Question

Johann Gutenberg, who worked as a goldsmith (金匠), took what had already been discovered, and created a small invention that changed history. He created a machine that allowed him to move small blocks of letters in such a way that written material could be printed and mass-produced. Few people could read before Guttenberg made the invention, but once books became less expensive, more Europeans could read and write.

Block printing existed long before Gutenberg. The Chinese had been using wood blocks to print books as early as 868, but a new set of woodcuts (木刻印版) had to be made for each book. Producing one book was not easy; producing all kinds of books was more difficult.

Writing ink dates from about 2500 BC in Egypt and China. Gutenberg used an oil-based printing ink that would last longer than other inks used in his time. We don’t know much about Gutenberg because he was not famous during his lifetime. He was born in Germany about 1400. In 1448, Gutenberg developed signatures for each number, letter, and punctuation mark (标点符号). He then built the molds (模型) to hold the signatures in place. Gutenberg published the first mass-produced book: a 1,282 page Bible. To this day, more copies of the Bible have been printed than any other book.

Copies of Gutenberg’s invention spread throughout Europe, but the German goldsmith did not get rich from his invention. Some officials denounced the invention of printing because they feared that it would spread bad ideas. By 1500 there were 1,700 printing presses in Europe. The presses had already produced about 20 million volumes (册) of 40,000 different books.

1.What happened after Johann Gutenberg’s invention?

A．People could afford to read books.

B．People became interested in inventing.

C．It was still difficult to print all kinds of books.

D．Punctuation mark began to be used in printing.

2. Compared with block printing in China, Johann Gutenberg’s method _____.

A．was difficult to run

B．needed harder paper

C．used a new kind of ink

D．was put into use earlier

3.The underlined word “denounced” in the last paragraph means _____.

A．fought against                          B．accepted

C．laughed at                             D．supported

4.What is the best title for the text?

A．A famous 1,282 page Bible

B．The life of a famous inventor

C．An invention that changed history

D．The development of printing

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.A

2.C

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要讲述的是Johann Gutenberg,所发明出的新型的印刷方法改变了整个人类的历史。

1.A 细节题。根据文章第一段最后一句Few people could read before Guttenberg made the invention, but once books became less expensive, more Europeans could read and write.可知在他的发明出现以后，很多人都可以阅读和写作了。故A正确。

2.C 细节题。根据文章第三段1,2行Writing ink dates from about 2500 BC in Egypt and China. Gutenberg used an oil-based printing ink that would last longer than other inks used in his time可知他使用的是一种新型的墨水。故C正确。

3.A 推理题。根据本句. Some officials denounced the invention of printing because they feared that it would spread bad ideas可知很多官员反对这项发明，是担心它会传播一些坏的思想。故A正确。

4.C 主旨大意题。本文主要讲述的是Johann Gutenberg,所发明出的新型的印刷方法改变了整个人类的历史。故C正确。

考点：考察历史知识类短文阅读

点评：本文主要讲述的是Johann Gutenberg,所发明出的新型的印刷方法改变了整个人类的历史。本文细节题居多，答题时在文章找到对应的地方，用笔进行标记，这有利于后期有时间检查时可以立刻找到答案的位置。仔细理解作者所讲的意思，再结合选项，通过排除法和自己对全文的把握，选出正确答案。