雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Good morning, everyone. Today we're going to discuss the history of the bicycle. Now, you might think the bicycle was invented in the 19th century, and you'd be right, but its early designs were quite different from what we see today. The first two-wheeled vehicle, called the 'draisine', was invented by Karl von Drais in 1817. It had no pedals; riders pushed their feet against the ground to move. Later, in the 1860s, pedals were added to the front wheel, leading to the famous 'penny-farthing' with its huge front wheel. However, it wasn't until the 1880s that the 'safety bicycle' with a chain drive and two equal-sized wheels became popular, making cycling much safer and more accessible to the general public.