阅读文章回答第69~72题DAndrewRitchie,inventoroftheBromptonfoldingbicycle,oncesaidthattheperfectportable bikewouldbe“likeamagiccarpet…Youcouldfolditupandputitintoyourpocketorhandbag”.Thenhepaused:“Butyou’llalwaysbelimitedbythesizeofthewheels.Andsofarnoonehasinventedafoldingwheel.”
Itwasarare—indeedunique—occasionwhenIwasabletoputRitchieright.A19th-centuryinventor,WilliamHenryJamesGrout,didinfactd esignafoldingwheel.Hisbike,predictablynamedtheGroutPortable ,hadaframe.thatsplitintotwoandalargerwheelthatcouldbeseparatedintofourpieces.AllthebitsfittedintoGrout’sWonderfulBag,aleathercase.
Grout’saim:tosolvetheproblemsofcarryingabikeonatr ain.Nowdoesn’tthatsoundfamiliar?Groutintendedtofindawayofmakingabikesmallenoughfortr aintr avel:hisbikewasahugebeast.Andimportantly,thedesignofearlybicyclesgavehimanadvantage:inGrout’sday,tyresweresolid,whichmadethebusinessofsplittingawheelintofourseparatepartsrelativelysimple.Youcouldn’td othesamewithawheelfittedwithaone-pieceinflated（充气的）tyre.
So,ina21st-centurycontext,istheideaofthefoldingwheeldead?Itisnot.ABritishdesignengineer,DuncanFitzsimons,hasdevelopedawheelthatcanbesquashedintosomethinglikeaslenderellipse（椭圆）.Throughout,thetyreremainsinflated.
WilltheyoungFitzsimons’sfoldingwheelmakeitintoproduction?Ihaven’tthefoggiestidea.Buthisinventivenessshowstwothings.First,peoplehavebeensayingformorethanacenturythatbikedesignhasreacheditslimit,exceptforgradualadvances.It’sassillyaconceptnowasitwas100yearsago:there’splentystilltogofor.Second,itisinthefieldoffoldingbikesthatweareseeingthemostinterestinginventions.Youcanbuyafoldingbikeforlessthan£1,000thatcanbeknockeddownsosmallthatitcanbecarriedonaplane—minuswheels,ofcourse—ashandbaggage.
Foldingwheelswouldmakeallmannerofthingspossible.HaveweyetgotthemagiccarpetofAndrewRitchie’simagination?No.Butit’sprogress.
第14题：WecaninferfromParagraph1thattheBromptonfoldingbike.
A．wasportable
B．hadafoldingwheel
C．couldbeputinapocket
D．lookedlikeamagiccarpet
正确答案：A
