在2014年6月28日的托福阅读考试中有这样一道题：印刷。针对这道托福考题，出国留学网(www.liuxue86.com)小编为大家普及一下关于印刷的背景知识，这样有助于考生在面对这类题目时方便作答。
托福阅读真题再现：
印刷
第二段说某个国家好像是印度。。。他们的造纸很脆弱但比欧洲便宜，用的是old rag之后进行工艺(这有考题)
第三段是印刷术是由中国传到欧洲的
后面几段就一直在说活字印刷对出版的方便性
举例说了一家法国最开始的公司之前雇人手抄各种书籍(有数字列举)之后用了这种活字印刷产量大增 最初发行的七百多本圣经成为了最贵的书籍
托福阅读背景知识：印刷
Movable type
Movable type is the system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual letters or punctuation).
The world's first known movable type system for printing was created in China around 1040 A.D. by Bi Sheng (990–1051) during the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127); When this technology spread to Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty in 1234, they made the metal movable-type system for printing. This led to the printing of the Jikji in 1377, the oldest extant movable metal print book. The diffusion of both movable-type systems was, however, limited: They were expensive, and required an enormous amount of labour involved in manipulating the thousands of ceramic tablets, or in the case of Korea, metal tablets required for scripts based on the Chinese writing system, which have thousands of characters.
Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented an improved movable type mechanical printing system in Europe, along with innovations in casting the type based on a matrix and hand mould. The more limited number of characters needed for European languages was an important factor. Gutenberg was the first to create his type pieces from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony—the same components still used today.
For alphabetic scripts, movable-type page setting was quicker and more durable than woodblock printing. The metal type pieces were more durable and the lettering was more uniform, leading to typography and fonts. The printing press was especially efficient for limited alphabets. The high quality and relatively low price of the Gutenberg Bible (1455) established the superiority of movable type in Europe and the use of printing presses spread rapidly. The printing press may be regarded as one of the key factors fostering the Renaissance and due to its effectiveness, its use spread around the globe.
The 19th-century invention of hot metal typesetting and its successors caused movable type to decline in the 20th century.
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