In the 11th century, movable type printing was invented by Bi Sheng. It was considered one of the four great inventions in ancient China. Bi Sheng was a skilled craftsman who worked on block (雕版) printing. He knew this technology very well. He found that woodblock printing had a big problem: if people wanted to print another book, they could only copy books by hand, rub stones or use woodblock printing. The wooden blocks were not only hard to store, but also difficult to correct when there were wrong characters(汉字). These methods were cumbersome, tiring and time-wasting. So he tried to make wooden movable type. But the wood took in much ink and became big. The words stuck together and couldn't be used again. Then he tried clay. He carved words on clay and baked them hard. Finally, he invented movable type printing successfully.
With movable type printing, people only needed to make a set of movable types. They could rearrange them to print any book, and the types could be reused many times. Although it took time to make the types at first, it saved a lot of trouble for printing books later. But movable type was never widely used in China because block printing was less expensive.
However, when movable type reached Europe in the 15th century, it changed the communication of ideas. It lowered the price of books, thus helping more people read and write. The books also helped the development of drama and other forms of popular culture. The invention of movable type printing was a great reform in China's printing history. It was a wonderful achievement of ancient Chinese working people and made an important contribution to cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world.
36. Which of the following is the problem with block printing?
A. It was expensive.
B. It was hard to store.
C. People could print by hand.
D. People copied wrong characters.
37. What does the underlined word “cumbersome” probably mean?
A. Troublesome.
B. Convenient.
C. Wasteful.
D. Useful.
38. Why didn't Chinese people use movable type widely?
A. It cost more money.
B. It had no stories to print.
C. It caused a lot of trouble.
D. It took time to make the types.
39. What can we infer about movable type in Europe?
A. It changed its culture.
B. It was useless for people.
C. It lowered the reading time.
D. It helped people share ideas better.
40. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The ways of reading long ago.
B. The history of movable type printing.
C. The life of Bi Sheng in ancient China.
D. The differences between China and Europe.

36. B 37. A 38. A 39. D 40. B

【分析】
这是一篇介绍中国古代活字印刷术的英语阅读理解题，共5道选择题，考查细节理解、词义猜测、推理判断及主旨大意。解题思路为：先通读全文把握文章主旨，再针对每道题的题干关键词定位原文对应内容，对比选项与原文信息，排除干扰项得出正确答案。
【解析】
36. 题干询问雕版印刷的问题，定位原文第一段“The wooden blocks were not only hard to store, but also difficult to correct when there were wrong characters...”，可知雕版印刷难以储存，对应选项B。A选项是活字印刷未广泛应用的原因；C选项与原文不符；D选项是雕版难改错别字而非抄错字，故排除A、C、D，选B。
37. 词义猜测题，划线词“cumbersome”所在句“These methods were cumbersome, tiring and time-wasting.”中，三个形容词为并列的负面描述，“tiring”（累人的）、“time-wasting”（浪费时间的），“troublesome”（麻烦的）符合语境，故选A。
38. 题干询问中国未广泛使用活字印刷的原因，定位原文第二段最后一句“But movable type was never widely used in China because block printing was less expensive.”，可知活字印刷成本更高，对应选项A。B、C选项原文未提及；D选项制作活字耗时不是未广泛应用的原因，故排除B、C、D，选A。
39. 推理判断题，定位原文第三段“when movable type reached Europe in the 15th century, it changed the communication of ideas. It lowered the price of books, thus helping more people read and write.”，可知活字印刷帮助人们更好地交流思想，对应选项D。A选项“改变文化”与原文不符；B选项“无用”错误；C选项“降低阅读时间”原文未提及，故排除A、B、C，选D。
40. 主旨大意题，全文围绕毕昇发明活字印刷术的过程、特点及影响展开，核心是活字印刷的历史，对应选项B。A选项“阅读方式”、C选项“毕昇的生活”、D选项“中欧差异”均偏离主旨，故排除A、C、D，选B。
【答案】36.B 37.A 38.A 39.D 40.B
【知识点】英语阅读理解、词义猜测题、主旨大意题
【点评】本文是关于中国古代科技成就的英语阅读材料，题目设置全面考查阅读能力，需学生精准定位原文信息，结合语境推断词义，归纳文章主旨，整体难度适中。
【难度系数】0.6