DICTATIONS-English

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LEONARDO DA VINCI
Man of art. Man of ideas.
Man of inventions.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) lived in a
small town in Italy with his grandparents.
He studied at home and enjoyed music,
singing and mathematics. At the age of 16,
he wanted to study art, so he moved to the
city of Florence for art classes. He finished
his studies after four years. He then worked
in Milan as an engineer and he started his
life as an inventor. In 1500 he returned to
Florence and in 1516 he travelled to France,
where he stayed for the rest of his life.

His inventions
Leonardo da Vinci lived and worked before
people used electricity and petrol for power,
but he had the first ideas for many machines
that we use today.

The robot
Leonardo built his robot in 1495.
The robot stood up, sat down and
held things in its arms.

The helicopter
Leonardo designed the first helicopter but
he never made it. His design used a screw
to lift the helicopter into the air. This is
different from the modern design, but the
general idea is similar.

The diving suit
Leonardo made the suit of leather and added
long pipes to carry the air to the diver. He also
invented special gloves for divers. Today, divers
use them on their feet!

These are just some ofLeonardo's hundreds
of inventions. He also invented a parachute
and even high heels!