Question

Based on the image provided, here is the information requested:

Text and Question
Instruction: Add the sentence that best establishes the topic of the paragraph.

Paragraph Text (Following the missing sentence): "In the early 1700s, most books had to be imported from Europe and were therefore too expensive for the average person to buy. Lamenting this fact, Franklin and a group of intellectuals in Philadelphia decided to form a lending library. The library's stakeholders each agreed to pay an initial sum of forty shillings to purchase a collection of books. They also determined that members would pay an annual fee of ten shillings to help expand the library's collection, but borrowing books would be free. In 1731, the Library Company of Philadelphia was officially established. This library offered a feasible solution for other colonial towns and cities and served as a forerunner to the public library system that exists in the United States today."

Answer Options
Option 1: To fulfill his desire to read, Benjamin Franklin overcame the price of books as a teen by adopting a less expensive, vegetarian diet.

Option 2 (The most suitable topic sentence): A professed book lover, Benjamin Franklin helped to address the high cost of books in colonial America with a solution that benefitted many.

Option 3: Although he did not receive any formal education past the age of ten, Benjamin Franklin possessed a strong intellectual curiosity.

Option 4: Because Benjamin Franklin spent his early years learning the printing trade, he always considered himself a printer despite filling other career roles.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
The most suitable topic sentence is Option 2: "A professed book lover, Benjamin Franklin helped to address the high cost of books in colonial America with a solution that benefitted many."

This sentence effectively introduces the main idea of the paragraph, which focuses on Franklin's initiative to establish a lending library to make books more accessible to the public.

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