(09·湖南D篇)

Andrew Ritchie, inventor of the Brompton folding bicycle, once said that the perfect portable bike would be “l(fā)ike a magic carpet…You could fold it up and put it into your pocket or handbag”. Then he paused: “But you’ll always be limited by the size of the wheels. And so far no one has invented a folding wheel.”

It was a rare — indeed unique — occasion when I was able to put Ritchie right. A 19th-century inventor, William Henry James Grout, did in fact design a folding wheel. His bike, predictably named the Grout Portable, had a frame that split into two and a larger wheel that could be separated into four pieces. All the bits fitted into Grout’s Wonderful Bag, a leather case.

Grout’s aim: to solve the problems of carrying a bike on a train. Now doesn’t that sound familiar? Grout intended to find a way of making a bike small enough for train travel: his bike was a huge beast. And importantly, the design of early bicycles gave him an advantage: in Grout’s day, tyres were solid, which made the business of splitting a wheel into four separate parts relatively simple. You couldn’t do the same with a wheel fitted with a one-piece inflated （充氣的） tyre.

So, in a 21st-century context, is the idea of the folding wheel dead? It is not. A British design engineer, Duncan Fitzsimons, has developed a wheel that can be squashed into something like a slender ellipse （橢圓）. Throughout, the tyre remains inflated.

Will the young Fitzsimons’s folding wheel make it into production? I haven’t the foggiest idea. But his inventiveness shows two things. First, people have been saying for more than a century that bike design has reached its limit, except for gradual advances. It’s as silly a concept now as it was 100 years ago: there’s plenty still to go for. Second, it is in the field of folding bikes that we are seeing the most interesting inventions. You can buy a folding bike for less than £1,000 that can be knocked down so small that it can be carried on a plane — minus wheels, of course — as hand baggage.

Folding wheels would make all manner of things possible. Have we yet got the magic carpet of Andrew Ritchie’s imagination? No. But it’s progress.

69. We can infer from Paragraph 1 that the Brompton folding bike        .

A. was portable

B. had a folding wheel

C. could be put in a pocket

D. looked like a magic carpet

70. We can learn from the text that the wheels of the Grout Portable        .

A. were difficult to separate

B. could be split into 6 pieces

C. were fitted with solid tyres

D. were hard to carry on a train

71. We can learn from the text that Fitzsimons’s invention        .

A. kept the tyre as a whole piece

B. was made into production soon

C. left little room for improvement

D. changed our views on bag design

72. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Three folding bike inventors

B. The making of a folding bike

C. Progress in folding bike design

D. Ways of separating a bike wheel

(09湖南卷)32. You and I could hardly work together,       ?

A. could you B. couldn’t I C. couldn’t we      D. could we

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(09湖南卷)21. Every evening after dinner, if not        from work, I will spend some time walking my dog.                           

A. being tired B. tiring        C. tired   D. to be tired

 (09·湖南)

“It’s no use, Mum,” said Johnny. “I’m just no good at dancing.”

“You’ve got to keep trying. Tonight will be     36    , dear. Try a turn with that pretty Lisette.”

Johnny     37    . Every Saturday night used to be the best of the week. He and his parents went to the     38     at the Club, where his hero, Alcide, played the accordion （手風(fēng)琴） with the band. But lately everything had changed. Now that Johnny was older, he was     39     to dance with a girl!

40     Johnny and his parents arrived at the Club, music had already started. Johnny got up his     41     to approach Lisette. “May I have this dance?” Johnny asked. “That’s all right,” said Lisette. Johnny struggled to keep up with Lisette’s     42     steps, but he was always one beat behind her. Then Johnny heard his friend Pierre say, “Look! Johnny has two left feet!”     43

burst from the crowd. Johnny     44     and ran outside, determined never to go to another dance.

The next Saturday, Alcide     45     to Johnny’s house for some potatoes. He happened to hear Johnny playing the accordion. Alcide’s eyes     46    . “Bring that accordion and play some songs tonight,” Alcide said. Then he drove off, leaving Johnny staring open- mouthed     47     him.

At the Club, Johnny scanned the crowd for Lisette and     48     her. The band played for a long time before Alcide said, “Dear friends, I got a     49     for you tonight. Young Johnny is going to join us!”     50    , Johnny stepped up on the platform, his eyes on the floor. He began to play, and the band     51     behind him. When the song ended, he heard cheers. Johnny kept playing until the dance was     52    . “You did a fine job tonight. Play with us again next Saturday night,” Alcide said. “Yes, sir!” said Johnny.   53   he went outside, Johnny saw Lisette and her friends near the door. Lisette stepped     54    , smiling. “You played really good tonight!” she said.

“Thank you,” Johnny blushed （臉紅）. As he walked on, Pierre     55     moved out of the way for him to pass.

Johnny patted his accordion. Come to think of it, in his whole life, he had never once seen Alcide out on the dance floor.

36. A. difficult                  B. troublesome           C. different             D. terrible

37. A. answered                B. sighed                   C. smiled                D. laughed

38. A. platform                 B. appointment          C. meeting              D. dance

39. A. expected                 B. invited                   C. allowed               D. chosen

40. A. If                           B. Since                    C. Though              D. When

41. A. spirits                     B. feelings                 C. courage              D. strength

42. A. smooth                 B. clumsy                 C. slow                   D. small

43. A. Shouts                    B. Laughter               C. Applause             D. Cheers

44. A. broke away             B. went out               C. broke up             D. turned out

45. A. ran                         B. walked                  C. drove                  D. cycled

46. A. opened                   B. rolled                    C. sharpened           D. widened

47. A. off                         B. with                     C. after                   D. for

48. A. caught                   B. searched               C. sought                D. spotted

49. A. surprise                   B. puzzle                   C. story                   D. joke

50. A. Struggling              B. Trembling            C. Wandering          D. Whispering

51. A. got round                B. joined in                C. turned around      D. showed off

52. A. in                         B. out                        C. over                  D. on

53. A. As                           B. Because                 C. Until                    D. So

54. A. backward               B. forward                C. onward               D. downward

55. A. still                         B. even                     C. ever                   D. almost