Who was Leonardo da Vinci? You may answer without thinking：“He is the painter of the Mona Lisa.” What else do you know about him? Da Vinci was more than just a great artist in history. He's also famous as a scientist and an inventor.
Recently, the Grand Rapids Public Museum in the US had an exhibition to introduce this great talent. In one of the shows, named “Leonardo da Vinci's Machines in Motion”， visitors could see and touch 30 fullsize machines built according to his sketchesincluding a crane (起重机) and a robot!
Leonardo da Vinci was born into a rich family in Florence, Italy, in 1452. From childhood, Leonardo was given a good education and he showed talent at painting. By the age of 26, da Vinci had already become a famous painter.
However, he showed that he had multiple talents in 1482 when he began to work for the Duke (公爵) of Milan as a chief engineer. In the duke's military factories, da Vinci developed an obsession with war weapons.
He designed many important machines, including helicopters (直升机) and parachutes (降落伞). He also drew and wrote about an armored car (装甲车), which could carry eight men inside and allow them to fire weapons through holes in its walls.
[理解]
Decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F)．
1．Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, a scientist and an inventor.(T)
2．Leonardo da Vinci had designed many war weapons by the end of 26.(F)
Da Vinci's idea led to the modern tank. Though da Vinci never built many of the inventions he designed, some of the things he imagined in the late 1400s are in use today.
As a scientist, da Vinci was fascinated with the human body. He spent a whole year cutting up dead bodies in hospitals to learn about human anatomy (解剖). He made more than 200 drawings of bodies.
Amazingly, da Vinci wrote backward, so the easiest way to read his notes was to hold them up to a mirror！
[积累]
1．exhibition n． 展览
2．multiple adj. 多重的；多样的；许多的
3．military adj. 军事的
4．obsession n. 迷恋
5．be fascinated with 对……着迷
