Leonardo's Horse

Choose the main idea of the passage:

• Leonardo da Vinci often studied horses.

• Leonardo da Vinci had a beautiful singing voice.

• Leonardo da Vinci enjoyed working with bronze.

• Leonardo da Vinci was a very talented person.

Pick the detail from the passage does not support the idea that Leonardo was a talented person?

• “He had to bring his own experience into whatever he painted.”

• “He visited the stables.”

• “He could make a bronze horse.”

• “he knew where all the bones and muscles of a horse were.”

What did Leonardo think about other artists' statues of horses?

• He thought he should visit stable where the horses lived.

• He studied the bones and muscles of a horse

• He wanted to make his horse statue out of bronze.

• He noted that many horse statues did not look natural.

Choose the reason Leonardo wanted to go to Milan?

• to convince the duke to let him paint a large religious picture

• to deliver a silver flute to the ruler Lorenzo de’ Medici

• to convince the duke to let him make a bronze horse

• to take charge of entertainment at the duke’s palace

Which sentence contains an opinion?

• “He was an engineer, an architect, a musician, a philosopher, an

  astronomer.”

• “Once he fashioned a special kind of flute made of silver in the shape of a horse’s head.”

• “Leonardo was thirty years old now, handsome with curly blond hair.”

• “He could make cannons, lightweight bridges, and covered chariots

  that couldn’t be broken or harmed.”

In Greek, the word “mousikê” comes from a word that describes special beings that inspire arts or sciences. Which word from the passage most likely has “mousikê” as its root?

• measured

• midst

• muscles

• musician

The Latin, the word “palatium” was the location in Rome where the emperors’ houses stood. Use this information to choose the meaning of the word palace in this passage.

• horse of a military leader

• home of an important person

• city where the duke lives

• country of Italy

Pick the sentence which best explains the meaning of the simile in the following sentence:

“But you couldn’t show all the muscles on a statue, he said, or the horse would look like a bag of turnips.”

• The horse would look exactly like a real horse looks.

• The horse would be eating turnips from a bag.

• The horse would look lumpy and misshapen.

• The horse would be looking at a bag of turnips.

What is the meaning of the word part in the following sentence?

"He had planned the picture and that was an important part?"

• a piece of a machine

• where hair falls on either side of the head

• an actor’s role in a play or show

• one portion of a total amount

Which detail from the reading is the best clue to the meaning of “part”?

• “He could make cannons,”

• “He had planned the picture”

• “couldn’t be broken or harmed.”

• “So he wrote to the duke,”