Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Italy. He is best known as an artist today. One of his famous paintings is called Mona Lisa. However, Leonardo had many other natural abilities. He was also a great inventor.  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}  .

 Although Leonardo hated war, he invented many different machines used for war. His most special invention was the machine gun,  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} .

   {#blank#}3{#/blank#}     , Leonardo tried to find out the secret of flying. Among his sketch  we can see several objects. We consider them as modern flying machines.

Leonardo spent many hours thinking about how to make good use of time. He developed ideas for labor-saving machines like cutting machines.

Leonardo was a strange man. He didn't eat any meat, which was very  unusual in those times. He never published  his ideas and scientific discoveries. He usually used mirror writing, which looks like writing in a mirror,  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}   .

  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . Leonardo finished only a few of his paintings. He left many unfinished because he thought they were not perfect. No one in his life time knew how great Leonardo was. We now believe, however, that he was one of the cleverest men the world has ever known.

    As a city with a long history, Yangzhou is among the f{#blank#}1{#/blank#} 24 cities in China that enjoy the title（称号） of Historical and Cultural City approved by the State Council. B{#blank#}2{#/blank#} the year 2014,Yangzhou will mark its 2500^th anniversary of the founding of the city.

    Throughout history, Yangzhou has been f{#blank#}3{#/blank#} for its gardens. However, during the late Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou gardens were b{#blank#}4{#/blank#} destroyed because of the city's decline(衰落) and the wars.

    Since the foundation of the PRC, Yangzhou gardens have been better p{#blank#}5{#/blank#} and developed. Famous gardens like the Slender West Lake, Ge Garden, He Garden…are under effective protection. In 1996, Yangzhou became o{#blank#}6{#/blank#} of the first Garden Cities in Jiangsu Province and in 2003 ,it w{#blank#}7{#/blank#} the title of the National-level Garden City.

    Yangzhou gardens are generally characterized(总体风格) as being n{#blank#}8{#/blank#} and fresh. The design is usually based on the principles of following the natural landscape, using rocks, pools, lakes, or rivers in a garden scene, and decorating(装饰) gardens with famous f{#blank#}9{#/blank#}and ancient trees. In this w{#blank#}10{#/blank#}, the style of Yangzhou gardens can be characterized by combining the greatness of North China and the beauty of South China. Living in the world like this, people are sure to have a healthier life.