Compared with cars, bicycles truly have many advantages. Riding bikes not only does good to people's health but also makes it possible to move easily past heavy traffic.

So, here comes James Starley, a British inventor and producer who is widely considered to be the father of the bicycle industry. His inventions and improvements made the bicycle available for wide spread.

James Starley was born on April 21, 1831. In his early years, he worked in the Coventry Sewing Machine(缝纫机) Company. And there, Starley tried to work out improvements to the early sewing machines, and his own invention, “The European" really helped a lot.

In 1868, Starley saw his first bicycle, a French velocipede(脚踏两轮车), weighing as much as 160 pounds. The two—wheeled, rider—propelled(人驱动的) wooden bicycle required the rider to use his own feet to move the bicycle along. In 1869, the Coventry Sewing Machine Company decided to produce bicycles based on a worker, Rowley B. Turner's suggestion. What Starley first managed to do is cut off part of the weight of the velocipedes. Then, he invented the Coventry Model, and he won his place as the father of the modern bicycle. Next, Starley invented the Ariel bicycle.

In 1870, he went into business for himself. The Ariel, his lightweight all metal bicycle was first sold in 1871, to be the first true bicycle. It was the first two—wheeled self—propelled bicycle.

Later, Starley introduced what was to be his greatest contribution (贡献) to the bicycle development. His Tangent bicycle, introduced in 1874, made the wheels far stronger than earlier models. Putting all of the earlier advantages into one four—wheeled machine, Starley next produced the Salvo which was believed to be his creative masterpiece.

Though auto(机动的) industry has been rapidly developed, bicycles are still playing a important role in people's daily transportation.

根据短文内容选择最佳答案。

1.The underlined word "masterpiece" in the passage means “ ” in Chinese.

A.杰作 B.策划者 C.推广

2. was Starley's greatest contribution to the bicycle development.

A.The Coventry Model B.The Tangent bicycle C.The Salvo

3.Starley's earliest aim(目标) to deal with bicycles was .

A.to make the velocipedes lighter than before

B.to change the two—wheeled, rider propelled wooden bicycle into a self—propelled one

C.to produce a bicycle out of metal

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.The Coventry Sewing Machine Company decided to produce bicycles because Starley was talented in inventing bicycles.

B.Starley didn't invent the Ariel bicycle until he went into business for himself.

C.Starley made efforts to improve the early sewing machines and he made it.

5.The passage is mainly about .

A.how bicycles have changed people's daily lives

B.how Starley invented and improved bicycles

C.how many kinds of bicycles Starley invented

I’m Michael. I live in Poland and Polish is my native language(母语), ___________ I can speak English very well. Now I want to share my experience with ___________.

I started to learn English ___________ listening to English songs when I was six. My dad encouraged me ___________ to The Beatles. In the beginning I ___________understand nothing of what they were singing. Then I got a book with the words of all the songs. I read ___________ book again and again. I learned most of the songs by heart. I sang them to my dad. Still, I had difficulty in ___________ the meaning of the songs. Learning English well to understand The Beatles became one of my ___________.

When I was 13 years old, I started reading science fiction books. I read them in Polish at first. The books were all translated(翻译) from English. I hoped I could read the books in English. I felt that the books in English would be even _________. I decided to read the books in English. This decision guided me for many years.

Today, I have become good at English and I can understand many English songs and English books. English ________ me so much satisfaction and pleasure. I also find it so useful in my job.

1.A.but B.if C.when D.because

2.A.they B.their C.you D.your

3.A.at B.by C.in D.on

4.A.listen B.listened C.listening D.to listen

5.A.couldn’t B.could C.must D.mustn’t

6.A./ B.the C.an D.a

7.A.understanding B.understand C.describe D.describing

8.A.secret B.secrets C.dream D.dreams

9.A.interesting B.interested C.more interesting D.the most interesting

10.A.gave B.was given C.has given D.will give

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