阅读理解
Most people have sometimes though："I should like to fly like a bird．" Many people have tried!We do not know about all the people who have tried to fly but we know about some of them．
In about 1020, for example, an Englishman, Oliver, tried to fly with wings like a bird's．He covered more than two hundred meters before he fell to the ground and broke both his arms and legs．But Oliver seemed quite pleased．He said he had made one little mistake．He had forgotten to wear a tail like a bird's．After that he never tried again．
In 1507,an Italian, named John Damain, tried to fly in Scotland．He wore a pair of wings made from hens' feathers, and jumped from the walls．He fell like a stone to the ground below and broke a leg．
Damain was very disappointed．He said, "I made a mistake．I used hens' feathers and hens do not often fly．I ought to have used the feathers of a bird that flies．Then I am sure I would have flown．" But when he was well again, Damain, like Oliver, never tried once again．
An Italian scientist, John Borelli, spent much time thinking about flying．Finally, in 1680, he wrote a book having a great many calculations．They proved that men would never be able to fly with wings strapped to their arms．Borelli worked out that a man's arms were not strong enough to support him in the air．
We know now that he was right but some people took no notice of what Borelli said．In 1742, a Frenchman, although he was an old man, tried to fly across the River Seine, in Paris, with wings strapped to his arms．He jumped from a house beside the river and fell down on to a boat below．He was fortunate and only broke a leg．
Today men can do much better, though they still cannot fly like birds．They use very light, strong wings called "hang-gliders"．One man landed safely after jumping from a balloon at 32,700 feet!Another stayed in the air for 19 hours 36 minutes!They still sometimes hurt themselves．
