Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments. In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise. But nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.
小题1:The story tells us that people began to enjoy roller-skating _______.
| A．before the year 1750 | B．before the invitation |
| C．because of Joseph Merlin | D．because it was dangerous |
小题2:People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________.
| A．he slept and dreamed a lot | B．he was full of different ideas |
| C．he was a talented violinist | D．he always made people’s dreams come true |
小题3:___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.
| A．Merlin’s work | B．Merlin’s violin | C．A huge mirror | D．An important party |
小题4:What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?
| A．He couldn’t stop his roller-skating. | B．He couldn’t attract a lot of attention. |
| C．Everyone was surprised at him. | D．He couldn’t play the violin while rolling. |
小题5:The text is mainly about_________.
| A．a strange man |
| B．an unusual party |
| C．how roller skating began |
| D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century |
