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Section 5: Sample Selected-Response Questions
TX PACT: LOTE Latin: Early Childhood–Grade 12 (712)

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This section presents some sample exam questions for you to review as part of your preparation for the exam. The correct answer is provided for each sample exam question. The sample questions are included to illustrate the formats and types of questions you will see on the exam; however, your performance on the sample questions should not be viewed as a predictor of your performance on the actual exam.

Domain I—Reading Comprehension and Analysis

Read the passage below; then answer the three questions that follow.

' mē patris Anchīsae, quotiēns umentibus umbrīs
nox operit terrās, quotiēns astra ignea surgunt,
admonet in somnīs et turbida terret imāgō ;
mē puer Ascanius capitisque iniūria cārī,
quem rēgnō Hesperiae fraudō et fatālibus arvīs. 5
nunc etiam interpres dīvum Iove missus ab ipsō
(testor utrumque caput) celerīs mandāta per aurās
dētulit : ipse deum manifestō in lūmine vīdī
intrantem mūrōs vōcemque hīs auribus hausī.
dēsine mēque tuīs incendere tēque querēlīs ; 10
Ītaliam nōn sponte sequor. '

(Virgil, Aeneid IV.351–361)

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.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option C is correct.

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

  1. nostalgic
  2. uncaring
  3. hopeful
  4. accepting
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option D is correct.

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.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

Read the passage below; then answer the two questions that follow.

Forte revertēbar fēstīs Vestālibus illa,
quae Nova Rōmānō nunc Via iūncta forō est.
hūc pede mātrōnam vīdī dēscendere nūdō :
obstipuī tacitus sustinuīque gradum.
sēnsit anus vīcīna locī, iūssumque sedēre
alloquitur, quatiēns vōce tremente caput :
" hōc, ubi nunc fora sunt, ūdae tenuēre palūdes ;
amne redundātīs fossa madēbat aquīs.
Curtius ille lacus, siccās quī sustinet ārās,
nunc solida est tellus, sed lacus ante fuit.
quā Vēlābra solent in Circum dūcere pompās,
nil praeter salicēs cassaque canna fuit ;
saepe suburbānās rediēns convīva per undās
cantat et ad nautās ēbria verba iacit.
nōndum conveniēns dīversīs iste figūrīs
nōmen ab āversō cēperat amne deus. "

(Ovid, Fasti VI.395–410)

4. 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
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

5. 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.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option B is correct.

Read the passage below; then answer the three questions that follow.

Poētae tenerō, meō sodālī,
velim Caeciliō, papyre, dīcās
Vērōnam veniat, Novī relinquēns
Cōmī moenia Lāriumque lītus.
nam quāsdam volo cōgitātiōnēs 5
amīcī accipiat suī meīque.
quārē, sī sapiet, viam vorābit,
quamvīs candida mīliēs puella
euntem revocet, manūsque collō
ambās iniciēns roget morārī. 10
quae nunc, sī mihi vēra nūntiantur,
illum dēperit impotente amōre.
nam quō tempore lēgit incohātam
Dindymī dominam, ex eō misellae
ignēs interiōrem edunt medullam. 15
ignōscō tibi, Sapphicā puella
mūsā doctior ; est enim venustē
Magna Caeciliō incohāta Māter.

(Catullus, Carmina XXXV)

6. 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.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option B is correct.

7. 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.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

8. 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.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option D is correct.

Domain II—Language Structures and Comparisons

Read the passage below; then answer the two questions that follow.

Iam prīmum adulēscēns Catilīna multa nefanda stupra fēcerat, cum 1
virgine nōbilī, cum sacerdōte Vestae, alia huiusce modī contrā iūs fāsque. 2
Postrēmō captus amōre Aurēliae Orestillae, cūius praeter fōrmam nihil 3
umquam bonus laudāvit, quod ea nūbere illī dubitābat timēns prīvīgnum 4
adulta aetate, prō certō crēditur necātō fīliō vacuam domum scelestis 5
nūptiīs fēcisse. Quae quidem rēs mihi in prīmīs videtur causa fuisse 6
facinus mātūrāndī; namque animus inpūrus, dīs hominibusque īnfestus, 7
neque vigiliīs neque quiētibus sēdārī poterat: ita cōnscientia mentem 8
excītam vastābat. 9

(Sallust, Catilina XV.2)

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

  1. indirect statement
  2. purpose clause
  3. ablative absolute
  4. result clause
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

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

  1. facinus mātūrandō
  2. facinoris mātūrātī
  3. facinus mātūrātum
  4. facinoris mātūrāndī
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option D is correct.

11. 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.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option C is correct.

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

  1. engineering
  2. law
  3. medicine
  4. athletics
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option B is correct.

Domain III—Cultural Understanding

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

  1. Danube
  2. Po
  3. Nile
  4. Tiber
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

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

  1. Trajan
  2. Augustus
  3. Julius Caesar
  4. Mark Antony
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option C is correct.

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

  1. didactic
  2. epic
  3. pastoral
  4. elegiac
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

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

16. 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
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option B is correct.