Diana221648

25.04.2021 00:51 •  Английский язык

1read the following text and match headings a–f with

paragraphs 1–5. there is one heading you do not need.

a who added the wheels?

b our modern rollercoasters

c the terrifying coaster that stopped

d how old is the rollercoaster?

e rollercoasters of the future

f coasters in france and the usa

a history of the rollercoaster

1)you probably think that we invented rollercoasters in the

20th century, but they’ve been around for a lot longer than

that! rollercoaster historians believe the first rollercoasters

were actually russian ‘ice-slides’, popular in st. petersburg in

the 16th century. riders used to climb up the steps at the

back of the ice-slide, and then speed down a wooden slope

covered in slippery ice.

2)
however, the 16th century ice-slides didn’t use the wheeled

cars that our rollercoasters have today. historians can’t quite

agree who first added wheels and created a true ‘rolling

coaster’. some think the russians did this in 1784 when they

made little carriages which went over hills on a kind of tiny

railway track. other historians say it was the french who

started using wheeled carriages on the top of long slides.

3)a french coaster did have the first loop, though. in 1846, in

paris, they opened a 13-metre high rollercoaster ride with a

four-metre loop in it. the layout was simple: people rode

down a gentle slope in a little carriage and went through a

small metal circle. and then in 1884, lamarcus thompson

created the first rollercoaster in the united states – with a

top speed of six miles per hour. the rollercoaster industry

was born!

4)during the 20th century, the rollercoaster really took off. in

1999, thrill-seekers saw the opening of nearly 120 new or

rebuilt rollercoasters around the world. the number of

coasters on the planet now stands at just under 900 rides.

the world’s tallest rollercoaster is called ‘superman, the

escape’, and is in california. the train races up to a height of

125 metres, then falls backwards at 100 miles per hour! and

there are record-breaking continuous-circuit coasters in

japan, which can cost as much as $15 million to build.

5)for the next generation of rollercoasters, people are talking

about arrow dynamics’ ‘pipeline’ prototype. the cars run

between rails which are at the same height as the riders’

stomachs. not good to ride on if you’ve just eaten! so far,

the high price of this coaster means it’s still at the design

stage, but we’ll probably be able to ride on the pipeline one

day in the future. people are always looking for new thrills –

and perhaps charles lindbergh was right when he said ‘a

certain amount of danger is essential to the quality of life.’​