雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Good morning, class. Today we're going to discuss the history of the bicycle. Now, many people believe the bicycle was invented in the 19th century, but its origins actually go back further. In 1817, a German inventor named Karl Drais created a two-wheeled vehicle called the 'running machine' or 'draisine.' It had no pedals; riders pushed their feet against the ground to move. Later, in the 1860s, pedals were added to the front wheel in France. Interestingly, the first bicycles with chain drives and equal-sized wheels appeared in the 1880s, which made riding much safer and more efficient. So, while the basic idea is old, the modern bicycle we know today took over a century to develop.