雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Good morning, everyone. 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 in fact, a simple two-wheeled vehicle appeared as early as 1790 in France. However, it had no pedals; you pushed it along with your feet. The first pedal-driven bicycle was developed in Scotland in 1839 by a blacksmith named Kirkpatrick Macmillan. Interestingly, his design was not widely copied because the pedals were attached to the front wheel, which made steering difficult. It wasn't until the 1870s that the 'penny-farthing' with a large front wheel became popular, especially among young men. But it was dangerous, so eventually, the safety bicycle, with two equal-sized wheels and a chain drive, was introduced in 1885, and that's the design we still use today.