SAT Latin Subject Test Information

SAT Latin Subject Test Information Lingua Latina optimum in universo, et utinam possem student singula die. If you know what this Latin phrase means, then perhaps you better showcase that Latin talent and sign up for the SAT Latin Subject Test before you apply to the school of your choice. Want to know more? See below. Note: This test is not part of the SAT Reasoning Test, the popular college admissions exam. Nope. This is one of the many SAT Subject Tests, exams designed to showcase your particular talents in all sorts of fields.​ SAT Latin Subject Tests Basics Before you register for this test, (which only pops up twice a year) here are the basics about your testing conditions: 60 minutes70 - 75 multiple-choice questions200-800 points possibleMacrons appear on the testVariations of Latin words appear in parentheses on the test. For example: iudicium (judicium).Questions following a poetry passage will always include one question requiring you to scan the first four feet of a line of dactylic hexameter verse or determine the number of elisions in a line (just to keep it interesting). SAT Latin Subject Test Skills So, whats on this thing? What kinds of skills are required? Here are the skills youll need in order to master this test.: Choose appropriate grammatical forms of Latin wordsChoose Latin words from which English words are derivedTranslate from Latin to EnglishComplete Latin sentencesChoose alternative ways of expressing the same thought in LatinAnswer a variety of questions based on short passages of prose or poetry SAT Latin Subject Test Question Breakdown As you can see, the majority of the test is based on those reading comprehension questions, but other Latin knowledge is tested, too: Grammar and Syntax: Approximately 21 - 23 questions Derivatives: Approximately 4 - 5 questions Reading Comprehension: Approximately 46 – 49 questions These questions include three to five reading passages and one or two poetry passages. Why Take the SAT Latin Subject Test? Since many people believe Latin to be a dead language – no one really speaks it in everyday life – why should you showcase your knowledge of it? In some cases, youll need to, especially if youre considering choosing Latin as a major in college. In other cases, its a great idea to take the Latin Subject Test so you can showcase a different skill other than sports or drama club. It shows the college admissions officers that you have more up your sleeve than your GPA. Taking the test, and scoring high on it, demonstrates qualities of a well-rounded applicant. Plus, it can get you out of those entry-level language courses. How to Prepare for the SAT Latin Subject Test To ace this thing, youll need at least two years in Latin during high school, and youll want to take the test as close to the end of or during your most advanced Latin class you plan to take. Getting your high school Latin teacher to offer you some supplementary materials is always a good idea, too. In addition, you should practice with legitimate practice questions like youll see on the test. The College Board offers free practice questions for the SAT Latin Test along with a pdf of the answers, too. Sample SAT Latin Subject Test Question This question comes from the College Boards free practice questions. The writers have ranked the questions from 1 to 5 where 1 is the least difficult. The question below is ranked as a 4. Agricola dÄ «xit sÄ“ puellam vÄ «sÃ… «rum esse. (A) that he would see the girl(B) that he had seen the girl(C) that the girl would see him(D) that they will see the girl Choice (A) is correct. The sentence presents an indirect statement introduced by Agricola dÄ «xit (The farmer said). The underlined indirect statement has the reflexive pronoun sÄ“ (referring to Agricola) as its accusative subject, the noun puellam (girl) as its accusative direct object and the future infinitive vÄ «sÃ… «rum esse (to be about to see) as its verb. The use of the masculine future active participle vÄ «sÃ… «rum indicates that sÄ“, not the feminine puellam, is the subject of the infinitive. The underlined portion of the sentence may therefore be translated as â€Å"that he would see the girl.† Choice (B) mistranslates the future infinitive vÄ «sÃ… «rum esse as pluperfect (had seen); choice (C) mistranslates puellam as subject rather than object (the girl would see); and choice (D) mistranslates sÄ“ (referring to the singular Agricola) as plural (they). The entire sentence may be translated as The farmer said that he would see the girl.† Good Luck!

A Beginners Guide to the French Revolution

A Beginner's Guide to the French Revolution Between 1789 and 1802, France was wracked by a revolution which radically changed the government, administration, military, and culture of the nation as well as plunging Europe into a series of wars. France went from a largely feudal state under an absolutist monarch through the French Revolution to a republic which executed the king and then to an empire under Napoleon Bonaparte. Not only were centuries of law, tradition, and practice wiped away by a revolution few people had been able to predict going this far, but warfare spread the revolution across Europe, changing the continent permanently. Key People King Louis XVI: King of France when the revolution began in 1789, he was executed in 1792.Emmanuel Sieyà ¨s: Deputy who helped radicalize the third estate and instigated the coup which brought the consuls to power.Jean-Paul Marat: Popular journalist who advocated extreme measures against traitors and hoarders. Assassinated in 1793.Maximilien Robespierre: Lawyer who went from advocating an end to the death penalty to the architect of the Terror. Executed in 1794.Napoleon Bonaparte: French general whose rise to power brought the revolution to an end. Dates Although historians are agreed that the French Revolution started in 1789, they are divided on the end date. A few histories stop in 1795 with the creation of the Directory, some stop in 1799 with the creation of the Consulate, while many more stop in 1802, when Napoleon Bonaparte became Consul for Life, or 1804 when he became Emperor. A rare few continue to the restoration of the monarchy in 1814. In Brief A medium-term financial crisis, caused partly by Frances decisive involvement in the American Revolutionary War, led to the French crown first calling an Assembly of Notables and then, in 1789, a meeting called the Estates General in order to gain assent for new tax laws. The Enlightenment had affected the views of middle-class French society to the point where they demanded involvement in government and the financial crisis gave them a way in to get it. The Estates General was composed of three Estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the rest of France, but there were arguments over how fair this was: the Third Estate was far larger than the other two but only had a third of the vote. Debate ensued, with a call for the Third getting a bigger say. This Third Estate, informed by long term doubts over the constitution of France and the development of a new social order of bourgeoisie, declared itself a National Assembly and decreed the suspension of taxation, taking French sovereignty i nto its own hands. After a power struggle which saw the National Assembly take the Tennis Court Oath not to disband, the king gave in and the Assembly began reforming France, scrapping the old system and drawing up a new constitution with a Legislative Assembly. This continued the reforms but it created divisions in France by legislating against the church and declaring war on nations which supported the French king. In 1792, a second revolution  took place, as Jacobins and sansculottes forced the Assembly to replace itself with a National Convention which abolished the monarchy, declared France a republic and in 1793, executed the king. As the Revolutionary Wars went against France, as regions angry at attacks on the church and conscription rebelled and as the revolution became increasingly radicalized, the National Convention created a Committee of Public Safety to run France in 1793. After a struggle between political factions called the Girondins and the Montagnards was won by the latter, an era of bloody measures called The Terror began, when over 16,000 people were guillotined. In 1794, the revolution again changed, this time turning against the Terror and its architect Robespierre. The Terrorists were removed in a coup and a new constitution was drawn up which created, in 1795, a new legislative system run by a Directory of five men. This remained in power thanks to rigging elections and purging the assemblies before being replaced, thanks to the army and a general called Napoleon Bonaparte, by a new constitution in 1799 which created three consuls to rule France. Bonaparte was the first consul and, while the reform of France continued, Bonaparte managed to bring the revolutionary wars to a close and have himself declared consul for life. In 1804 he crowned himself Emperor of France; the revolution was over, the empire had begun. Consequences There is universal agreement that the political and administrative face of France was wholly altered: a republic based around elected- mainly bourgeois- deputies replaced a monarchy supported by nobles while the many and varied feudal systems were replaced by new, usually elected institutions which were applied universally across France. The culture was also affected, at least in the short term, with the revolution permeating every creative endeavor. However, there is still debate over whether the revolution permanently changed the social structures of France or whether they were only altered in the short term. Europe was also changed. The revolutionaries of 1792 began a war which extended through the Imperial period and forced nations to marshal their resources to a greater extent than ever before. Some areas, like Belgium and Switzerland, became client states of France with reforms similar to those of the revolution. National identities also began coalescing like never before. The many and fast developing ideologies of the revolution were also spread across Europe, helped by French being the continental elite’s dominant language. The French Revolution has often been called the start of the modern world, and while this is an exaggeration- many of the supposed revolutionary developments had precursors- it was an epochal event that permanently changed the European mindset. Patriotism, devotion to the state instead of the monarch, mass warfare, all became solidified in the modern mind.