阅读理解。
There are about a billion bicycles in the world, twice as many as there are cars. But if Karl von Drais, the
Baron of Sauerbronn (1785-1851) hadn't been such a lazy person,the bicycle may never have been invented
at all.
Although he had a very important title (and was also a qualified and skillful engineer), the Baron was in
fact a forest ranger, in other words, a gardener with responsibility for a very large garden. He was in charge
of several hundred square kilometers of royal garden and forests in Central Germany.
In 1817, he invented a "running machine" that would help him get round the estate more quickly. The
machine was made of wood, and had two wheels, which were the same size. The machine had a wooden
frame and a leather seat. The rider rode the machine like a horse,but with his feet on the ground. After running
for a while, he could then take his feet off the ground and glide along. It was possible to change direction by
controlling the front wheel, but there were no brakes! In 1863, a Frenchman called Pierre Lallement attached
pedals (踏板) to the front wheel of a bicycle, and the modern idea of a bicycle was born.
Every generation sees new designs and new interest in bicycles. Mountain bikes, for example, transformed
the way people thought about cycling and introduced a new sport,which was accepted into the Olympics in
1996.
New materials such as titanium and carbon fiber are now used to build strong, lightweight machines and
combined brake and gear systems have been developed. Englishman Chris Boardman astonished the world in
the 1990s with his carbon fiber Lotus bicycle, winning Olympic gold in the 4,000 meters track pursuit (追逐)
in Barcelona. More recently, the Great Britain team took several medals at the Athens Olympics.
For most people, however, the bicycle remains what it has always been-a pollution-free way of taking
exercise and getting from A to B.
1. The underlined word "estate" in Paragraph 3 refers to _____.
A. the Baron's big house
B. the mountains in Central Germany
C. the forests near the Baron's house
D. the large garden and forests the Baron in charge of
2. Karl von Drais invented the first bicycle _____.
A. with wooden wheels and a seat, no pedals
B. with two wooden wheels like a wooden horse with pedals
C. so he could walk faster around the garden
D. to ride downhill with his feet off the ground
3. What kind of gardener does the text suggest the Baron was?
A. Someone who took care of forests across Germany.
B. Someone responsible for a big estate of loyal forests and gardens.
C. Someone responsible for the gardens in the whole of Central Germany.
D. Someone who was a qualified engineer looking after running machines.
4. Changes to the bicycle have occurred over the years because of _____.
A. the need for mountain bikes
B. the need for new kinds of bicycles
C. the discovery of useful new materials and new ideas
D. the Olympics and competitive cycling sports