The Bicycle Invention Reading Answers

Aug 13, 2024

The discussed topic is an academic reading answers topic. The bicycle invention Reading Answers has a total of 5 IELTS questions in total. You have to fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the paragraphs in the questions.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognise synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers, which feature topics such as The bicycle invention Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

Section 1

THE BICYCLE INVENTION

Vehicles for human transport that have two wheels and require balancing by the rider date back to the early 19th century. The first means of transport made use of two wheels arranged consecutively and thus the archetype of the bicycle was the German draisine dating back to 1817. The term bicycle was coined in France in the 1860s, and the descriptive title 'penny farthing', used to describe an 'Ordinary Bicycle', is a 19th-century Term. The first verifiable claim for a practically used bicycle belongs to German Baron Karl von Drais, a civil servant to the Grand Duke of Baden in Germany. Drais invented his Laufmaschine (German for "running machine") in 1817, which was called Draisine (English) or Parisienne (French) by the press. Karl von Drais patented this design in 1818, which was the first commercially successful two-wheeled, steerable, human-propelled machine nicknamed hobby-horse or dandy horse. It was initially manufactured in Germany and France.

On his first reported ride from Mannheim on June 12, 1817, he covered 13 km (eight miles) in less than an hour. Constructed almost entirely of wood, the draisine weighed 22 kg (48 pounds), had brass bushings within the wheel bearings, iron-shod wheels, a rear-wheel brake and 152 mm (6 inches) of trail of the front wheel for a self-centering caster effect. This design was welcomed by mechanically minded men daring to balance, and several thousand copies were built and used, primarily in Western Europe and North America. Its popularity rapidly faded when, partly due to increasing numbers of accidents, some city authorities began to prohibit its use. However, in 1866, a Chinese visitor named Bin Chun could still observe foot-pushed velocipedes.

The concept was picked up by several British cartwrights, the most notable was Denis Johnson of London announcing in late 1818 that he would sell an improved model. New names were introduced when Johnson patented his machine 'pedestrian curricle' or 'velocipede', but the public preferred nicknames like 'hobby-horse', after the children's toy. worse still. 'dandy horse'. , after the foppish men who often rode them. Johnson's machine was an improvement on Drais's, being notably more elegant as his wooden frame had a serpentine shape instead of Drais's straight one allowing the use of larger wheels without raising the rider's seat.

Questions 22-26

Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD for each.

YEAR	EVENT
1818	Denis Johnson patented hismachine 'pedestrian curricle'or 22…….
1817	Draisine-a Laufmaschine wasinvented by 23. ……….
1866	A 24…….. visitor named Bin Chun could still observe foot-pushed velocipedes.
June1817	First reported 25……from Mannheim covering 13 km in less than an hour.
Late1818	Denis Johnson of London announced the of selling a26……. model

Q.22

Answer: VELOCIPEDE

Supporting statement: “........New names were introduced when Johnson patented his machine 'pedestrian curricle' or 'velocipede', but the public preferred nicknames like 'hobby-horse'.........”

Keywords: velocipede, nicknames

Keyword Location: para 3, lines 3-4

Explanation: In Paragraph 3, the passage discusses how Denis Johnson, a British cartwright, improved upon Drais's invention and patented his machine. The passage explicitly mentions that Johnson's machine was patented under the names "pedestrian curricle" and "velocipede".

Q.23

Answer: DRAIS

Supporting statement: “........The first verifiable claim for a practically used bicycle belongs to German Baron Karl von Drais... Drais invented his Laufmaschine in 1817........”

Keywords: Baron, Drais

Keyword Location: para 1, lines 5-7

Explanation: The passage outlines that the first verifiable bicycle, named "Laufmaschine", was invented by German Baron Karl von Drais in 1817. The term "Draisine" is derived from his name, making "DRAIS" the correct answer.

Q.24

Answer: CHINESE

Supporting statement: “........However, in 1866, a Chinese visitor named Bin Chun could still observe foot-pushed velocipedes........”

Keywords: observe, pushed

Keyword Location: para 2, line 7

Explanation: In Paragraph 2, the passage mentions that in 1866, a visitor named Bin Chun, who was Chinese, observed foot-pushed velocipedes. The adjective "Chinese" is directly used to describe Bin Chun, so the correct answer to fill in the blank is "CHINESE".

Q.25

Answer: RIDE

Supporting statement: “.......On his first reported ride from Mannheim on June 12, 1817, he covered 13 km (eight miles) in less than an hour.........”

Keywords: reported, miles

Keyword Location: para 2, line 1

Explanation: The passage states that the first reported "ride" from Mannheim occurred in June 1817. Therefore, the correct answer is "RIDE".

Q.26

Answer: IMPROVED

Supporting statement: “.........The concept was picked up by several British cartwrights, the most notable was Denis Johnson of London announcing in late 1818 that he would sell an improved model.......”

Keywords: notable, model

Keyword Location: para 3, line 2

Explanation: The passage describes how Denis Johnson, a British cartwright, announced in late 1818 that he would sell an "improved" model of the Draisine. The word "improved" is used to describe the changes he made to the original design.

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