Ⅱ. Write an outline. (20 points)
Read the following passage carefully and compose a “topic outline” for it.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci’s works of art made him world-famous. But there was far more to this great man of ideas than just the Mona Lisa’s pretty face. Leonardo is often thought of primarily as an artist, and with masterpieces such as The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa to his credit, his place in art history is assumed. Yet his notebooks show that his main interests lay elsewhere—in engineering and technology. The notebooks are full of drawings and designs for all kinds of inventions—from calculating machines to tanks, from parachutes to helicopters. If his pioneering work on anatomy is also taken into consideration, we can easily see why Leonardo is considered one of the greatest geniuses of all time. He is not only an outstanding artist, but also a great scientist.
Born in 1452, Leonardo was given only a rudimentary education in his early age. After ten years in the workshop of the artist Verrocchio, he set up as a freelance artist. Some of his works have survived, and reveal a stunning combination of technical skills with very careful observation. His works also reveal an emerging fascination with technology, with technical drawings of equipment of all kinds.
Leonardo was particularly fascinated by the technology of warfare. At this time, Florence was at war with the Pope, and Leonardo realized that this was an opportunity to make use of his new inventions for better guns and other military equipment. However, the war ended before anything could come of his plan and he returned to his painting.
At the age of thirty, he left his home town and eventually moved to Milan, where he spent seventeen years under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. Here he continued to combine his scientific and technological work with his painting, which was of perspective and proportion. During this period, he painted The Last Supper and developed his ideas for chemical weapons and flame-throwers.
When Sforza was driven from power by the French, Leonardo returned to Florence and spent four years working for Cesare Borgia as an engineer and military architect. He now became fascinated with flight. He studied birds for clues about how to fly and drew sketches of machines resembling helicopters.
In 1506, he returned to Milan and became increasingly focused on science. He began to study human anatomy and the circulation of blood. He also drew up a comprehensive guide to the working of living creatures.
He died at Amboise in France, where he was welcomed by King Francois I. He continued to do the occasional sketch, a few designs and plans for buildings, but most of his time was devoted to sorting out his scientific papers.
Only twenty-one of his dozens of notebooks survive. Just seventeen paintings have been ascribed to him with certainty, and some of those are tunfinished. Leonardo may not have achieved the perfection that he aspired to but he came closer to it in more fields than anyone before or since.
Ⅲ. Compose an essay. (60 points)
Many young people choose to overwork in order to make more money; however, persistent overwork will affect their health in the long,run. What is your opinion on this? Write a 300-word expository essay explaining your views.
