b 注释:
1 P/ m7 _3 _3 X( u+ m 1. ... which was mounted on a wheel at either end: ……两端都装上了轮子
, ]1 }- W& s9 O9 {. T3 i3 a 2 ...as riders attempted a final burst of speed:……当骑手尝试最后冲刺的时候
; M) A" k& F4 j( q. J, y- @ 练习:1 [: s! } O! W- d8 ^4 ]/ B8 u
1. A) delighted B) cheered C) appreciated D) overjoyed来自www.Examw.com
3 O' a7 Z/ ]5 O$ N; g2 ~ 2. A) increased B) enormous C) extended D) enlarged
; R5 L1 I; S/ g- |! V/ p 3. A) use B) play C) operation D) service. O, C9 i( L9 n2 V {
4. A) resemblance B) shape C)body D)appearance, m# p& i# ]( l2 s) K
5. A) fast B) deeply C) heavily D) hard5 [! [" e6 F9 r1 V
6. A) surface B) ground C) earth D) floor
: r# b: f1 G) Q1 U. p 7. A) attracted B) appealed C) took D) called6 U$ C+ e8 b: J# ~% l
8. A) going B) getting C) holding D) making
( Y( k, [( @* `; I 9. A) wounds B) trips C) injuries D) breaks8 _/ X3 t- e! n2 i# ^; z4 s) E2 d
10. A) velocity B) energy C) pace D) speed
8 ^& P) f: n: \2 x 11. A) direction B) route C) heading D) way" v& r- z: o0 ]. B& O; f
12. A) ro11 B) drive C) turn D) revolve
5 z4 I; r$ r% _ 13. A) cycling B) circling C) winding D) spinning# B( M4 t4 [) w# i7 E" c
14. A) mixture B) link C) combination D) union, v L5 v! M) I* s1 v+ a! B
15. A) origin B) design C)model D) introduction |