EigoPro 2級 読解 — The Story of the Bicycle

The Story of the Bicycle The bicycle is such a familiar machine that we rarely stop to think about it. Yet this simple invention, powered only by human muscle, changed society in ways that few people expected. Cheap, clean, and easy to use, the bicycle gave ordinary people a freedom of movement they had never known before. The first bicycles, built in the nineteenth century, were strange and even dangerous machines. One early design had no pedals at all: riders pushed themselves along the ground with their feet. A later model had an enormous front wheel, sometimes as tall as a man, which made it fast but very easy to fall off. It was only when the modern "safety bicycle," with two equal-sized wheels and a chain, appeared that cycling became something almost anyone could enjoy. The effects of this cheap, popular machine went far beyond travel. For the first time, working people could live further from their jobs, visit nearby towns, and explore the countryside on their days off. The bicycle is also often linked to greater freedom for women. At a time when women's lives were tightly controlled, the bicycle let them travel independently, and even led to more practical, less restrictive clothing. Some writers of the time argued that it did more for women's independence than almost anything else. Today, in an age of cars and crowded cities, the humble bicycle is enjoying a new wave of popularity. It produces no pollution, helps keep people fit, and takes up little space on busy streets. Many cities are now building special lanes to make cycling safer. More than a hundred and fifty years after it first appeared, this simple, elegant machine still has an important part to play.

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