alignment - Is left-aligned text generally preferable over centered text?

I am currently reviewing the usability of some internal reports. One thing which strikes me as odd is that all the text is centered. I always prefer left-aligned text.

But apart from my personal opinion (and also apart from design aspects): is left-aligned text preferable from a usability standpoint? (left-to-right text direction assumed).

I can imagine that the eye needs to do more work with centered text (looking for the start of the next line), but I can't find any sources to support this thesis.

Edit: The linked "duplicate" question(s) cover the alignment of the content area of a webpage, this question is about the text. I don't think that this is the same problem.

Answer

I'm not going to copy everything directly, so here's a link to a discussion on IxDA.com on this exact topic. It has references to several research studies showing why left-aligned text is better. You are essentially right — it takes more work to read centered text when going from line to line. You are also more likely to lose your place because you don't have that anchor on the line above of text that you have already read.