Study Guide

Section 4: Sample Multiple-Choice Questions
WEST–E Designated World Languages: Latin (101)

The sample test questions in this study guide are designed to give you an introduction to the nature of the questions included in the Washington Educator Skills Tests—Endorsements (WEST–E). They represent the various types of questions you may expect to see on an actual test in this test field; however, they are not designed to predict your performance on the test as a whole.

Work through the sample questions carefully before referring to the answers. The correct response and test objective being assessed are provided for each question. When you are finished with the sample questions, you may wish to review the test objectives and descriptive statements provided in the test framework for this test field.

In addition to reading and answering the sample questions, you should also utilize the following preparation materials available in this study guide:

• Read Section 2: WEST–E Test-Taking Strategies to understand how test questions are designed to measure specific test objectives and to learn important test-taking strategies for the day of the test.
• Review Section 3: Test Summary and Framework to familiarize yourself with the structure and content of the test. This section contains general testing information as well as the percentage of the total test score derived from each content domain described in the test framework.

Practice Questions

Expand All | Collapse All

Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

Clustered Questions

Objective 0001: Demonstrate literal comprehension of Latin prose and poetry.

1. Which of the following statements best reflects the main idea of this passage?

1. Aeneas is unaffected by the images he sees at night.
2. Aeneas witnessed a council of the gods.
3. Aeneas is bound by duty to his father, son, and the gods.
4. Aeneas swears an oath that he will go to Italy.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

Objective 0002: Apply skills of inference to Latin prose and poetry.

2. Which of the following best describes the tone of this passage?

1. nostalgic
2. uncaring
3. hopeful
4. accepting

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

Objective 0003: Apply skills of analysis to Latin prose and poetry.

3. Which of the following ideas is conveyed by the word order in lines 1 and 4?

1. Familial relationships are strong.
2. Aeneas values himself above others.
3. Shadows cover everything.
4. Anchises and Ascanius are waiting for Aeneas.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

Objective 0001: Demonstrate literal comprehension of Latin prose and poetry.

4. According to the passage, Pliny's actions in lines 2–4 are a result of the fact that he:

1. cannot sleep because he is awaiting his wife's letter.
2. is worried about his impending journey to visit his wife.
3. is accustomed to see his wife at the same time each night.
4. longs to be alone in order to contemplate his wife's beauty.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

Objective 0002: Apply skills of inference to Latin prose and poetry.

5. Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from Pliny's statements in lines 6–7?

1. He is considering withdrawing from public life in order to be with his wife.
2. He is unable to conduct personal business since his wife has been away.
3. Things that normally bother him now give him comfort in his wife's absence.
4. Sadness over his wife's departure prevents him from getting adequate rest.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

Objective 0001: Demonstrate literal comprehension of Latin prose and poetry.

6. According to this passage, the area that was formerly the Lake of Curtius now serves which of the following purposes?

1. supporting altars
2. supplying willows and reeds
3. housing sailors
4. providing a place for banquets

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

Objective 0003: Apply skills of analysis to Latin prose and poetry.

7. Which of the following best summarizes the cultural significance of this passage?

1. It explains the central use of ditches in Roman construction.
2. It explains radical changes in land use.
3. It describes the importance of the Circus Maximus.
4. It describes the role of river travel in Rome.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

Objective 0001: Demonstrate literal comprehension of Latin prose and poetry.

8. Which of the following accurately reflects the metrical pattern of the first four feet of line 3?

1. dactyl-dactyl-spondee-dactyl
2. spondee-dactyl-spondee-dactyl
3. spondee-dactyl-dactyl-spondee
4. dactyl-spondee-spondee-spondee

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

Objective 0005: Understand Latin structures in context.

9. Which of the following uses of the subjunctive mood is illustrated by the form iubeās (line 7)?

1. result clause
2. purpose clause
3. indirect question
4. indirect command

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

Objective 0002: Apply skills of inference to Latin prose and poetry.

10. The content of the passage best reflects which of the following themes of the Aeneid?

1. the origins of Juno's eternal hatred of the Trojans
2. the development of a new identity for the Trojans in Italy
3. the visions of future Roman conquests foretold by Jupiter
4. the struggles endured by the Trojans to establish power in Italy

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

Objective 0002: Apply skills of inference to Latin prose and poetry.

11. Which of the following best describes Caesar's purpose in the passage?

1. explaining the social and economic structure of the Germans
2. justifying his decision to launch an invasion of German territory
3. demonstrating the weaknesses of German political organization
4. appealing for additional military assistance against the Germans

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

12. Which of the following descriptions of German practices would most likely strike Roman readers as most dissimilar to their own society?

1. studium bellī gerendī agrī cultūrā commūtent (line 6)
2. potentiōrēsque humiliōrēs possessiōnibus expellant (line 7)
3. nē qua oriātur pecūniae cupiditās (lines 8–9)
4. suās quisque opēs cum potentissimīs aequārī videat (lines 10–11)

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

Objective 0003: Apply skills of analysis to Latin prose and poetry.

13. Which of the following Latin authors composed a literary work most similar in content to the passage?

1. Livy
2. Sallust
3. Suetonius
4. Tacitus

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

Objective 0001: Demonstrate literal comprehension of Latin prose and poetry.

14. According to the information in lines 1–6, what has Ariadne been recently doing?

1. waking from a deep sleep
2. preparing to leave the island
3. keeping watch through the night
4. walking with Theseus on the shore

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

15. Line 4 illustrates which of the following stylistic devices?

1. enallage
2. hyperbaton
3. prolepsis
4. synchysis

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

Objective 0003: Apply skills of analysis to Latin prose and poetry.

16. Lines 11 through 14 reveal that Ariadne's state of mind is one of:

1. love and desire.
2. panic and confusion.
3. curiosity and wonder.
4. anger and resentment.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

Objective 0002: Apply skills of inference to Latin prose and poetry.

17. Which of the following situations best describes the outcome that Catullus is hoping for?

1. Caecilius will choose a mistress named Dindymus.
2. Catullus will discuss Caecilius's work with him.
3. Caecilius will begin working to finish his poem.
4. Catullus will fall in love with Caecilius's girlfriend.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

Objective 0003: Apply skills of analysis to Latin prose and poetry.

18. Which of the following is the best interpretation of the imagery in the phrase viam vorābit (line 7)?

1. Caecilius will travel quickly.
2. Caecilius will only journey in his mind.
3. Caecilius will refuse to travel.
4. Caecilius will likely destroy the road.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

Objective 0004: Understand major developments in the history of Roman culture.

19. Which of the following is the best literal translation of the sentence Poētae tenerō, meō sodālī, velim Caeciliō, papyre, dīcās Vērōnam veniat, Novī relinquēns Cōmī moenia Lāriumque lītus (lines 1–4)?

1. My poet friend, kindly send a word O papyrus page to Caecilius that he should visit me in Verona before he leaves for Novum Comum's walls and the Larian shore.
2. Papyrus, tell my dear friend the poet lover to ask Caecilius to abandon Verona at once, and to come over to the walls of Novum Comum and the Larian shore.
3. My poet friend papyrus, kindly send this page to Caecilius asking him to come visit me in Verona on his way back from Novum Comum's walls and the Larian shore.
4. Papyrus page, I should like you to urge my close friend, the love-poet Caecilius, to come to Verona, leaving the walls of Novum Comum and the Larian shore.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

Objective 0006: Apply knowledge of the linguistic structures of Latin.

20. The word crēditur (line 5) introduces which of the following grammatical structures?

1. indirect statement
2. purpose clause
3. ablative absolute
4. result clause

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

Objective 0005: Understand the practices and perspectives of Roman culture.

21. Which of the following best restates the phrase facinus mātūrāndī (line 7)?

1. facinus mātūrandō
2. facinoris mātūrātī
3. facinus mātūrātum
4. facinoris mātūrāndī

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

Single Questions

Objective 0005: Understand the practices and perspectives of Roman culture.

22. Which of the following phrases is the correct grammatical equivalent of the underlined part of the following sentence: collem ascendimus ut urbem vidēremus?

1. urbem vidēre
2. ut urbs nōs videat
3. ad urbem videndam
4. urbs ā nobīs videtur

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

Objective 0006: Apply knowledge of the linguistic structures of Latin.

23. Which of the following sentences correctly combines the two sentences below while preserving their meaning?

Nautae ē nāve ēgressī sunt.  Nautae caupōnam invenīre volēbant.

1. Si nautae ē nāve ēgressī essent, caupōnam invēnissent.
2. Nautae ē nāve ēgressī sunt ut caupōnam invenīre vellent.
3. Nautae ē nāve ēgressī caupōnam invenīre volēbant.
4. Cum nautae ē nāve ēgressī essent, tamen caupōnam invenīre volēbant.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

24. Which of the following corrections is necessary in the following sentence: Imperātor spērābat exercitum ante noctem ad castra adventūrus esse?

1. adventūrum
2. castrīs
3. exercitus
4. nocte

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

25. Which of the following forms reflect the changes necessary to transform the following sentence, Sī māne discesseris, Rōmam trībus diēbus perveniēs, into a past contrary-to-fact conditional?

1. discessissēs, pervenissēs
2. discēdēbās, perveniēbās
3. discessistī, pervēnistī
4. discēdis, pervenis

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

Objective 0007: Understand the connections between Latin and English.

26. The Latin phrase habeas corpus would most likely be used in which of the following fields?

1. engineering
2. law
3. medicine
4. athletics

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

27. The English words accident, casuistry, and decadence are derived from a Latin root which means:

1. "to fall."
2. "to climb."
3. "to happen."
4. "to weaken."

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

Objective 0008: Understand major developments in the history of Roman culture.

28. Which of the following rivers formed part of the boundary of the Roman Empire?

1. Danube
2. Po
3. Nile
4. Tiber

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

29. Which of the following Roman rulers was the first to expand the Roman Forum?

1. Trajan
2. Augustus
3. Julius Caesar
4. Mark Antony

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

30. Which of the following developments was a direct result of Roman territorial expansion during the period c.200 to c.130 B.C.E.?

1. the widespread extension of citizenship to provincial populations
2. the significant increase in the population of enslaved people in Italy
3. the establishment of Rome and other Italian cities as centers of manufacturing
4. the more frequent utilization of soldiers from frontier regions in the Roman army

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

Objective 0009: Understand the products and perspectives of Roman culture.

31. The Ars Amatoria and Georgics are two examples of which of the following genres of literature?

1. didactic
2. epic
3. pastoral
4. elegiac

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

Objective 0010: Understand the practices and perspectives of Roman culture.

32. Use the chart below to answer the question that follows.

formation of the patrician class upper-class maintenance of death masks worship of the Lares and Penates operation of the patron-client system

The developments and practices listed above best illustrate the significance of which of the following social institutions in ancient Roman society?

1. social services
2. the family
3. the law
4. education

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

33. George Washington was called the "American Cincinnatus" primarily because of his:

1. unwillingness to involve the U.S. in foreign entanglements.
2. belief in the necessity of a permanent standing army.
3. refusal of a third consecutive term as president.
4. support for the expansion of suffrage.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

34. Apodytēria, strigilēs, and caldaria are terms associated with which of the following?

1. amphitheātrum
2. comitia
3. domus
4. thermae

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

Objective 0011: Understand major concepts related to child and adolescent development and second-language acquisition.

35. Use the dialogue below to answer the question that follows.

Child:    birthday cake Peter house

Parent:  We had birthday cake at Peter's house.

Child:    Peter truck

Parent:  Peter got a truck for his birthday, didn't he?

Which of the following language acquisition processes is best illustrated by this exchange between a parent and child?

1. The parent is using a stimulus-response-reinforcement approach to encourage language development.
2. The child is overregularizing previously applied language rules.
3. The parent is using conversational scaffolding to promote language development.
4. The child is testing a grammatical hypothesis through experimentation.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

36. Which of the following teaching strategies best promotes equity in world language instruction?

1. leading students on trips abroad during school vacation periods
2. encouraging students from all backgrounds to enroll in world language classes
3. inviting language experts to address students during school assemblies
4. providing opportunities for world language students to collaborate with English language learners

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

Objective 0012: Demonstrate knowledge of principles of instruction and assessment.

37. A high school Latin teacher has created a rubric for evaluating accuracy and completeness of written assignments. The best modification of this rubric for a student with a learning disability would be to add an evaluation of the level of:

1. content knowledge demonstrated by the student's work.
2. legibility demonstrated by the student's work.
3. creativity demonstrated by the student's work.
4. improvement demonstrated by the student's work.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

38. Which of the following student products best reflects a progress indicator in the national standard of "connections" for classical language learners?

1. a map tracing the geographical expansion of Roman power through the Mediterranean
2. a presentation comparing and contrasting the ancient Roman and modern U.S. republics
3. an essay analyzing creation myths in Greek, Indian, and Chinese traditions
4. a genealogical chart of the major deities in the Greek and Roman pantheon

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

Objective 0013: Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for promoting language learning within and beyond the classroom.

39. A Latin teacher learns that the local university is having a lecture by an archaeologist who studies Roman civilization.  The teacher invites the speaker to visit the classroom and participate in a question-and-answer session about studying an ancient culture with students.  This activity best illustrates the teacher's awareness of the importance of:

1. providing a model of lifelong language learning.
2. appealing to students' interests in the language classroom.
3. scaffolding students' language development.
4. making connections beyond the language classroom.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

40. Which of the following student activities would most effectively promote the benefits of Latin language study across academic disciplines at school?

1. creating short video presentations on the history of Latin's influence on the development of the English language
2. producing posters of Latin terms used in the study of math, science, and social studies to be displayed around the school
3. organizing and promoting an all-school field trip to a local museum with a substantial classical art collection
4. performing short excerpts from Roman comedies in Latin with English translation for a school-wide audience

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

41. A Latin teacher seeking to remain current in the field of classical studies and looking for ways to apply a variety of resources to classroom pedagogy would primarily benefit from the consultation of:

1. popular publications and websites accessible to a diverse audience
2. scholarly and professional organizations affiliated with major universities
3. groups offering tours of major museums and classical archaeological sites
4. well-established classical texts that are widely acknowledged as authoritative

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.