Question

read the passage. before johannes gutenberg invented the printing press in the fifteenth century, books had to be written out and copied by hand. this labor - intensive process made books rare and expensive. the printing press changed that by using movable type, pieces of metal with raised letters. individual characters could be reused to print multiple copies of one page. then, the characters could be rearranged to print copies of a different page. this enabled the mass production of books, broadening the reach of literature and ideas to a wider audience. as books became increasingly available, more and more people learned how to read, spurring the cultural and intellectual growth of society. gutenbergs invention marked a turning point in the history of communication. what is the main, or central, idea of the passage? the gutenberg printing press was a very costly piece of equipment that few people could afford, which made books rare and expensive. the gutenberg printing press was a convenient technology that involved arranging individual letters of movable type into words. the gutenberg printing press transformed the spread of knowledge by allowing for the large - scale production of books. the gutenberg printing press began the mass production of books, which made individual copies less unique and meaningful.

Explanation:

The passage focuses on how Gutenberg's printing press enabled mass - production of books, spreading knowledge and changing communication.

Answer:

The Gutenberg printing press transformed the spread of knowledge by allowing large - scale production of books.