Passage Snowy Mountains
Snowy Mountains
by John Gould Fletcher
Higher and still more high,
Palaces made for cloud,
Above the dingy city-roofs
Blue-white like angels with broad wings,
Pillars of the sky at rest
The mountains from the great plateau
Uprise.
But the world heeds them not;
They have been here now for too long a time.
The world makes war on them,
Tunnels their granite cliffs,
Splits down their shining sides,
Plasters their cliffs with soap-advertisements,
Destroys the lonely fragments of their peace.
Vaster and still more vast,
Peak after peak, pile after pile,
Wilderness still untamed,
To which the future is as was the past,
Barrier spread by Gods,
Sunning their shining foreheads,
Barrier broken down by those who do not need
The joy of time-resisting storm-worn stone,
The mountains swing along
The south horizon of the sky;
Welcoming with wide floors of blue-green ice
The mists that dance and drive before the sun.
“Snowy Mountains” by John Gould Fletcher—Public Domain
Question
Which line from the poem best supports the idea that people have forfeited priceless natural beauty in order to make a profit?
- A“Above the dingy city-roofs” (line 3)
- B“The world makes war on them,” (line 10)
- C“Tunnels their granite cliffs,” (line 11)
- D“Plasters their cliffs with soap-advertisements,” (line 13)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks for the line from the poem that best supports the idea that people have forfeited natural beauty for profit. Advertisements are often used as a means to gain a profit, as implied by the soap advertisement in line 13 (Option D). Additionally, the word “Plasters,” in line 13, communicates a negative connotation for the use of advertisements on the priceless natural beauty of the mountains, making Option D the correct response.
Option A is incorrect because, while city roofs may spoil the natural beauty, they do not directly symbolize financial gain or profit in line 3.
Option B is incorrect because, although making a profit might have been the root cause of the damage that was done to the mountains, making war on the mountains is not a direct message about profit or financial gain in line 10.
Option C is incorrect because, although tunneling through the mountains affects the natural beauty of the mountains, it does not directly symbolize financial gain or profit in line 11.
Question analysis
This textual evidence question asks which line of the poem “Snowy Mountains” best supports the idea that people have given up priceless natural beauty in order to make money. Several lines show people harming or crowding the mountains, so students must find the one detail that also points to profit.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 A typical grade 7 evidence question: the lines are quoted with their numbers, and the task is matching a two-part claim to the right line, with one concrete clue separating it from the others.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Every choice must be checked moderate
- Reading between the lines minor
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one sentence or line
- Reading level
- Passage: 161 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 6, 45 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Most of the second stanza supports half of this claim, which is why the question is a test of the other half. Students who look only for harm to the mountains have three good candidates and often settle on the most forceful, “makes war on them.” The one line with a commercial product in it is the only one that shows beauty given up for money.
Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer
Lines 10, 11 and 13 all show people harming the mountains, so each must be tested against the second half of the claim, making a profit, which only one line carries. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
Profit is never named: it has to be inferred from “soap-advertisements,” which exist to sell a product, while “Plasters” supplies the defacing of natural beauty. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
The stem’s word “forfeited,” meaning gave up or lost, carries half the claim, and a student unsure of it may look only for damage instead of a trade of beauty for gain. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: Split the claim into two parts, lost natural beauty and making a profit, and choose the line that clearly shows both rather than only the first.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- Outside knowledge: A choice is plausible in the real world but not supported by this text.
The wrong answers, classified
A Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Associates the “dingy city-roofs” with industry and money-making, but line 3 only sets the scene below the mountains and shows neither profit nor harm to them.
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Picks the stanza’s most forceful image of attack, but making “war” on the mountains shows destruction in general, with no hint that money is the motive.
C Outside knowledge (King et al., 2004; Recht & Leslie, 1988)
Supplies a reason from the real world, tunnels dug for railroads or mines that earn money, though the line itself shows damage without any sign of profit.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for evidence, a line that proves an idea. The idea has two parts. First, people gave up natural beauty. To forfeit means to give up or lose something. Second, they did it to make a profit, which means to earn money. The right line must show both parts.
Test each line for harm
Lines 10, 11 and 13 all show people harming the mountains. Line 10 says “The world makes war on them.” Line 11 says the world “Tunnels their granite cliffs.” Line 13 says it “Plasters their cliffs with soap-advertisements.” Line 3, “Above the dingy city-roofs,” shows no harm to the mountains at all.
Test the lines for money
Now look for the money part. Advertisements are signs that try to get people to buy something. Soap ads exist to sell soap and make money. “Plasters” means covers thickly, like smearing paste on a wall. So line 13 shows beautiful cliffs covered with ads to earn money. War and tunnels show harm, but no money.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. City roofs set the scene. They show no profit and no harm to the mountains.
- B is wrong. “War” shows harm, but nothing in the line points to money.
- C is wrong. Tunnels harm the cliffs, but the line gives no reason. Guessing about mines or trains uses outside ideas.
- D fits. Ads mean money, and plastered cliffs mean lost beauty.
Choose the answer
Only line 13 shows beauty traded for money. So the answer is D, “Plasters their cliffs with soap-advertisements,” from line 13.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
Watch out: B feels strongest, because war is the harshest word in the stanza. But it only proves half the idea, the harm. The idea also needs a reason that involves money. A soap ad is the only thing in these lines that is about selling.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Snowy Mountains” as printed (page 142)
