Daily Reading Practice · Nonfiction passage
Any word, any time — right from this page.
Today, books are everywhere — in homes, schools, librarieslibrary (noun)Buildings containing collections of books for reading or borrowing.≈ Synonym: book collections🇺🇿UZ: kutubxonalar🇷🇺RU: библиотеки, and shops. But there was a time when books were rarerare (adj)Not common; unusual.≈ Synonym: scarce🇺🇿UZ: noyob🇷🇺RU: редкий and expensive. Before the inventioninvention (noun)A thing created or designed for the first time.≈ Synonym: creation🇺🇿UZ: ixtiro🇷🇺RU: изобретение of the printing press, books had to be copiedcopy (verb)Reproduced writing or a design exactly.≈ Synonym: reproduced🇺🇿UZ: ko'chirilgan🇷🇺RU: переписывались by hand, usually by monksmonk (noun)Men who live in a religious community.≈ Synonym: friars🇺🇿UZ: rohiblar🇷🇺RU: монахи or skilled writers. This took a very long time. A single book could take months or even years to completecomplete (verb)To finish making or doing something.≈ Synonym: finish🇺🇿UZ: yakunlamoq🇷🇺RU: завершить. As a result, only rich people or religiousreligious (adj)Relating to religion or belief in a god.≈ Synonym: spiritual🇺🇿UZ: diniy🇷🇺RU: религиозный leaders could affordafford (verb)To have enough money to pay for something.≈ Synonym: manage to pay for🇺🇿UZ: qurbi yetmoq🇷🇺RU: позволить себе to own books.
That all changed in the 15th century when a man named Johannes Gutenberg inventedinvent (verb)Created or designed something for the first time.≈ Synonym: created🇺🇿UZ: ixtiro qilgan🇷🇺RU: изобрёл the printing press. Gutenberg was a German goldsmithgoldsmith (noun)A person who makes items from gold.≈ Synonym: metalworker🇺🇿UZ: zargar🇷🇺RU: золотых дел мастер who had the idea of using small pieces of metalmetal (noun)A hard, shiny material such as iron or gold.≈ Synonym: alloy🇺🇿UZ: metall🇷🇺RU: металл with lettersletter (noun)Written symbols representing sounds of speech.≈ Synonym: characters🇺🇿UZ: harflar🇷🇺RU: буквы on them. These letters, called movable typemovable type (noun)Reusable pieces of type used for printing text.≈ Synonym: printing letters🇺🇿UZ: harakatlanuvchan shrift🇷🇺RU: подвижный шрифт, could be arrangedarrange (verb)Put in a particular order or position.≈ Synonym: organised🇺🇿UZ: joylashtirilgan🇷🇺RU: расставлены to form words and sentences. Once the letters were in place, inkink (noun)A coloured liquid used for writing or printing.≈ Synonym: printing fluid🇺🇿UZ: siyoh🇷🇺RU: чернила was added, and the press was used to print many copiescopy (noun)Reproductions of an original document or book.≈ Synonym: duplicates🇺🇿UZ: nusxalar🇷🇺RU: копии of a page in a short time.
The first major book Gutenberg printed was the Bible. This became known as the Gutenberg Bible, and it showed how the printing press could produce beautiful, high-qualityhigh-quality (adj)Of a very good standard.≈ Synonym: excellent🇺🇿UZ: yuqori sifatli🇷🇺RU: высококачественный books. For the first time, books could be made in large numberslarge numbers (noun)Big quantities of something.≈ Synonym: great quantities🇺🇿UZ: katta miqdorda🇷🇺RU: большое количество. This meant that books became cheapercheap (adj)Costing less money.≈ Synonym: less expensive🇺🇿UZ: arzonroq🇷🇺RU: дешевле and easier to get. More people were able to learn to read because they could now afford to buy books or borrowborrow (verb)To take something with the intention of returning it.≈ Synonym: loan🇺🇿UZ: qarzga olmoq🇷🇺RU: одалживать them from others.
The printing press had a huge effecteffect (noun)A change caused by an event or action.≈ Synonym: impact🇺🇿UZ: ta'sir🇷🇺RU: эффект on educationeducation (noun)The process of teaching or learning.≈ Synonym: schooling🇺🇿UZ: ta'lim🇷🇺RU: образование and society. Knowledge that was once limitedlimited (adj)Restricted in amount or extent.≈ Synonym: restricted🇺🇿UZ: cheklangan🇷🇺RU: ограниченный to a small group of people could now be sharedshare (verb)Given to or used by more than one person.≈ Synonym: distributed🇺🇿UZ: baham ko'rilgan🇷🇺RU: распространено widely. Science, art, and ideasidea (noun)Thoughts or suggestions.≈ Synonym: concepts🇺🇿UZ: g'oyalar🇷🇺RU: идеи spread more quicklyquickly (adverb)At a fast speed.≈ Synonym: fast🇺🇿UZ: tezda🇷🇺RU: быстро across Europe and later the world. The printing press helped start major changes, such as the RenaissanceRenaissance (noun)The period of European cultural revival, 14th-17th century.≈ Synonym: cultural rebirth🇺🇿UZ: Renessans🇷🇺RU: Ренессанс and the ReformationReformation (noun)The 16th-century movement reforming the Christian church.≈ Synonym: religious reform🇺🇿UZ: Reformatsiya🇷🇺RU: Реформация, because it allowed new ideas to reach more people.
In a way, the printing press was the internet of its time. Just as the internet connectsconnect (verb)Joins or links things together.≈ Synonym: links🇺🇿UZ: bog'laydi🇷🇺RU: соединяет people today, the printing press connected people in the past by sharing informationinformation (noun)Facts or details about something.≈ Synonym: data🇺🇿UZ: ma'lumot🇷🇺RU: информация and ideas. It gave people the chance to learn, think, and questionquestion (verb)To express doubt about something; to ask about it.≈ Synonym: query🇺🇿UZ: shubha bilan qaramoq🇷🇺RU: подвергать сомнению the world around them.