At that time he spent as much time as he canthe ancient statues which would be sunk in th

问题补充：

At that time, he spent as much time as he canthe ancient statues which would be sunk in the river.

A. paint

B. to paint

C. painting

D. painted

答案：

A. paint

B. to paint

(答案→)C. painting

D. painted

解析：考查固定结构。Spent +时间+doing sth，花费时间做某事。选C。