The story of the Bicycle

As people try to use less energy, and find alternatives to cars, more and more people are
buying, and riding, bicycles. But where did the bicycle come from? Who invented this
"velocipede"? .

You may be surprised to learn that the humble bicycle was invented several years later than the
railway locomotive! But the two-wheeler has come a long way since the day it was invented by a
Scottish blacksmith, Kirkpatrick MacMillan, back (it is said) in 1839.
MacMillan developed his bike from an older wheeled vehicle, called a "hobby horse". This was a
wooden horse with two wheels. The rider sat on the horse, and pushed the vehicle along with his feet.
It was not a very fast or safe vehicle, since it had no steering and no brakes.
MacMillan, nicknamed Mad Pate, modified the hobby horse, by adding a system
of articulatedbars. The rider could push the bars back and forwards with his feet, and make the back
wheel go round. He could also steer the bike, as the front wheel could be turned.
To demonstrate his invention, he cycled 60 miles to Glasgow! It must have been a terrible journey,
on the roads of the day! Pate's bike did not have rubber tyres or springs.
Mad Pate was not recognised in his time, but other people became interested in bicycles. Twenty-
five years later, a Frenchman called Pierre Lallemant designed and patented the first bicycle with
rotary pedals; and in 1876, H.J.Lawson added another basic feature, "chain-drive".
Other features, such as rubber tyres and gears, have appeared since then; but the basic bicycle
has not changed.
Since then the bicycle has had a magnificent fortune. Today, it is probably the most common form of
transport in the world, especially in the Third World; and non-polluting and easy to ride, it has a big
future as the town vehicle of tomorrow. Thanks Pate!
WORDS :
blacksmith: a blacksmith makes things out of iron - steering: means of direction - brakes: brakes help a
vehicle to stop - nicknamed: known familiarly as - articulated: with joints - steer : direct - - rubber: a slightly
soft material used on the outside of car wheels - springs: springs make a vehicle more comfortable - to
patent: to officially register an invention - drive: traction - features: aspects - gears: most modern bicycles
have at least 10 gears

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Student worksheet
The Story of the Bicycle
Comprehension: true or false?

Read the article and say whether these statements are true or false:.

1. The railway locomotive was invented before the bicycle.

2. The first bicycle was built in Scotland.
3. The bicycle was developed from a wooden horse.
4. The first bicycle was very difficult to steer.
5. Pate preferred not to have rubber tyres for his bike.
6. The pedals on Pate's bike went round and round.
 7. A Frenchman designed the first bike with rotary pedals.
8. Bicycles are very useful in the Third World.
9. The bicycle has little future in Europe.

Canada - the biggest country in the New World

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD - in terms of surface area? The USA? NO
! CHINA ? NO ! RUSSIA ? YES !! And the second biggest country in the world? Many people are quite
surprised to learn that it is actually Canada.

CANADA - IT'S NOT the USA

Imagine yourself sitting in a café one day in your home town, when on the next table you hear some people
speaking English with a strong North American accent. Being a friendly person, you lean over and say, "Hi! Are
you American?"
"No," comes the immediate answer. "Canadian!"
Calling a English-speaking Canadian an American can be as bad as telling a Scotsman that he's English or a
Swiss person he's German. In spite of a common language, there are differences in culture and national feeling.
"No," many Canadians will tell you with insistence, "We're not Americans! We're Canadians"

In the same way as Quebecers are determined to keep their identity, Canadians from the other provinces are
determined to keep Canada's identity. Although the Canadian way of life is more and more like the American
way of life, lots of details are different, and many Canadians, particularly Quebecers, are worried about the
survival of their own differences.
Canadians use metres and kilometres and measure temperatures in Celsius; Americans use feet and miles,
and measure temperature in Fahrenheit. The USA has states, Canada has provinces.
Yet about 80% of Canadians live within 150 km. of the U.S. border, and this has had a bad effect on the
Canadian economy. Like most European countries, Canada has a national health service, and a good social
security system; but good welfare services have to be paid for by high taxes, so the cost of living in Canada is
high. Because of this, hundreds of thousands of Canadians often get in their cars and drive over to the USA to
go shopping. This is one cause of economic problems in Canada. Over half of Canada's imports come from the
United States, and Canada has a trade deficit with the USA.
But the American influence is not just a question of shopping. Lots of Canadians drive American cars, and
cars are almost as important in Canada as they are in the USA. There is television too. While Quebecers tend
to watch their own French-language TV stations, English-speaking Canadians have a choice between local
English-speaking channels, national programmes from CBC, and dozens of American channels brought to them
by cable or satellite. Unless they specifically want to watch local stations, they're just as likely to tune in to one
of the big American channels as they are to a Canadian channel.
Perhaps it is not surprising if some Canadians are afraid that their country will soon be just like another part of
the USA. If, one day, Quebec becomes independent, many Canadians fear that the rest of Canada could break
up. Perhaps that's an exaggeration; many Canadians feel it is a real risk.

SOME SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT CANADA

 Canada is the second biggest country in the world, but the population is only 36 million.
 Over half of all Canadians live south of a line that runs, in Europe, through Dijon, Zurich and Budapest.
 Winter temperatures regularly go down to -25°C all over Canada, except on the West Coast.
 Driving for 12 hours a day, it takes 5 days to go by road from Montreal to Vancouver.
 Ottawa, the Canadian capital, is situated in Ontario, on the border with Quebec. Its biggest suburb, Gatineau, is
in Quebec. A third of the population of Ottawa are French-speakers.
 There is a Canadian version of the Loch Ness Monster, the "Turtle Lake Monster". It is said to be between 3 and
9 metres long, and to live in the very deep waters of Turtle Lake, Saskatchewan.

A CANADIAN WINTER ...... Brrrr ! It's cold

If there is one thing that unites almost the whole population of Canada, it is the experience of winter.
While in most parts of Europe, people never know what the winter weather will be like from one week to the
next, Canadians know what winter means. When the last leaves fall off the trees in Autumn, Canadians know
that the winter is coming, and that it will be cold; or if it is not cold, it will be very cold! When the Arctic air blows
south in the winter months, Canadians know that the temperature will fall to -20° or lower, perhaps down to -40°;
but because they know that it is going to happen, Canadians are ready for it! That, as they say, is half the battle
of survival!
In Edmonton, the biggest city in the province of Alberta, the first winter snows can come in October. When
this happens, Edmontonians complain that it is a bit early, but then just get on with normal life.
For most of the winter, which usually lasts from November to April, daytime temperatures in the city rarely
rise above freezing; from time to time, Arctic winds howl down from the north, and for several days
temperatures in the city may not rise above -20° (and may drop below -40°).
But in a city where people are used to cold winters, life carries on as usual. Canadians have to know how
to cope with the cold; those who can't have just two options, to emigrate or to go and live beyond the Rocky
Mountains, beside the Pacific Ocean, in "B.C." – British Columbia!
The easiest way to keep away from the cold of a Canadian winter is to stay indoors as much as possible! This
does not mean that you have to stay at home, however! Many people keep their cars in heated basement
garages which they can reach without going outside. Cars are often kept warm in winter, with electric heaters
which are plugged into power points.
Some shopping centres have underground or indoor parking lots: and in the city centre, it is often possible to
walk from one building to another, underground or above ground, without ever having to go out in the cold. The
biggest shopping centre in town has hundreds of shops, cinemas, an ice rink, a sports centre and an
amusement park all under one roof! The "West Edmonton Mall" is like an indoor city — and in the heart of
winter, it is a good place to go shopping.
Outside, people make the most of the snow, for leisure and recreation. Skiing, skating and snow-shoeing are
popular activities that can be practised in the city's parks; many parks also have areas which are flooded in
winter, to provide natural icerinks, which are lit up in the evenings. Everyone tries to enjoy the snow as much
as possible!
Perhaps this is easier than it is in most parts of Europe; Canadian snow tends to be dry and powdery. For
most of the winter, for example, you can't make it into snowballs, it's too cold. There is no point in putting salt on
the roads, either, as at -10° and below, the snow just will not melt, even with salt! The only way to clear the
roads is to use snow-ploughs or snow-blowers.

Constitutional issues

Canada's official Head of State is Queen Elizabeth, who is also the nominal head of state of 15 other
Commonwealth countries. Her function is purely symbolic. Many Canadians would like Canada to have a
Canadian head of State; but many others want to keep the monarchy. Opinion is divided, but there is no great
opposition to the Queen as head of state, except in Quebec.
It was not until 1982 that Canada became constitutionally an independent nation! When this happened, many
Canadians were quite surprised, as they thought that their country had been independent since 1867. In
practice they were right; the Canadian government in Ottawa has governed Canada since that date.
The links between Britain and Canada remain very strong, all the same. About 40% of Canadians
have ancestors from the British Isles, and about 30% have ancestors from France. In particular, lots of Scottish
people emigrated from Britain to Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the British Isles remained the main
source of immigration to Canada until the 1980's.
Today, most new Canadian immigrants come from Asia, particularly from southern and south east Asia.

The first Canadians

Before Europeans came to North America, Canada was inhabited by native Americans, known today as
Indians and the Inuit (or Eskimos).
Contrary to popular imagination, Canada's Indians were not all nomadic people, and in eastern Canada,
many Indians lived in villages made of wooden huts. Like Europeans, they grew crops and cultivated small
fields.
Different groups of Indians often fought for territory, for good agricultural land, for the rivers with most fish in
them. However, there was plenty of room for everyone in such a vast country, and food was not a real problem;
the forests were full of wild animals.
Indians in the western half of Canada were more nomadic. The great prairies of Western Canada were home
to tribes of Indians who lived in teepees; these nomads lived mainly from hunting.
Today, there are about 300,000 officially registered Indians in Canada, and about a million other Canadians
who are partly of Indian origin. Indian ceremonies and festivities are an important part of Canadian culture.
Across Canada, there are over 2000 Indian reservations, many of them relatively poor. However some Indian
reservations have rich natural resources. In Alberta, Indian groups receive hundreds of millions of dollars each
year in royalties for gas and oil extracted from the ground in or under their reservations.

WORD GUIDE
ancestors: grandparents, great grandparents, etc. - basement: the underground level of a building -
border: frontier - cope with: live with, accept - crops: food plants - flooded: covered with water -
health: medical condition - howl: blow very fast - hunting: killing wild animals - icerink: place for skating -
parking lot: car park - plugged into: connected to - power points: sources of electric current - - tend
to: have a habit of (-ing) - trade deficit: a trade deficit is when a country imports more than it exports - tune in
to: select - used to: accustomed to, familiar with - welfare: services to help people who are in a difficult
situation

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Student Worksheet
Focus on Canada
Fill in the missing prepositions and adverbs in this extract from the
section "A Canadian Winter"
Replace the missing adverbs and prepositions in this extract from the Freeway Focus: you will need to use: to
(10), in (6), from (4), above (2), for (2), of (2) with (2), at, away, below, beside, beyond, indoors, into, without.

_____ most _____ the winter, which usually lasts _____ November _____ April, daytime temperatures _____
the city rarely rise _________ freezing; _____ time _____ time, Arctic winds howl _______ _____ the north, and
_____ several days temperatures _____ the city may not rise _________ -20° (and may drop _________ -
40°). _______ the cold; those who can't have just two options, _____ emigrate or _____ go and live
__________ the Rocky Mountains, __________ the Pacific Ocean, _____ B.C., British Columbia!
But _____ a city where people are used _____ cold winters, life carries _______ as usual. Canadians have
_____ know how _____ cope.
The easiest way _____ keep _______ _____ the cold _____ a Canadian winter is _____ stay
__________ as much as possible! This does not mean that you have _____ stay ___ home, however! Many
people keep their cars _____ heated basement garages which they can reach __________ going outside. Cars
are often kept warm _____ winter, _______ electric heaters which are plugged _______ power points.
COMMON
PHRASAL VERBS

Separable Phrasal Verbs

The object may come after the following phrasal verbs or it may separate the two parts:
 You have to do this paint job over.
 You have to do over this paint job.
When the object of the following phrasal verbs is a pronoun, the two parts of the phrasal verb
must be separated:
 You have to do it over.

Verb Meaning Example

blow up explode The terrorists tried to blow up the railroad station.

bring up mention a topic My mother brought up that little matter of my prison record again.

bring up raise children It isn't easy to bring up children nowadays.

call off cancel They called off this afternoon's meeting

do over repeat a job Do this homework over.

fill out complete a form Fill out this application form and mail it in.

fill up fill to capacity She filled up the grocery cart with free food.

My sister found out that her husband had been planning a surprise party for
find out discover
her.

give something to
give
someone else for The filling station was giving away free gas.
away
free

give
return an object My brother borrowed my car. I have a feeling he's not about to give it back.
back

submit something
hand in The students handed in their papers and left the room.
(assignment)

put something on
hang up She hung up the phone before she hung up her clothes.
hook or receiver

hold up delay I hate to hold up the meeting, but I have to go to the bathroom.

hold up
rob Three masked gunmen held up the Security Bank this afternoon.
(2)

leave
omit You left out the part about the police chase down Asylum Avenue.
out

look examine, check The lawyers looked over the papers carefully before questioning the witness.
over (They looked them overcarefully.)

look up search in a list You've misspelled this word again. You'd better look it up.

make She knew she was in trouble, so she made up a story about going to the
invent a story or lie
up movies with her friends.

make
hear, understand He was so far away, we really couldn't make out what he was saying.
out

There were three men in the line-up. She picked out the guy she thought had
pick out choose
stolen her purse.

lift something off

pick up The crane picked up the entire house. (Watch them pick it up.)
something else

point
call attention to As we drove through Paris, Francoise pointed out the major historical sites.
out

put
save or store We put away money for our retirement. She put away the cereal boxes.
away

We asked the boss to put off the meeting until tomorrow. (Please put it off for
put off postpone
another day.)

put clothing on the

put on I put on a sweater and a jacket. (I put them on quickly.)
body

The firefighters put out the house fire before it could spread.
put out extinguish
(They put it out quickly.)

read
peruse I read over the homework, but couldn't make any sense of it.
over

set up to arrange, begin My wife set up the living room exactly the way she wanted it. She set it up.

take
make a written note These are your instructions. Write them down before you forget.
down

take off remove clothing It was so hot that I had to take off my shirt.

talk
discuss We have serious problems here. Let's talk them over like adults.
over

throw
discard That's a lot of money! Don't just throw it away.
away

put clothing on to see

try on She tried on fifteen dresses before she found one she liked.
if it fits

try out test I tried out four cars before I could find one that pleased me.

turn
lower volume Your radio is driving me crazy! Please turn it down.
down
turn
He applied for a promotion twice this year, but he was turned down both
down reject
times.
(2)

turn up raise the volume Grandpa couldn't hear, so he turned up his hearing aid.

turn off switch off electricity We turned off the lights before anyone could see us.

turn off
repulse It was a disgusting movie. It really turned me off.
(2)

switch on the
turn on Turn on the CD player so we can dance.
electricity

exhaust, use The gang members used up all the money and went out to rob some more
use up
completely banks.

Inseparable Phrasal Verbs (Transitive)

With the following phrasal verbs, the lexical part of the verb (the part of the phrasal verb that carries the "verb-
meaning") cannot be separated from the prepositions (or other parts) that accompany it: "Who will look
after my estate when I'm gone?"

Verb Meaning Example

call on ask to recite in class The teacher called on students in the back row.

call on (2) visit The old minister continued to call on his sick parishioners.

recover from sickness or I got over the flu, but I don't know if I'll ever get over my
get over
disappointment broken heart.

The students went over the material before the exam.

go over review
They should have gone over it twice.

go They country went through most of its coal reserves in

use up; consume
through one year. Did he go through all his money already?

My mother promised to look after my dog while I was

look after take care of
gone.

look into investigate The police will look into the possibilities of embezzlement.

run across find by chance I ran across my old roommate at the college reunion.

run into meet Carlos ran into his English professor in the hallway.

take after resemble My second son seems to take after his mother.

wait on serve It seemed strange to see my old boss wait on tables.

Three-Word Phrasal Verbs (Transitive)
With the following phrasal verbs, you will find three parts: "My brother dropped out of school before he could
graduate."

Verb Meaning Example

interrupt (a I was talking to Mom on the phone when the operator broke in
break in on
conversation) on our call.

After our month-long trip, it was time to catch up withthe

catch up with keep abreast
neighbors and the news around town.

The boys promised to check up on the condition of the summer

check up on examine, investigate
house from time to time.

to contribute After years of giving nothing, the old parishioner was able to come
come up with
(suggestion, money) up with a thousand-dollar donation.

We tried to cut down on the money we were spending on

cut down on curtail (expenses)
entertainment.

drop out of leave school I hope none of my students drop out of school this semester.

have a good I found it very hard to get along with my brother when we were
get along with
relationship with young.

get away with escape blame Janik cheated on the exam and then tried to get away with it.

The citizens tried to get rid of their corrupt mayor in the recent
get rid of eliminate
election.

get through
finish When will you ever get through with that program?
with

keep up with maintain pace with It's hard to keep up with the Joneses when you lose your job!

look forward to anticipate with pleasure I always look forward to the beginning of a new semester.

It's typical of a jingoistic country that the citizens look down

look down on despise
on their geographical neighbors.

We were going to look in on my brother-in-law, but he wasn't

look in on visit (somebody)
home.

Good instructors will look out for early signs of failure in their
look out for be careful, anticipate
students

look up to respect First-graders really look up to their teachers.

Make sure of the student's identity before you let him into the
make sure of verify
classroom.

put up with tolerate The teacher had to put up with a great deal of nonsense from the
 new students.

run out of exhaust supply The runners ran out of energy before the end of the race.

take care of be responsible for My oldest sister took care of us younger children after Mom died.

The star player talked back to the coach and was thrown off the
talk back to answer impolitely
team.

think back on recall I often think back on my childhood with great pleasure.

walk out on abandon Her husband walked out on her and their three children.

Intransitive Phrasal Verbs

The following phrasal verbs are not followed by an object: "Once you leave home, you can never really go
back again."

Verb Meaning Example

That old Jeep had a tendency to break down just when I

break down stop functioning
needed it the most.

Popular songs seem to catch on in California first and then

catch on become popular
spread eastward.

Father promised that we would never come back to this

come back return to a place
horrible place.

They tried to come in through the back door, but it was

come in enter
locked.

He was hit on the head very hard, but after several minutes,
come to regain consciousness
he started to come to again.

come over to visit The children promised to come over, but they never do.

visit without We used to just drop by, but they were never home, so we
drop by
appointment stopped doing that.

When we visited Paris, we loved eating out in the sidewalk

eat out dine in a restaurant
cafes.

Uncle Heine didn't have much money, but he always seemed

get by survive
to get by without borrowing money from relatives.

Grandmother tried to get up, but the couch was too low, and
get up arise
she couldn't make it on her own.

go back return to a place It's hard to imagine that we will ever go back to Lithuania.

He would finish one Dickens novel and then just go on to the

go on continue
next.
 The cops heard all the noise and stopped to see what
go on (2) happen
was going on.

grow up get older Charles grew up to be a lot like his father.

The judge warned the stalker to keep away from his victim's
keep away remain at a distance
home.

keep on (with
continue with the same He tried to keep on singing long after his voice was ruined.
gerund)

He had drunk too much; he passed out on the sidewalk

pass out lose consciousness, faint
outside the bar.

Whenever he sat down at the piano, we knew he was going

show off demonstrate haughtily
to show off.

show up arrive Day after day, Efrain showed up for class twenty minutes late.

wake up arouse from sleep I woke up when the rooster crowed.