IELTS Reading Practice Test 9 Printable

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Reading Passage 1

The History of Bicycle

The bicycle was not invented by one individual or in one country. It took nearly 100 years and many people for the modern bicycle to be born. By the end of those 100 years, bicycles had revolutionised the way people travelled from place to place.

Bicycles first appeared in Scotland in the early 1800s, and were called velocipedes. These early bicycles had two wheels but no pedals. The rider sat on a pillow and walked his feet along the ground to move his velocipede forward.

Soon, a French inventor added pedals to the front wheel. Instead of walking their vehicles, riders would use their feet to run the pedals. However, pedalling was hard because velocipedes were very heavy. The frame was made of solid steel tubes, and the wooden wheels were covered with steel. Even so, velocipedes were popular among rich young men who raced them in Paris parks.

Because the velocipedes were so hard to ride, no one thought about using them for transportation. People didn’t ride velocipedes to the market or to their jobs. Instead, people thought velocipedes were just toys.

Around 1870, American manufacturers saw that velocipedes were very popular overseas. They began building them, too, but with one difference. They made frames from hollow steel tubes. This alteration made velocipedes considerably lighter, but riders still had to work hard to pedal just a short distance. In addition, the roads were bumpy, which made steering difficult. In fact, most riders preferred indoor tracks where they could rent a velocipede for a small fee and take riding lessons.

Subsequent changes by British engineers altered the wheels to make pedalling more efficient. They saw that when a rider turned the pedals once, the front wheel turned once. If the front wheel was small, the bicycle travelled just a small distance with each turn. They reasoned that if the front wheel were larger, the bicycle would cover a greater distance. So they designed a bicycle with a giant front wheel and a much smaller wheel at the back. Its primary purpose was to help the rider balance. Balancing was hard because the rider had to sit high above the giant front wheel in order to reach the pedals. This meant he was in danger of falling off the bicycle and injuring himself if he lost his balance. Despite this inherent danger, “high-wheelers” became very popular in England.

American manufacturers once again tried to design a better bicycle. Their primary concern was safety. They substituted the giant wheen with a smaller one and put the driving mechanism in a larger rear wheel. It would be impossible for a rider to pedal the rear wheel, so engineers designed a system of foot levers. By pressing first the right one and then the left, the rider moved a long metal bar up and down. This bar turned the rear axle. In turn, this axle propelled the rear wheel. This design minimised the risks associated with riding so more and more people began using bicycles in their daily activities.

The British altered the design one last time. They made the two wheels equal in size and created a mechanism that uses a chain to turn the rear wheel. With this final change, the modern bicycle was born.

Further improvements, such as brakes, rubber tires, and lights were added to make bicycles more comfortable to ride. By 1900, bicycle riding had become very popular with men and women of all ages. Bicycles revolutionised the way people worldwide ride bicycles for transportation, enjoyment, sport, and exercise.

Questions 1-6
Complete the sentences. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage above for each answer.

The invention of the bicycle was not made by one individual or country, but by the world in general over almost a 1 ___________ years. This invention was first found in Scotland in the first decades of 1800 and was known as velocipedes. They were not similar to today’s bicycles and had two wheels, but they had no 2 ___________. The rider sat on a pillow and walked his feet along the ground in order to move his velocipede forward. Soon, a French inventor added pedals to the front wheel.

However, because of their difficulty in riding, nobody used them in a daily life, so they were accepted as 3 ___________. In mid 19th century, manufacturers in America found that this invention was popular 4 ___________, which encouraged them to produce it, with a small but significant improvement. They implemented 5 ____________, which made them much less heavy. Soon, the British inventors found a method that could make pedalling more efficient: turning pedals one by one. They designed a bicycle with a giant front wheel.

However, as the rider had to sit high above the giant front wheel it was too difficult to maintain balance. The safer bicycle was invented by Americans. They designed the rear 6 ___________, which minimised the danger of falling and getting injured. At last, the British changed the design one last time and added two wheels equal in size and the mechanism that made a chain turn the rear wheel. This is how the example of the modern bicycle was invented.

Questions 7-10
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? Write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

7 The bicycle was invented by Americans
8 It was too hard to ride the velocipedes because of their heavy weight
9 The alteration of velocipedes made operating them much easier.
10 The changes made by British inventors altered the wheels to make pedalling more efficient

Questions 11-13
Complete the sentences. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

11 The British inventors concluded that if the front wheel was large in __________, the bicycle would travel comparatively long distance.
12 American engineers designed a system of __________ that was driven by pressing first the right and then the left pedals.
13 The final alteration in creating the modern bicycle was making the two wheels equal in size and using the __________ to spin the rear wheel.

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