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Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel lately？Can you imagine the flying feeling as you are pulled up to the top and then moved down to the bottom quickly again？
Ferris wheel
Today a Ferris wheel is usually 40 to 60 feet tall．That seems very high when you are on the top looking down．But the first Ferris wheel was 264 feet high-taller than a twenty-story building!Can you imagine the view from the top of that？
The first Ferris wheel was built for the 1893World's Fair in Chicago．The people who planned the fair were looking for an attraction that would bring people to Chicago．George Ferris handed a drawing of a giant wheel that people could ride on．At first everyone laughed at his strange idea．But Mr．Ferris did not give up，and finally the idea was accepted．The ride opened in June of 1893．
Today's Ferris wheels have 12to 16seats，which each carry 2or 3people．But that first one had 36enclosed cars，each holding 60passengers．When filled，it carried 2，160people．During that summer in Chicago，about 1.5million people rode the Ferris wheel．
After the fair the ride was moved to a nearby amusement park built especially to show off the wheel．In 1904，it was moved again-to St．Louis for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition．After the fair there，the wheel stood unused．In 1906it was finally sold to a company for scrap metal （废铁）．
Luckily a Chicago bridge builder，W．E．Sullivan，figured out how to make a smaller Ferris wheel that could easily be taken apart and put together．In 1906he started the company that still makes many of the Ferris wheels used today．
But，whenever you ride one，remember that it all began with George Ferris's strange idea!
61．How tall is a Ferris wheel today？Usually 40 to 60 feet tall．
62．What was the first Ferris wheel built for？For the 1893 World's Fair．
63．What did people think of Ferris's idea at first？Strange．
64．How many people rode the first Ferris wheel during the summer in 1893？About 1.5 million people．
65．Compared with today's Ferris wheels，what was the first Ferris wheel like？It was much higher and could carry more people．．
