Bicycles Are Used Around The World

寧靜

本文主要介紹自行車，自行車一開始只歸男性用，但現(xiàn)在男性、女性和小孩都可以騎自行車。自行車大多是兩輪的，但也有單輪的、三輪的、四輪的。

Bicycles are everywhere around the world. Bicycles are used by people of all ages around the world. It’s common in many cities to see thousands of bikes streaming down a street.

At first， only men rode bicycles. It was thought that only men could run machines， and that women wouldn’t be able to control a bicycle. In the 1890s， though， with women’s growing independence（獨(dú)立）， bicycles offered women a way to travel by themselves. Today， of course， men， women， and children ride bicycles.

Most bikes today have two wheels， but you’ve probably seen other kinds， too.

Some people start riding bikes that have three wheels. The third wheel makes the bike easier to balance. These bikes are called tricycles. As you’ve seen， the bi—in bicycle means“two”. The tri—in tricycle means “three”. Bikes with three wheels aren’t just for young children. They matter to adults because bikes with three wheels can help move people or things. The most common kind of adult tricycle is the rickshaw（黃包車）. Rickshaws are used as bike taxis in many parts of the world.

Some bikes also have only one wheel and no handlebars（把手）. These bikes are called unicycles. The first part of the word， uni-， means “one”. Riding a bike with only one wheel is a balancing act—that’s why unicycles are used in the circus（馬戲團(tuán)）.

There are also bikes with four wheels. Bikes with four wheels are called quadracycles. Again， the first part of the word refers to the number of wheels. In this case， quadra-， means “four”. what kind of bikes do you like？

緊跟訓(xùn)練

根據(jù)上面短文內(nèi)容填空。（每空不限單詞數(shù)，答案見42頁下）

1. People of all ages __________ bicycles around the world. It’s common in many cities to see __________ bikes streaming down a street.

2. At first， only men rode bicycles. It was thought that women wouldn’t have the __________ to control a bicycle. With women’s growing independence， bicycles offered women __________ to travel by themselves.

3. Some people start __________ that have three wheels. The third wheel makes the bike achieve a balance .

4. Bikes with __________ aren’t just for young children. They’re __________ to adults because they can help move people or things.

5. There are __________ kinds of bikes mentioned in the article， but the rickshaw is __________ kind of adult tricycle.

第42頁閱讀答案：

1. About 2/ two million （students）.

2. No， they aren’t.

3. It advises them/ kids to get at least an hour of exercise every day.