A
Inspired by a 9-year-old cyclist who uses only part of one hand, a group of University of Guelph students has won an international award for their invention—a bike brake lever(刹车手柄). It pulls both the front brake and the back brake at the same time.
Lauren Turner was able to ride her bike, but not as confidently and quickly as her friends.
“She couldn’t use the front brake. She was only using the back brake, but the front brake makes you stop twice as fast,” says Micha Wallace, who with Katie Bell, Anina Sakaguchi and Andrew Morris won second prize in the James Dyson Awards for their single-handed bike braking lever.
“She used it all last summer and she had no problems. She said it helped her go faster because she felt more confident in her braking abilities. She felt safer.” says Wallace.
The invention was the fourth-year design project for the four students. They designed, tested and created a prototype(模型) within a four-month period.
When Wallace heard about the James Dyson Awards on the news, she and her co-inventors entered their project in the UK-based contest. The contest mainly rewards student designers who create products that improve the way we live. The Guelph students collected the second prize—￡2,000 for them, plus ￡500 for their school.
As well, they had a chance to meet James Dyson, a UK inventor. While praising the students for their creativity, Dyson said the single-handed lever could improve safety for all cyclists. “By using both brakes at once,” he explains, “you could prevent the possibility of flying over the handlebars and ending up with an injury.”
The students are hoping to sell the patent to a major company. It may be used in other devices that require two hands for operation.
21. The bike brake lever was designed for the purpose of .
A. winning James Dyson Awards
B. helping people become confident
C. applying for a patent for the invention
D. helping the disabled ride their bike safely
22. What can we know about the inventors of the brake lever?
A. They created the invention in four years.
B. They won their school ￡500 for their invention.
C. They won the James Dyson Awards for four times.
D. They sold their patent to a major company.
23. From the passage, we could infer that the brake lever .
A. has already been widely used
B. also improves the bike’s speed
C. is only useful for disabled cyclists
D. will have a wide market in the future
