雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Today we're going to look at the history of the bicycle. Now, many people think the bicycle was invented in the 19th century, but its origins actually go back further. The first known example, called a 'celerifere', appeared in France in the 1790s. It had no pedals; riders pushed their feet along the ground. Then, in 1817, a German inventor added a steering mechanism, creating the 'draisine'. However, it wasn't until the 1860s that pedals were attached to the front wheel. So, while the basic concept emerged earlier, the modern bicycle with pedals really took shape in the 1860s.