阅读理解。
Who was Leonardo da Vinci? You may answer without thinking: "He is the painter of 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
full-size machines built according to his sketches-including a crane (起重机) and a robot!
Leonardo da Vinci was born to 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 of Milan
as a chief engineer. In the duke's military factories, Da Vinci developed an interest in war weapons.
He designed many important machines, including helicopters and parachutes. He also drew and wrote
about an armored car, which could carry eight men inside and allow them to fire weapons through holes
in its walls. Da Vinci's idea led to the mod- ern 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!
1. Was Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vinci?
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2. When was Leonardo da Vinci born?
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3. What did Leonardo da Vinci design?
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4. Why did Leonardo da Vinci cut up dead bodies in hospitals?
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5. What was Leonardo da Vinci according to the passage?
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