雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Today's lecture is about the history of the bicycle. Now, many people assume the bicycle was invented in the 19th century, but in fact, a two-wheeled device called a 'celerifere' appeared in France in the 1790s. However, it had no steering and no pedals. The first pedal-powered bicycle, known as the 'velocipede', was developed in the 1860s in Paris. It had a wooden frame and iron tires, which made rides very bumpy. Later, in the 1880s, John Kemp Starley introduced the 'safety bicycle' with a chain drive and two equal-sized wheels, which greatly improved stability and comfort. This design became the basis for modern bicycles.