雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Good morning, everyone. Today we're going to discuss the history of the bicycle. Now, many people think the bicycle was invented in the 19th century, but in fact, a crude version appeared as early as the 1790s in France. However, it had no pedals; riders pushed their feet against the ground. The first pedal-driven bicycle was developed in Scotland in 1839 by a blacksmith named Kirkpatrick Macmillan. Interestingly, his invention was not widely adopted because of concerns about safety and the poor condition of roads. It wasn't until the 1880s, with the introduction of the safety bicycle, which had equal-sized wheels and a chain drive, that cycling became popular among the general public.