Leonardo da Vinci was
born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. He was the illegitimate son of Ser
Piero, a Florentine notary and landlord, but lived on the estate and was
treated as a legitimate son.
In 1483, Leonardo da
Vinci drew the first model of a helicopter. It did not look very much like our
modern day “copter” but the idea of what it could do was about the same.
Leonardo was an artist
and sculptor. He was very interested in motion and movement and tried to show
it in his art. In order to show movement, he found it helpful to study the way
things moved. One subject he liked to study was birds and how they flew. He
spent many hours watching the birds and examining the structure of their wings.
He noticed how they cupped air with their wings and hoe the feathers helped
hold the air. Through these studies, Leonardo began to understand how birds
were able to fly.
Like many other men,
Leonardo began to dream of the day when people would be able to fly. He designed machine that used all the things he had
learned about flight, and thus became the first model of a helicopter.
Poor Leonardo had only
one problem, however. He had no way to give the necessary speed to his
invention. You see, motors had not yet been invented and speed was an important
part of the flying process. It would be another four hundred years before the
engine was invented and another fifty years before it was put to the test in an
airplane. Leonardo’s dream of a helicopter finally came to pass in 1936.
The Italian painter,
sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist, Leonardo died on May 2, 1519, and
was buried in the cloister of San Fio rentino in Amboise.
1.
What is the author’s main point ?
a. The
invention of the helicopter.
b. Birds
cup air with their wings and use feathers to help hold the air.
c. An
overview of one of Leonardo da Vinci’s many skills.
d. Leonardo
da Vinci was born in 1452 and died in 1519.
Answer : A
2.
The word problem in paragraph five could
best be replaced by the word...
a. Dilemma
b. Mistake
c. Danger
d. Pain
Answer : A
3.
The word it in paragraph two refers to...
a. Leonardo
da Vinci
b. The
first model helicopter
c. 1483
d. Motion
and movement
Answer : B
4.
Which paragraph explains why Leonardo
was not succesful in his lifetime...
a. Paragraph
1
b. Paragraph
2
c. Paragraph
4
d. Paragraph
5
Answer : D
5.
The word illegitimate in paragraph one
is closest in meaning to...
a. Againts
the law or illegal
b. Not
in correct usage
c. Incorrectly
decuded, ilogical
d. Born
out of wedlock
Answer : D
6.
The following sentences would best
complete which paragraph? “ Since then people have been living out Leonardo’s
dream of flying “.
a. Paragraph
3
b. Paragraph
4
c. Paragraph
5
d. Paragraph
2
Answer : C
7.
What was the main problem with Leonardo’s
invention ?
a. Motors
were not yet invented
b. The
birds lost their feathers
c. He
was illegitimate
d. He
couldn’t draw
Answer : A
8.
The word they in the third paragraph
refers to...
a. the
feathers
b. the
birds
c. the
studies
d. the
wings
e. Answer
: B
9.
In what years was the first helicopter
flown...
a. 1483
b. 1452
c. 1519
d. 1936
Answer : D
10.
What two things did birds have that
Leonardo da Vinci noticed helped them to fly ?
a. Wings
and beaks
b. Feathers
and talons
c. Wings
and feathers
d. Cups
and feathers
Answer : C
