Study Guide

Field 058: World Languages—Latin
Sample Language Structures and Reading Assignments

The following materials contain:

Directions for the Language Structures Assignment

This section of the test requires you to demonstrate your command of the structures and usage of the Latin language. Directions are provided before each part. Your responses will be scored on the basis of grammatical correctness and sociolinguistic appropriateness.

Please note that special characters (such as letters with macrons or other diacritical marks) cannot be entered using the keyboard but are available for insertion in the on-screen response box. To access these characters, click on the ash symbol button that appears in the upper left corner of the screen. Using the mouse, click on the character you wish to include in your response and then select "Insert." The character will be inserted where the cursor is positioned in the response box.

Macrons are optional and will not be counted in scoring, regardless of whether you use them. You may use "i" and "j" interchangeably and "u" and "v" interchangeably; you need not be consistent in your use of these letters.

Your responses to the language structures exercise will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

Sample Language Structures Assignment

Objective 0001
Language Structures (Standard 2)

Follow the directions for each of the three parts (Parts A, B, and C) below.

Part A (1–12)

Complete the passage below by providing for each numbered space in the passage the grammatically correct Latin form of the word in brackets. Write each response to Part A on your answer document on the line that corresponds to the numbered space in the passage. The use of macrons in your responses is optional.

At etiam sunt quī dīcant, Quiritēs, ā (1)________ [ego] ēiectum esse (2)________ [Catilīna]. Quod ego sī verbō (3)________ [adsequor] possem, istōs ipsōs (4)________ [ēiciō] quī haec loquuntur. Homō enim vidēlicet timidus aut etiam permodestus (5)________ [vox] cōnsulis (6)________ [ferō] nōn potuit; simul atque īre in exsilium iussus est, pāruit. Quīn hesternō (7)________ [diēs], cum (8)________ [domus] meae paene interfectus essem, senātum in aedem (9)________[Iuppiter] Statōris convocāvī, rem omnem ad patrēs cōnscriptōs (10)________ [dēferō]. Quō cum Catilīna vēnisset, quis eum senātor appellāvit, quis (11)________ [salūtō], quis dēnique ita aspexit ut perditum (12)________ [cīvis] ac nōn potius ut importūnissimum hostem?

(Cicero, In Catilinam II.12)

Part B (13–16)

In each item below, rewrite the sentence(s) in Latin, transforming them according to the directions. Write each response to Part B on your answer document on the lines that correspond to the item number. The use of macrons in your responses is optional.

(13) Rewrite the sentence below, changing the first verb to the perfect tense. Make all necessary changes.

Dux mīlitibus hortātur ut fortiter pugnent.

(14) Rewrite the sentence below using a gerundive of obligation (passive periphrastic). Make all necessary changes.

Necesse erat nōbīs prīmā lūce discēdere.

(15) Rewrite the sentence below in the passive voice. Make all necessary changes.

Tēla hostium multōs vulnerāvērunt.

(16) Combine the two sentences below into one using an ablative absolute. Make all necessary changes.

Urna aquā complēta est. Fēmina domum rediit.

Part C (17–20)
Each item below contains 2 errors. For each item, rewrite the sentence(s) in Latin, correcting both errors and retaining the original meaning. Write each response to Part C on your answer document on the lines that correspond to the item number. The use of macrons in your responses is optional.

(17) Ō Caecilius, deus nōbīs hāc ōtia fēcit.

(18) Cōpiae circumvēnērunt hostium castrōrum et signō dedit clāmōrem magnum fēcērunt.

(19) Haec tibi prō amōre mutuō scrīpsī, nē aliquandō tū quoque fīlium tuum acerbius dūriusque tractāvissēs.

(20) Caesar enim per litterīs Trebōniō magnopere mandāverat nē per vim oppidum expugnārī patiātur.

Sample Strong Response to the Language Structures Assignment

This exercise requires the examinee to demonstrate a broad and comprehensive understanding of the linguistic features of Latin. The following are sample correct responses. (There may be more than one possible correct response in some cases.)

Part A (1–12)

1. mē

2. Catilīnam

3. adsequī

4. ēicerem

5. vōcem

6. ferre

7. diē

8. domī

9. Iovis

10. dētulī

11. salūtāvit

12. cīvem

Part B (13–16)

13. Dux mīlitibus hortātus est ut fortiter pugnārent.

14. Nōbīs prīma lūce discēdendum erat.

15. Multī tēlīs hostium vulnerātī sunt.

16. Urnā aquā complētā, fēmina domum rediit.

Part C (17-20)

17. Ō Caecilī, deus nōbīs haec ōtia fēcit.

18. Cōpiae circumvēnērunt hostium castra et signō datō clāmōrem magnum fēcērunt.

19. Haec tibi prō amōre mutuō scrīpsī, nē quandō tū quoque fīlium tuum acerbius dūriusque tractārēs.

20. Caesar enim per litterās Trebōniō magnopere mandāverat nē per vim oppidum expugnārī paterētur.

Directions for the Reading Assignment

This section of the test consists of an interpretive reading assignment. You will read a passage in Latin and prepare a written response in English to the assignment that follows the passage. This should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.

If needed to complete your response, please note that special characters (such as letters with macrons or other diacritical marks) cannot be entered using the keyboard but are available for insertion in the on-screen response box. To access these characters, click on the ash symbol button that appears in the upper left corner of the screen. Using the mouse, click on the character you wish to include in your response and then select "Insert." The character will be inserted where the cursor is positioned in the response box.

If you are quoting from the Latin passage or using Latin language in your response, the use of macrons is optional and will not be counted in scoring, regardless of whether you use them. You may use "i" and "j" interchangeably and "u" and "v" interchangeably; you need not be consistent in your use of these letters.

Your response to the interpretive reading assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

Sample Reading Assignment

Read the passage below from Caesar's De Bello Civili. Then complete the assignment that follows, supporting your response with references from the text.

  1. Quibus rēbus cognitīs Caesar apud mīlitēs contiōnātur.
  2. Omnium temporum iniūriās inimīcōrum in sē
  3. commemorat; ā quibus dēductum ac dēprāvātum
  4. Pompēium queritur invidiā atque obtrectātiōne laudis suae,
  5. cuius ipse honorī et dignitātī semper fāverit adiūtorque
  6. fuerit. Novum in rē publicā introductum exemplum
  7. queritur, ut tribūnicia intercessiō armīs notārētur atque
  8. opprimerētur, quae superiōribus annīs armīs esset restitūta.
  9. Sullam nūdātā omnibus rēbus tribūniciā potestāte tamen
  10. intercessiōnem līberam relīquisse; Pompēium, quī amissa
  11. restituisse videātur bona, etiam, quae ante habuerint,
  12. adēmisse. Quotiēnscumque sit dēcrētum, darent
  13. operam magistrātūs, nē quid rēs publica detrimentī
  14. caperet (quā vōce et quō senātūs cōnsultō populus
  15. Rōmānus ad arma sit vocātus), factum in perniciōsīs
  16. lēgibus, in vī tribūniciā, in sēcessiōne populī, templīs
  17. locīsque ēditiōribus occupātīs; atque haec superiōris
  18. aetātis exempla expiāta Saturnīnī atque Gracchōrum
  19. cāsibus docet; quārum rērum illō tempore nihil factum,
  20. nē cōgitātum quidem, nulla lex prōmulgāta, nōn cum
  21. populō agī coeptum, nulla sēcessiō facta. Hortātur,
  22. cuius imperātōris ductū VIIII annīs rem publicam
  23. fēlicissimē gesserint plūrimaque proelia secunda fēcerint,
  24. omnem Galliam Germāniamque pācāverint, ut eius
  25. existimātiōnem dignitātemque ab inimīcīs dēfendant.
  26. Conclāmant legiōnis XIII, quae aderat, mīlitēs—hanc enim
  27. initiō tumultūs ēvocāverat, reliquae nōndum convēnerant—
  28. sēsē parātōs esse imperātōris suī tribūnōrumque plēbis
  29. iniūriās dēfendere.

(Caesar, De Bello Civili I.7)

Supporting your ideas with references from the text, write a response of approximately 100–200 words in English in which you:

Sample Strong Response to the Reading Assignment

This exercise requires the examinee to demonstrate the ability to apply literal and inferential comprehension skills to identify or infer essential information from a passage of prose. The following is an example of a strong response.

In this passage, Caesar expresses outrage at the unprecedented loss of liberty under Pompey and calls on his soldiers to defend his honor, and the rights of the tribunes. Caesar claims that rather than restoring what was lost, Pompey has taken away from the people what they had before. Caesar has led his soldiers successfully for many years and in many engagements and urges them to support him now. Caesar uses strong language and antithesis to convey his mood of outrage, lamenting that Pompey was seduced and perverted "dēductum ac dēprāvātum" by Caesar's enemies, while Caesar had always been a supporter of Pompey's "honorī et dignitātī." Caesar equates his own "iniūriās" with the unprecedented wrong done to the republic: a "novum … exemplum." Not even Sulla took away the tribunes' right to veto legislation. Not even in the time of the Gracchi and Saturninus were measures like Pompey's considered. Now the tribunes' power of the veto, which before had been restored by force of arms, was being stripped from them by that force.

Performance Characteristics for the Reading Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the reading assignment.

Literal Comprehension Accuracy and completeness in comprehending the literal content of written language
Inference Ability to infer information implied in written language and to understand how literary techniques convey meaning

Scoring Scale for the Reading Assignment

Scores will be assigned to each response to the reading assignment according to the following scoring scale.

Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response demonstrates a strong level of skill in interpretive reading.
  1. The response demonstrates comprehension of literal content, including main ideas and details.
  2. The response demonstrates the ability to infer implied information and to understand how literary techniques convey meaning.
3 The "3" response demonstrates a general level of skill in interpretive reading.
  1. The response demonstrates general comprehension of literal content. There is misunderstanding of some main ideas and/or details.
  2. The response demonstrates some ability to infer implied information and basic understanding of how literary techniques convey meaning. Some communication not explicitly stated may be misinterpreted or missed.
2 The "2" response demonstrates a limited level of skill in interpretive reading.
  1. The response demonstrates limited comprehension of literal content. There is significant misunderstanding of main ideas and details.
  2. The response demonstrates little ability to infer implied information and little understanding of how literary techniques convey meaning. Most communication not explicitly stated is misinterpreted or missed.
1 The "1" response demonstrates a weak level of skill in interpretive reading.
  1. The response demonstrates little or no comprehension of literal content. There may be understanding of only isolated words or phrases.
  2. The response demonstrates no ability to infer implied information and no understanding of how literary techniques convey meaning.
U The response is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, not written in the required language, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment.
B There is no response to the assignment.