Leonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest geniuses of all time. He was a painter, an architect, an engineer and a scientist. He was born in Vinci, Italy in 1452. Vinci is a town just outside of the great Italian city, Florence. His name, Da Vinci, means "of Vinci". Leonardo’s father was a lawyer and landowner, and his mother was a peasant. Leonardo’s parents were never married to each other.
莱昂纳多•达芬奇是有史以来最伟大的天才之一，他是画家、建筑师、工程师和科学家。他1452年出生在意大利的芬奇——芬奇是意大利重要城市佛罗伦萨郊外的一个小镇，他的名字达芬奇意思是“芬奇的”。达芬奇的父亲是律师和地主，母亲是农民，他的父母从未结婚。
Leonardo lived with his mother until he was around 5 years old. When he was 5, he moved into the home of his father. By then his father had married a 16-year-old girl. Leonardo’s mother married another man and moved to another town. She had many more children after that, with several different men. In the end, Leonardo had more than 15 half sisters and brothers.
达芬奇在5岁之前一直和母亲住，5岁时搬进了父亲的家，那时他的父亲娶了一位16岁的女孩。达芬奇的母亲嫁给了另一个男人，搬去了另一个小镇。从那以后，她和好几个男人在一起，有了更多的孩子。最终，达芬奇同父异母或同母异父的兄弟姐妹超过15个。
As a young man, Da Vinci didn’t go to school. He was educated at home in reading, writing and mathematics. In other subjects, he was mostly self-educated. He had access to books at his father’s home. Leonardo spent a lot of time outdoors and developed a strong interest in nature. He loved to observe things, especially birds. He was also interested in the properties of water.
作为一位年轻人，达芬奇没有去上学，他在家接受阅读、写作和数学教育。其他科目主要是自学，他可以去父亲屋里看书。达芬奇经常待在户外，对大自然产生了浓厚的兴趣。他喜欢观察，尤其是鸟类，他还对水的性质感兴趣。
