יש לקרוא את הטקסט ולענות על השאלות באנגלית. אפשר לענות במילים שלך, אלא אם השאלה מבקשת להעתיק מהטקסט.
Read the text and answer the questions in English. Answer in your own words if the question does not ask for words from the text.
Today, there are about one billion bicycles in the world. People
ride them to school, to work and for fun. But the bicycle we know
today took almost seventy years to develop, and some of the early
models were very strange.
The story begins in Germany in 1817. An inventor named Karl Drais
built a wooden machine with two wheels and a seat. It had no pedals.
The rider sat on it and pushed the ground with his feet, almost like
running. People called it the "running machine" or the "dandy horse".
It was heavy and hard to use on bad roads.
In the 1860s, inventors in France added pedals to the front wheel.
It was faster, but not comfortable. Its wheels were made of wood and
iron, so the rider felt every stone on the road. Its nickname was the
"boneshaker".
Then, in the 1870s, came the penny-farthing. Its front wheel was
huge – sometimes about one and a half metres high – and its back wheel
was very small. A big wheel meant more speed, because one turn of the
pedals took the rider further. But the seat was very high, and if the
bike hit a stone, the rider could fly over the front wheel. Many
riders were badly hurt.
The big change came in 1885. An English inventor, John Kemp
Starley, built the "Rover". Its two wheels were the same size, and a
chain connected the pedals to the back wheel. It was much safer, so
people called it the "safety bicycle". In 1888, John Boyd Dunlop made
a tyre filled with air. Suddenly, riding a bicycle became comfortable.
Soon, millions of people were riding bicycles. For many women in
particular, the bicycle meant a new kind of freedom: they could travel
on their own. More than a hundred years later, the basic design has
hardly changed. Look at your own bike: two wheels of the same size, a
chain and air in the tyres. That was Starley's and Dunlop's idea.
Exercices
Part A — Understanding the text
Exercice 1
What does the first paragraph tell us? Choose the correct answer. (lines 1–4)
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : B There are about a billion bicycles today, and the modern bicycle took a long time to develop.
Exercice 2
Complete the time line of the bicycle. (lines 5–24)
Columns: Year | Bicycle | Problem or improvement
1817 — ____ — No pedals: the rider pushed the ground with his feet.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : 1817 — the running machine — No pedals: the rider pushed the ground with his feet.
Exercice 3
Complete the time line of the bicycle. (lines 5–24)
Columns: Year | Bicycle | Problem or improvement
___ — the "boneshaker" — Pedals on the front wheel, but ___.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|1860s; it was not comfortable (the rider felt every stone).}}
Exercice 4
Complete the time line of the bicycle. (lines 5–24)
Columns: Year | Bicycle | Problem or improvement
1870s — the penny-farthing — ___
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|a huge front wheel and a very small back wheel (more speed), but the seat was very high and riders could fly over the front wheel and get badly hurt. The design OR the danger is correct.}}
Exercice 5
Complete the time line of the bicycle. (lines 5–24)
Columns: Year | Bicycle | Problem or improvement
1885 — ____ — Wheels of the same size and a chain to the back wheel.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : 1885 — the Rover — Wheels of the same size and a chain to the back wheel.
Exercice 6
Why was "boneshaker" a good nickname for the bicycle of the 1860s? Explain in your own words. (lines 10–13)
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|Its wheels were made of wood and iron, so the rider felt every stone on the road – the ride shook the rider's whole body ("bones").}}
Exercice 7
Why did the penny-farthing have such a big front wheel? (lines 16–17)
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|A big wheel meant more speed: one turn of the pedals took the rider further.}}
Exercice 8
Karl Drais's machine was made of metal.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : Faux · “built a wooden machine with two wheels and a seat”
Exercice 9
The Rover was safer than the penny-farthing.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : Vrai · “It was much safer, so people called it the "safety bicycle"”
Exercice 10
Dunlop's invention made riding more comfortable.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : Vrai · “Suddenly, riding a bicycle became comfortable”
Exercice 11
Why was the bicycle especially important for many women? (lines 25–27)
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|It gave them a new kind of freedom: they could travel on their own.}}
Part B — Language
Exercice 12
What do the following words refer to?
“It” (line 6) refers to ___
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|Karl Drais's machine (the running machine)}}
Exercice 13
What do the following words refer to?
“Its” (line 11) refers to ___
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|the 1860s bicycle with pedals (the boneshaker)}}
Exercice 14
What do the following words refer to?
“they” (line 26) refers to ___
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|(many) women}}
Exercice 15
Choose the answer closest in meaning to the word in the text. “huge” (line 15)
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : A very big
Exercice 16
Choose the answer closest in meaning to the word in the text. “hardly” (line 28)
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : C almost not
Part C — Thinking about the text
Exercice 17
What is the main idea of the text? Choose the correct answer.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : A The bicycle changed step by step until it became the safe, comfortable machine we use today.
Exercice 18
Which invention in the text was the most important, in your opinion: pedals, the chain or the tyre filled with air? Give TWO reasons.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|Personal answer, for example the chain: it made same-size wheels possible, so bikes became safe; or the tyre: without it riding was not comfortable. One clear choice + two reasons that fit the question + clear English.}}