Question

Compared with cars, bicycles truly have many advantages. Riding bikes not only does good to people's health but also makes it possible to move easily past heavy traffic.

So, here comes James Starley, a British inventor and producer who is widely considered to be the father of the bicycle industry. His inventions and improvements made the bicycle available for wide spread.

James Starley was born on April 21, 1831. In his early years, he worked in the Coventry Sewing Machine(縫紉機) Company. And there, Starley tried to work out improvements to the early sewing machines, and his own invention, “The European" really helped a lot.

In 1868, Starley saw his first bicycle, a French velocipede(腳踏兩輪車), weighing as much as 160 pounds. The two—wheeled, rider—propelled(人驅(qū)動的) wooden bicycle required the rider to use his own feet to move the bicycle along. In 1869, the Coventry Sewing Machine Company decided to produce bicycles based on a worker, Rowley B. Turner's suggestion. What Starley first managed to do is cut off part of the weight of the velocipedes. Then, he invented the Coventry Model, and he won his place as the father of the modern bicycle. Next, Starley invented the Ariel bicycle.

In 1870, he went into business for himself. The Ariel, his lightweight all metal bicycle was first sold in 1871, to be the first true bicycle. It was the first two—wheeled self—propelled bicycle.

Later, Starley introduced what was to be his greatest contribution (貢獻) to the bicycle development. His Tangent bicycle, introduced in 1874, made the wheels far stronger than earlier models. Putting all of the earlier advantages into one four—wheeled machine, Starley next produced the Salvo which was believed to be his creative masterpiece.

Though auto(機動的) industry has been rapidly developed, bicycles are still playing a important role in people's daily transportation.

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容選擇最佳答案。

1.The underlined word "masterpiece" in the passage means “ ” in Chinese.

A.杰作 B.策劃者 C.推廣

2. was Starley's greatest contribution to the bicycle development.

A.The Coventry Model B.The Tangent bicycle C.The Salvo

3.Starley's earliest aim(目標) to deal with bicycles was .

A.to make the velocipedes lighter than before

B.to change the two—wheeled, rider propelled wooden bicycle into a self—propelled one

C.to produce a bicycle out of metal

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.The Coventry Sewing Machine Company decided to produce bicycles because Starley was talented in inventing bicycles.

B.Starley didn't invent the Ariel bicycle until he went into business for himself.

C.Starley made efforts to improve the early sewing machines and he made it.

5.The passage is mainly about .

A.how bicycles have changed people's daily lives

B.how Starley invented and improved bicycles

C.how many kinds of bicycles Starley invented

Answer 1