Unit 10
Lesson 1
Student’s Book pages 76-77
Cultural tourism
Before you begin
Look at the picture
The key words
|
The word / phrase |
The meaning |
The part of speech |
|
effect |
a change that is a result or consequence of an action or other cause |
Noun |
|
sculptor |
a person who makes statues |
Noun |
|
sketch |
a drawing that is often not finished |
Noun |
|
portrait |
a painting where mainly someone’s head and shoulders are showing |
Noun |
|
examine |
to look at something carefully and thoroughly because you want to find out more about it |
Verb |
While reading
The power of imagination
Cultural tourism means travelling to a certain country to experience its culture, including its language, history, art and other aspects of culture. Thousands of tourists from around the world visit the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, to see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci was born in Italy in 1452 CE. He is regarded as one of the world’s greatest artists for being a talented musician, sculptor as well as being a brilliant scientist and inventor. His notebooks were filled with sketches and drawings of many things: the human body, birds in flight, and designs for the different machines that he invented.
When he was fifteen years old, Leonardo began to work for an artist. He learnt how to paint, sculpt and design jewellery. By the age of twenty, Leonardo was a great painter and sculptor. Leonardo began work on many large paintings, but very few of them were finished. He did, however, discover how to use light and dark to create effects. His painting Mona Lisa is a masterpiece of light and dark, and it is probably the most famous portrait in the world today.
Leonardo was greatly interested in science and nature, so he examined plants and trees to discover how they grow. He also studied rocks to see how they were formed, and he carried out tests to show what things can affect the wind and the oceans.
Leonardo was also very interested in machines and sketched many inventions. He studied how birds use their wings to fly, and invented some ‘flying machines’: a type of parachute, an early helicopter, and an aeroplane.
During his lifetime, Leonardo was admired and greatly respected. However, when he died in 1519 CE, his works were not really understood because he was a true genius, far ahead of his time.
The text talks about:
1 Leonardo the Scientist
2 The talented child
3 A masterpiece of light and dark
4 Leonardo’s death
5 Inventions by Leonardo Da Vinci
6 Leonardo Da Vinci’s birth and his different talents
After reading
- Why is the Mona Lisa a masterpiece?
- He discovered how to use light and dark to create effects. His painting Mona Lisa is a masterpiece of light and dark.