BBC 英语学习 在你的自行车上

From BBC, learning English. Hello, and welcome to 6 min English.

I'm Sophie, and I'm Neil. Did you watch the Tour de France cycling race this summer?

Sophie? No, I didn't. I'm not a cycling enthusiasm Neal, unlike you, I was pretty exciting stuff.

In fact, thinking about it makes

me want to jump on my bike and ride off right now.

Don't go just yet, because today's show is all about bicycles.

And I've got a question for you.

Who invented the 1st pneumatic or air filled cycle tyre in 1888?

Was it a John boy Dunlop?

B Charles good Year, or C Harvey?

Samuel Firestone? Well, I'm going to go for a John Boyd Dunlop.

Can I go now? No, you can't.

We'll find out later on in the show if you've got the tire question right or not.

But 1st, I'd like you to tell us a bit about the history of the bike, if you insist.

Well, before the modern bike was invented in 1885, people rode bone shakers, high wheelers and even tricycles.

A tricycle is a three wheeler bike that young children ride before they learn to balance on a two wheeler.

But what's a bone shaker nail?

It was the 1st bike with pedals, called a velociped by its manufacturers.

Others called it a bone shaker because its tires were made of iron, so it was very uncomfortable to ride, especially over cobblestone streets.

It sounds awful now, moving on.

The bicycle started out as an expensive toy for the middle classes, but when manufacturing cost dropped, they became a vehicle for social change.

By the late 19th century, bikes had become affordable for a large proportion of the population, and the technology had moved on, so they weren't so dangerous, also uncomfortable to ride, and for the 1st time in history, people had the freedom to travel where they wanted, when they wanted, including women.

Let's hear more about women and cycling from Robert penn Uk, author and lifelong cyclist.

In very practical terms, it have a very significant effect on what women wore in public.

And when they 1st rode bicycles there, expected to ride in long, ankle length skirts and voluminous petticoats.

And of course, that was entirely impractical, so they adopted what was called rational dress.

And rational dress was a better fitting jacket and pantaloon trousers, which sinched below their knee, which meant that nothing got caught in the chain.

And at 1st there was massive public outrage.

There were court cases about whether or not women were allowed to be served in pubs wearing this sort of dress.

So women in the 19th century typically wore long skirts and voluminous or large petticoats.

A petticoat is a piece of clothing worn under a dress or skirt.

But what does rational dress mean?

Exactly, sophie, rational here means logical.

It wasn't logical to wear ankle length skirts with voluminous petticoats on a bike, so women started wearing pantaloon trousers.

Handelloon trousers were baggy, though they were sinched or gathered in below the knee so they wouldn't catch in the bicycle chain.

But pantaloons, for women, still caused outrage or shock and anger, because although they were bagging, they were still trousers and they didn't go down to the ankle.

So bikes played a part in women's struggle for emancipation or freedom.

But let's listen now to Robert Penn, who claims that it also played a role in our evolutionary history.

It definitely shored up the gene pool in countries like Britain, because it meant that people could go further than they ever had before in order to find a partner for life and to mate.

And so what started as a really faddish leisure pursuit, within a decade of 1885, the bicycle became the most popular form of transport on the planet, and it has been ever since.

What does shore up mean? Sophie?

It means support. And gene pool here refers to the collection of genes in a particular population.

So when people traveled further to marry and have children, they were making the gene pool bigger and healthier.

And Robert Penn uses the word fadish.

He says cycling started as a fadish thing, a fad, or fadish activity means an enthusiasm for something that doesn't last very long.

But your enthusiasm for cycling is not a fad?

No, it isn't. Do you think micro wearing is a fed and will all go back to wearing pantaloons in the future?

sophie, no, not a good look.

Okay, maybe it's time for the answer to today's quiz question.

I asked who invented the 1st cycle tire in 1888?

Was it a John poy Dunlock, b Charles Goodier, or see Harvey?

Samuel Firestone? And I said, john Boyd Dunlock, tell me I'm right.

You are right. Well done. Neil Scottish inventor and veterinary surgeon John boy Dunlop developed the pneumatic rubber tyre.

Although it was invented as an improvement on the

bicycle, the numatic tire arrived on the scene just in time to contribute to the success of the car.

Now, here are the words we heard today.

They are pneumatic, voluminous, petticoat rational, pantaloon, sinched, outraged emancipation, shore up Jean pool, fad or fadish.

Well, that's the end of today's six minute English Please join us again soon.

And we are on social media too.

Make sure to visit our profiles on Facebook, twitter, instagram and youtube.

You can get on your bike now.

Neil, goodbye, bye bye.

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