According to the passage, why were books rare before the fifteenth century?
Before the fifteenth century, books were copied by hand, a slow process that made them rare and costly. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press that used movable metal type, which allowed pages to be set quickly and printed many times. Within fifty years, presses were operating in hundreds of European towns, and millions of books had been produced. Cheaper books helped more people to learn to read, and new ideas spread much faster than before. Some rulers and church leaders, however, worried that printed texts would be hard to control, and they tried to limit what could be published.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. They were copied by hand
- Step 1: The passage says copying by hand made books rare and costly.
Answer
They were copied by hand.
Why not the others: They were forbidden by rulers., There were no readers. and They were printed on metal sheets. do not fit.
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