The Farmer Who Photographed Snow
Written by Studio AM.
Your result
- Words per minute
- Score
- Pace
Words per minute mean something only with the score beside them. They describe this passage on this read. With fewer than 3 right, try the next slower pace.
Choose a pace and select Start. The passage is paced and timed, then the questions check what you understood. How pace mode works
Reading time 0:00
Wilson Bentley lived on a farm in Vermont, in the United States. He became known for photographing something very small: single snow crystals.
At fifteen, he received a microscope. It let him see patterns in snow that were too small to study clearly with his eyes alone. Drawing the patterns was difficult because the snow could melt before he finished. He connected a camera to the microscope and worked on a way to keep a clear image.
In 1885, he made his first successful snow-crystal photograph. It was patient work. He waited in the cold, caught falling snow, and carefully placed it under the lens. Over the years, he photographed more than five thousand crystals.
Bentley also wanted other people to study the pictures. He sent hundreds to the Smithsonian and published a book with physicist William Humphreys in 1931. The snow itself disappeared, but the photographs kept a record of its shapes. They are still held in collections today.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
-
Question 1 of 4
What is the passage mainly about?
The answer is B: A Vermont farmer spent his life photographing snow crystals.
The passage is about one man and one long task. The camera and the microscope are tools in that story.
-
Question 2 of 4
In which year did Bentley make his first successful snow-crystal photograph?
The answer is A: 1885.
The third paragraph gives 1885. The year 1931 refers to the book.
-
Question 3 of 4
In this passage, "patient" describes someone who
The answer is D: keeps working at something slow without giving up
Waiting in the cold and carefully handling the snow show slow, persistent work.
-
Question 4 of 4
Why were Bentley's photographs useful after the snow had melted?
The answer is C: They preserved details that people could study later.
The photographs kept a record of the shapes after the original crystals disappeared.
Score: none answered yet.