De la draisiana a la bicicleta moderna

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. , . . , 200 000 1889 1 000 000 1899.
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About this article

Level B1 Reading focus

What you'll learn

bicycle history, transport vocabulary, past narration, technical change, B1 reading

The reading follows the draisine, its arrival in the United States, the rise of the safety bicycle and cycling at Athens 1896.

After reading

Article learning block

Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.

15 items

Phrases for training

Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.

se impulsaba con los pies

new

was propelled with the feet

Se impulsaba con los pies describes movement produced by pushing against the ground with the feet.

Useful for explaining how an early vehicle moved.

dio paso a

new

led to

Dar paso a means to allow a new situation or stage to begin.

Useful for linking stages in a historical account.

a finales del siglo XIX

new

at the end of the nineteenth century

A finales de locates an event in the last part of a period.

Useful for historical timelines.

forma parte del

new

is part of

Formar parte de means to belong to a larger programme or group.

Useful for discussing institutions and programmes.

Key words

Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.

Draisine

draisiana

draisine

A draisiana is an early two-wheeled vehicle moved by pushing the feet against the ground.

Names the vehicle created by Karl Drais.

Pedals

pedales

pedals

Pedales are the parts pushed with the feet to transmit force on a bicycle.

Basic technical vocabulary for bicycles.

Balance

equilibrio

balance

Equilibrio is the stable position that prevents a person or object from falling.

Useful for movement and sports.

To rent

alquilar

to rent

Alquilar means to use something for a limited time in exchange for payment.

Useful for transport, housing and travel.

Chain

cadena

chain

A cadena is the linked metal part that transmits movement from the pedals to the wheel.

Useful for understanding bicycle mechanics.

Gears

engranajes

gears

Engranajes are toothed parts that transmit or change movement in a mechanism.

Useful for describing machines.

Grammar in context

Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.

Reflexive imperfect

se impulsaba

moved by pushing herself or himself

Se impulsaba describes the repeated way a person moved in the past. The pronoun se refers back to la persona.

Useful for describing habitual past movement.

Passive se

se conserva

is preserved

Se conserva presents the preserved object as the subject without naming the people responsible.

Useful for museum and heritage descriptions.

Becoming popular

se hicieron populares

became popular

Se hicieron populares expresses a change of state in the past.

Useful for trends and historical change.

Change from one figure to another

pasó de 200 000 bicicletas en 1889 a 1 000 000 en 1899

rose from 200,000 to 1,000,000

Pasar de... a... marks the starting and ending figures of a change.

Useful for reporting statistics.

Since with the present

desde los Juegos de Atenas de 1896

since the Athens Games of 1896

Desde plus a starting point combines with the present to describe something that continues now.