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The First Bicycle
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.
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.
词汇：
count n. 伯爵
brake n. 闸，刹车
onlooker n. 观众
burst v. 爆发，突发，爆炸
pedal n. 踏板，脚蹬子
spring n. ' 弹簧
steer v. 驾驶，操纵，控制
rough adj， 粗糙的，不平整的
注释:
1. ... which was mounted on a wheel at either end: ……两端都装上了轮子
2 ...as riders attempted a final burst of speed:……当骑手尝试最后冲刺的时候
练习:
1. A) delighted B) cheered C) appreciated D) overjoyed
2. A) increased B) enormous C) extended D) enlarged
3. A) use B) play C) operation D) service
4. A) resemblance B) shape C)body D）appearance
5. A) fast B) deeply C) heavily D) hard
6. A) surface B) ground C) earth D) floor
7. A) attracted B) appealed C) took D) called
8. A) going B) getting C) holding D) making
9. A) wounds B) trips C) injuries D) breaks
10. A) velocity B) energy C) pace D) speed
11. A) direction B) route C) heading D) way
12. A) ro11 B) drive C) turn D) revolve
13. A) cycling B) circling C) winding D) spinning
14. A) mixture B) link C) combination D) union
15. A) origin B) design C)model D) introduction
答案与题解:
1. A 根据句意，西夫拉克伯爵使公园里的观众都感到高兴，能表示"使……高兴"意思的只有 A 和 D ，而 D 选项 overjoy 意思为"使……过度兴奋，狂喜"，感情色彩过于强烈，这里应填 delight"使……喜悦"。
2. D 一开始发明的自行车应该是个儿童玩具的扩大版，increased" 增加的" ，enormous" 巨大的" ，extended"延伸的"均不合题意。
3. A 此处有三个选项都可以与 in 搭配，in use" 在使用中" ，in operation" 生效，运行中"，in service"服务中"，只有 in use 填入此空符合逻辑，故选择 A。
4. B 最早的自行车是用木头支架做成马的形状，弄懂意思后答案一目了然，resemblance 意为 "相似，相似物" ，appearance"外貌，外观"。
5. D 此处意思为"用脚使劲蹬地"，故选 hard。heavily 意为"沉重地，猛烈地"。
6. B 四个选项都眼"地"有点关系，surface" 表面"，ground" 地面，土地"，earth"泥土，陆地"，
floor"地板，地面"，比较之后，只有 ground 比较合适。
7. B appeal to 意思为"吸引" ，attract 本身就是及物动词"吸引"，后不需要加介词 to ，take to意为"开始喜欢，开始从事"。
8. C hold races 在这里是"举行赛跑"的意思，其他选项不合题意。
9. C 人们在最后冲刺的时候，受点小伤是很常见的。只有 wound 和 injury 有"受伤，伤害"的意思，wound 做名词一般指"伤口，受伤的地方" ，injury 指"小伤"，为正确答案。
10. D 此处表示"最后猛一冲刺" ，一定是速度很快，除了 B 选项之外的三个选项都有"速度" 之意，velocity" 速率，速度"，为科学用语，pace"步调，步法"，speed" 速度"，是常用词，故选D。
ll. A 此处的意思是"改变方向"，并不是要改变路线，只有 A 选项符合题意。
12. C 想要改变行车方向需要抬起车头在空中掉转，turn round 为惯用搭配，意为"旋转，掉转" ，roll 和 revolve 本身就有"旋转"的意思，后面不需加 round。
13. D 这四个选项都有"转圈"的意思，cycle"循环，骑自行车" ，circle"旋转，环绕移动"，wind
"缠绕，上发条",spin"自旋，纺纱"，此处主语为 wheel ，轮子在空中一定是"自旋"，因此选D。
14. C 四个选项都有"综合"的意思，mixture 表示 "混合，混合物" ，link" 连接，结合"， combination"结合，组合，联合" ，union"联盟，联合"，全句意为"结合了没有弹簧、没有方向舵，以及遭遇不平整路段等问题，木制双轮车骑起来十分不舒服"，只有 C 选项的意思放在此处最恰当。
15. A 综合全文大意，我们得知法国人发明的木制双轮车便是现代自行车的始祖，A 选项符合题意。
