Transportation is the act of moving people or goods from one place to another. It keeps the world on the move. It takes children to school, workers to offices and factories, and business people and tourists around the world. It carries goods from factories to shops and from country to country, and raw materials for industry around the world.
Throughout most of history, transportation was extremely slow and difficult. Prehistoric people travelled mainly on foot. They transported goods on their backs or heads or by dragging them along the ground.
How exciting now to be able to go wherever one wishes with the speed and strength of a wild animal! People have dreamed of such freedom for thousands of years. That is why early humans
tamed horses, so that they could ride them and use them to pull heavy loads or help with strenuous
work. Hundreds of years ago, somebody had another idea: Why not make machines that would
take the place of horses? That was the beginning. Now there are four major modes of transportation and they are: road, rail, air and water.
Motor Vehicles
Cars, buses, trucks, motor cycles, bicycles and horse-drawn carts all travel on the roads. Motor
vehicles are more familiar to us than any other means of transportation. Most people can hardly
imagine what their daily lives would be like without them. Yet it has been not much more than 100
years since the first practical automobile engine was invented by the German engineer Gottlieb
Daimler. Since then, millions of kilometers of roads have been constructed for these vehicles to run on.
A French inventor made a steam carriage in 1770. In the late 1800s, a German inventor built a
car with a petrol engine. Soon engineers in other countries were making cars. In the 1900s, factories in the United States began to mass-produce them. Today tens of millions of vehicles are produced annually, including cars, vans, motorcycles, buses, lorries and dozens of speciality vehicles.
Railways
Railways changed the world. Before railways were built, horses, camels and other beasts of burden
were by far the fastest means of transportation. Railroads are usually used for long distance travel
and transporting large quantities of goods. Reliability of railroad is good because since railroads
use rails, bad weather would not interrupt their journey. Railways today are a key part of the
transport systems all over the world.
In 1804, a British engineer named Richard Trevithick built the first workable steam locomotive. In 1825 the world’s first public railway opened between Stockton and Darlington in England. Today, most railways use electric or diesel locomotives, which are more economical to operate.
Aeroplanes
People have always longed to fly, but not until 1903 did anybody succeed in making a machine
that could be controlled by its piolt and flown under its own power. In that year, two Americans, Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright, invented the aeroplane, which they patented as a “flying machine”. The first engine-powered aeroplane to fly was the Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. It travelled 118 feet and reached a maximum speed of 29 miles per hour. Man’s first flight took place in 1783 when two daring Frenchmen, the Montgolfier brothers, floated over Paris in a hot-air balloon.
Today, some aeroplanes can fly faster than the speed of sound. There are also many airliners that can carry hundreds of passengers in safety and comfort. Using ordinary scheduled airline services, a traveller can make a journey in hours or days, that once took weeks or months. Aeroplanes are considered the safest means of transport.
Ships and Boats
Ships and boats are among the most important means of transport. A large ship is actually a floating
city. Prehistoric people travelled along rivers by floating on boats made of wooden logs lashed
together. Later, people learned to make boats they could paddle or row, and boats with sails. When
people became curious to know what lay on the other side of the oceans, they built ships that could
carry them on long sea voyages. Today, there are millions of ships and boats afloat on the world’s
rivers, lakes and oceans. They range from tiny dinghies and canoes to giant oil tankers and luxurious passenger ships.
Trade among countries depends heavily on ships. Many kinds of ships are used to carry on the
world’s trade. Giant tankers are used to carry petroleum, vegetable oil, wines and other liquids.
Refrigerated cargo ships carry fresh fruits, meat and vegetables.
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Throughout most of history, transportation was extremely slow and difficult. Prehistoric people travelled mainly on foot. They transported goods on their backs or heads or by dragging them along the ground.
How exciting now to be able to go wherever one wishes with the speed and strength of a wild animal! People have dreamed of such freedom for thousands of years. That is why early humans
tamed horses, so that they could ride them and use them to pull heavy loads or help with strenuous
work. Hundreds of years ago, somebody had another idea: Why not make machines that would
take the place of horses? That was the beginning. Now there are four major modes of transportation and they are: road, rail, air and water.
Motor Vehicles
Cars, buses, trucks, motor cycles, bicycles and horse-drawn carts all travel on the roads. Motor
vehicles are more familiar to us than any other means of transportation. Most people can hardly
imagine what their daily lives would be like without them. Yet it has been not much more than 100
years since the first practical automobile engine was invented by the German engineer Gottlieb
Daimler. Since then, millions of kilometers of roads have been constructed for these vehicles to run on.
A French inventor made a steam carriage in 1770. In the late 1800s, a German inventor built a
car with a petrol engine. Soon engineers in other countries were making cars. In the 1900s, factories in the United States began to mass-produce them. Today tens of millions of vehicles are produced annually, including cars, vans, motorcycles, buses, lorries and dozens of speciality vehicles.
Railways
Railways changed the world. Before railways were built, horses, camels and other beasts of burden
were by far the fastest means of transportation. Railroads are usually used for long distance travel
and transporting large quantities of goods. Reliability of railroad is good because since railroads
use rails, bad weather would not interrupt their journey. Railways today are a key part of the
transport systems all over the world.
In 1804, a British engineer named Richard Trevithick built the first workable steam locomotive. In 1825 the world’s first public railway opened between Stockton and Darlington in England. Today, most railways use electric or diesel locomotives, which are more economical to operate.
Aeroplanes
People have always longed to fly, but not until 1903 did anybody succeed in making a machine
that could be controlled by its piolt and flown under its own power. In that year, two Americans, Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright, invented the aeroplane, which they patented as a “flying machine”. The first engine-powered aeroplane to fly was the Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. It travelled 118 feet and reached a maximum speed of 29 miles per hour. Man’s first flight took place in 1783 when two daring Frenchmen, the Montgolfier brothers, floated over Paris in a hot-air balloon.
Today, some aeroplanes can fly faster than the speed of sound. There are also many airliners that can carry hundreds of passengers in safety and comfort. Using ordinary scheduled airline services, a traveller can make a journey in hours or days, that once took weeks or months. Aeroplanes are considered the safest means of transport.
Ships and Boats
Ships and boats are among the most important means of transport. A large ship is actually a floating
city. Prehistoric people travelled along rivers by floating on boats made of wooden logs lashed
together. Later, people learned to make boats they could paddle or row, and boats with sails. When
people became curious to know what lay on the other side of the oceans, they built ships that could
carry them on long sea voyages. Today, there are millions of ships and boats afloat on the world’s
rivers, lakes and oceans. They range from tiny dinghies and canoes to giant oil tankers and luxurious passenger ships.
Trade among countries depends heavily on ships. Many kinds of ships are used to carry on the
world’s trade. Giant tankers are used to carry petroleum, vegetable oil, wines and other liquids.
Refrigerated cargo ships carry fresh fruits, meat and vegetables.
Subscribe to Child Project Helper by Email
