The First Kite
Kites have been around for thousands of years. The first kites were created in China. There are three stories about how the first kite was born.
Many people believe that the kite was created when people watched birds fly. They then attempted to make a light object shaped like a bird that could fly high in the wind.
The second story goes like this. The kite was born as Chinese children sat below a catalpa tree (梓树). A catalpa tree is known for large leaves and seed pods (荚), which can be over 10 inches long. The catalpa tree’s seed pods have two “wings” that help the seeds move far from the base of the tree. As the leaves and seed pods sailed on an upward wind, the children became inspired to create their own kites.
There is a Chinese legend (传说) telling a different story. When a farmer was working in his field one morning, the wind blew his hat off many times. He had to stop to run after his hat. When the farmer went in for lunch, he had an idea that he could tie one end of a thin rope to his hat and the other end around his wrist (手腕). That afternoon, he went to work again. A sudden and strong wind swept the hat off his head and carried it high into the sky. But the farmer no longer needed to run after his hat. At that time, he got the idea of making a kite.
The idea for a kite could have been born as people watched birds fly, sat below a catalpa tree or found a way to get back a hat. Like the roots of many inventions, these stories are each inspired by people’s experiences or observations of the natural world.
【小题1】Where were the first kites created? (不多于两个单词)【小题2】In the first story, what inspired people to make kites? (不多于五个单词)
【小题3】What gave the farmer the idea of making kites? (不多于四个单词)
【小题4】How do people get the ideas for inventions? (不多于九个单词)
