While you're in a lift, waiting to reach your floor, do you ever wonder who came up with the idea? Probably not. We just expect to have safe lifts in buildings.
Lifts existed as far back as ancient Rome. But the ancient "lifts" weren't closed cars. They were simple platforms. They were typically used to raise up water for farming or lift heavy building materials such as stones. These lifts were powered by animals, people or even water wheels.
The first modem passenger lift was built for King Louis XV in 1743. The Kings lift was installed（安装）on the outside of his palace. It went from the first to the second floor. The King entered it from his balcony, and then men raised and lowered the lift through the use of ropes and wheels.
Lifts became more common in the mid-1800s during the Industrial Revolution when they transported goods in factories and mines. These lifts were often based on a hydraulic（液压的）system. However, this type of lifts was impractical for tall buildings, although it became popular because it could operate with the public water system.
Another lift design (and the one found most often today in passenger lifts) uses a cable system, in which ropes raise and lower the car by means of a wheel and gear（齿轮）system.
These types of lifts are easier to control and buildings that have them do not need the extra room required by hydraulic systems. By the 1850s, these types of lifts had been powered by water pressure or steam.
The first modern passenger lift was_____.
A、raised and lowered by men
B、invented by King Louis XV
C、built for a public building
D、put on the inside of the King's palace
【正确答案】：A
【题目解析】：根据题干modern lift定位到第3段。段末…then men raised and lowered the lift through the use of ropes and wheels.可见，是由人力升降的。
