Read the following article and answer the questions given below.
The wheel has been an essential part of human
life from the very early years of human civilisation.
The wheel can be best described as a circular object
that rotates on an axial bearing. The earliest wheels
were known to be wooden disks with a hole in the
middle for the axle. The word wheel first came from
an Old English word. In Sanskrit, the wheel is called
chakra to mean round or circle. It is believed that the
wheel first originated around 3500 BC in Mesopotamia (part of modern -day
Iraq) where it was used for chariots. Some argue that it was invented by the
Mesopotamians, the Northern Caucasus and Central Europeans. Therefore, the
issue of where the wheel originated in still remains a mystery.
The next step in the evolution of the wheel was made by the Egyptians 1500
years later in 2000 BC when they used spokes in their wheels and proudly used
them in their chariots while the Greeks have the honour of introducing the cross
bar or the H-type wheel.
The other significant developments in the evolution of the wheel includes the
introduction of wire tension spoke in 1802 when G. F. Bauer obtained a patent
for it and the introduction of a new type of tire in 1845 by R.W. Thompson
which was improved later by John Dunlop in 1888.
The wheel was one of the central technologies which boosted the industrial
revolution. The invention of the wheel has contributed immensely to the
development of technology and the most significant being the water wheel,
the cog wheel and the spinning wheel. Some of the latest developments of the
wheel include the propeller, the jet engine and flywheel and the turbine.
The wheel which originated so long ago has passed through many stages of
development and change and is now presented in very attractive forms. Today,
one cannot even imagine any mechanism without a wheel, can you?
1. Write true (T) or false (F).
I. Technology would not have developed if we had not invented the wheel.
II. The earliest wheels were made of rubber.
III. The word ‘wheel’ came from Sanskrit.
2. Who invented wheels with spokes?
3. Who possesses the patent for the wire tension spoke?
4. Complete the following flow chart to describe the evolution of the wheel.
5. Find single words from the text for the following phrases.
I. belonging to a period of history -
II. involving a great or complete change -
III. most important -
6. Find antonyms / opposite words from the text for the following words.
1. unattractive -
2. modern -
3. dishonour -
7. What does ‘they’ in paragraph 2 refer to?
8. Give a suitable title to the text.
9. Write the main idea of the text in two sentences.
10.Imagine a world with no wheels. Write a short paragraph.
You can begin like this….
Before the invention of wheel, people had to walk long distances but today
people travel ................... because of .......................... . If there were no wheels,
people would.............................
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