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Listen & Learn: Leonardo da Vinci

Announcement: All Good Things (Must) Come To An End 😭

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock
Learn about the famous Renaissance polymath
The Mona Lisa painting
Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Image by Eric Terrade (Unsplash)

Pre-listening vocabulary

  • engineer: someone who designs or builds machines
  • iconic: very famous and recognizable, especially as a symbol of an era or culture
  • talent: something that a person is very good at
  • polymath: a person who has a lot of knowledge about many different subjects
  • century: 100 years
  • fascinate: to capture someone’s interest

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian artist and engineer. He was born in Anchiano, Tuscany in 1452. Da Vinci is one of the most famous figures from the Renaissance period. He is especially well known for his , including the iconic Mona Lisa. However, da Vinci was also an accomplished inventor. He even designed a machine, called an ornithopter, hundreds of years before the Wright brothers flew the first . Because of his many talents, da Vinci is often called a polymath. For many years, most people only knew about his paintings. His were discovered more than a century after his death. They contained a complicated mix of , theories, and calculations. Although da Vinci died more than 500 years ago, his genius still fascinates artists and scientists today.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

  1. Da Vinci was born in
    a. Florence
    b. Venice
    c. Anchiano
  2. One of da Vinci’s famous inventions was
    a. a communication device
    b. a flying machine
    c. a printing press
  3. More than a century after his death, da Vinci’s __________ were discovered.
    a. talents
    b. sketches
    c. notebooks

Discussion/essay questions

  1. Da Vinci’s notebooks are famously difficult to read. He did not organize them by subject, and he often wrote backwards. Some people say that disorganization is connected to creativity. Do you think this is true? Why or why not?

Transcript

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian artist and engineer. He was born in Anchiano, Tuscany in 1452. Da Vinci is one of the most famous figures from the Renaissance period. He is especially well known for his paintings, including the iconic Mona Lisa. However, da Vinci was also an accomplished inventor. He even designed a flying machine, called an ornithopter, hundreds of years before the Wright brothers flew the first airplane. Because of his many talents, da Vinci is often called a polymath. For many years, most people only knew about his paintings. His notebooks were discovered more than a century after his death. They contained a complicated mix of designs, theories, and calculations. Although da Vinci died more than 500 years ago, his genius still fascinates artists and scientists today.

Answers to comprehension questions

1c 2b 3c

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub
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