解析:
证明:在$△ ADC$和$△ BDE$中,
$\because ∠ C = ∠ E$,$∠ ADC = ∠ BDE$,
$\therefore △ ADC ∼ △ BDE$。
$\therefore \frac{AD}{BD} = \frac{DC}{DE}$。
$\because AD = 4$,$BD = 5$,$DC = 3$,
$\therefore \frac{4}{5} = \frac{3}{DE}$,
解得$DE = \frac{15}{4}$。
$\frac{15}{4}$