unit3InventorsandinventionsⅠ.阅读理解AToday,bicyclesareelegantlysimplemachinesthatarecommonaroundtheworld.Manypeopleridebicyclesforrecreation,whereasothersusethemasameansoftransportation.ThefirstbicyclewasinventedinGermanyin1818.Becauseitwasmadeofwood,itwasn’tverystrongnordidithavepedals(脚踏板).Ridersmoveditbypushingtheirfeetagainsttheground.In1839,KirkpatrickMacmillan,aScottishblacksmith,inventedamuchbetterbicycle.Macmillan’smachinehadironcoveredwheelstokeepthemfromgettingworndown.Healsousedfootoperatedlevers,similartopedals,sohisbicyclecouldberiddenataquickpace.Itdidn’tlookmuchlikethemodernbicycle,though,becauseitsbackwheelwassubstantiallylargerthanitsfrontwheel.AlthoughMacmillan’sbicyclescouldberiddeneasily,theywereneverproducedinlargenumbers.In1861,FrenchmanPierreMichauxandhisbrotherErnestinventedabicyclewithanimprovedpedalmechanism.TheycalledtheirbicycleaVELOCIPEDE,butmostpeoplecalledita“boneshaker”becauseoftheeffectofthewoodandironframe.Despitetheimpolitenickname,theVELOCIPEDEwasahit.Afterafewyears,theMichauxfamilywasmakinghundredsofthemachinesannually,mostlyforfunseekingyoungpeople.Tenyearslater,JamesStarley,anEnglishinventor,madeseveralinnovationsthatrevolutionizedbicycledesign.Hemadethefrontwheelmanytimeslargerthanthebackwheel,putagearonthepedalstomakethebicyclemoreefficient，andlightenedthewheelsbyusingwirespokes.Althoughthisbicyclewasmuchlighterandlesstiringtoride,itwasstillclumsy,extremelytopheavy,andriddenmostlyforentertainment.Itwasn’tuntil1874thatthefirsttrulymodernbicycleappearedonthescene.InventedbyanotherEnglishman,H.J.Lawson,thesafetybicyclewouldlookfamiliartotoday’scyclists.Thesafetybicyclehadequalsizedwheels,whichmadeiteasiertoride.Lawsonalsoattachedachaintothepedalstodrivethebackwheel.By1893,thesafetybicyclehadbeenfurtherimprovedwithairfilledrubbertires,adiamondshapedframe,andeasybraking.WiththeimprovementsprovidedbyLawson;bicyclesbecameextremelypopularandusefulfortransportation.Today,theyarebuilt,used,andenjoyedallovertheworld.1．Thispassagewasmostlikelywritteninorderto________.A．comparebicyclesusedfordifferentpurposesB．describetheproblemsearlybicyclemakersexperiencedC．persuadereaderstousebicyclesfortransportationD．tellreadersabouttheearlyhistoryofthebicycle解析：选D推理判断题。通观全文，第一辆自行车是于1818年在德国被发明的——1839年KirkpatrickMacmillan发明了一辆更好的自行车——1861年法国人PierreMichaux和他的兄弟Ernest发明了一辆改进了脚踏板机械装置的自行车——两年后JamesStarley做出了一些革新，彻底改变了自行车的设计——1874年真正的现代自行车出现了——1893年安全脚踏车被进一步改进——今天，自行车在全世界被制造、运用和喜爱。这讲的是自行车的发展史。2．WhichofthefollowingbicycletypeswasinventedbyJamesStarley?INCLUDEPICTURE"C:\\Users\\李强\\Desktop\\8\\14rj-16.tif"\*MERGEFORMATINET解析：选B细节理解题。第四段“Hemadethefrontwheelmanytimeslargerthanthebackwheel,...”JamesStarley制造的前车轮比后车轮大好几倍。和图片B相符。3．WhichofthefollowingstatementsisTRUEaccordingtothepassage?A．Twohundredyearsago,bicyclesdidnotexist.B．Thefirstbicyclecouldberiddenataveryquickpace.C．TheMichauxbrotherscalledtheirbicyclea“boneshaker”．D．Macmillan’smachinehadwheelswithrubbertires.解析：选A推理判断题。第一段“ThefirstbicyclewasinventedinGermanyin1818.”第一辆自行车是在1814年被发明的，而200年前是1814年，所以那时自行车还不存在。故选A。4．Theinformationabout...
