Question

Planes have changed the world in the last hundred years. But this great change began with two ordinary people.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were two brothers who had a bicycle shop in Ohio, the USA. They were good at making bicycles, but planes were their real interest.

At that time, people knew how to build and fly gliders (planes without engines), but nobody could build a plane with an engine and fly it. The plane builders had two main problems: they could not make the wings strong enough, and the planes always crashed(墜毀) when they tried to take off.

The Wright brothers read about these problems in a newspaper, and they decided to look for answers. They made small model planes in the bicycle shop and they built a wind tunnel to test the models. They also built real gliders. Finally, they built a plane with an engine, which they called The Flyer.

On December 17th 1903, Orville and Wilbur pulled The Flyer onto a fat sandy beach. The plane weighed 275 kilograms and had a petrol engine. The day was very cold, and there was a wind of about 30 kilometres per hour. The brothers tossed(投擲) a coin to see who should fly first. Orville won. He climbed onto the plane and started the engine.

The Flyer began to move into the wind, Wilbur ran along beside the plane, And then the plane took off：It flew for only 12 seconds, but someone took a photograph, and the plane flew into the history books.

1.People have used planes with engines for more than _______ years.

A.50 B.100 C.150 D.200

2.What was one of the glider builders’ main problems before 1903?

A.None of them was good at making and selling bicycles.

B.Their planes could take off and fly for only 30 minutes.

C.They could not afford to buy an engine for their planes.

D.They could not make enough strong wings for their planes.

3.Why did the Wright brothers make models?

A.They made models to test their ideas.

B.They hoped to sell them for money.

C.They had nothing to do and did that for fun.

D.They weren't interested in making real planes.

4.How was the weather on the day of The Flyer’s flight?

A.Rainy. B.Warm. C.Windy. D.Hot.

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.The Wright brothers owned a model plane shop in the USA before 1903.

B.When The Flyer began its first flight in 1903, it weighed 275 kilograms.

C.Orville and Wilbur both wanted to fly the plane first and Wilbur won at last.

D.The plane The Flyer succeeded in taking off and flew for only 12 minutes.

Answer 1