Study Guide
Field 022: Russian
Sample Selected-Response Questions
Test Directions for the Selected-Response Questions
This section of the test consists of selected-response questions, each of which has four answer choices. Read each question carefully and choose the ONE best answer. Try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will NOT be penalized for guessing.
Sample Selected-Response Questions
Competency 0007
Transform sentences or passages in context according to given instructions.
1. Which of the following responses changes the sentence below to the future tense without changing any other aspect of the sentence's meaning?
Correct Response: A.
The verb 
is a perfective verb of motion. The future tense of perfective verbs of motion may be formed by adding present tense endings to the verb stem.
A dependent clause introduced by the subordinating conjunction 
always requires that the finite verb in the dependent clause be in the past tense.
Competency 0008
Analyze sentences to determine grammatically correct words or phrases to complete them.
2. For the question that follows, select the pair of words that correctly fill in the blanks in the sentence.
Correct Response: B.
The phrase 
is an idiomatic expression equivalent in meaning to the English sentence The film is playing. The verb 
is commonly used in this meaning with other words:
(it is snowing);
(it is raining);
(time is passing).
The preposition 
requires that the noun governed by it be in the prepositional case.
Competency 0009
Revise written passages to correct errors in structure and syntax that interfere with accurate communication.
3. For the question that follows, select the response that corrects all of the errors in the sentence.
Correct Response: C.
Almost all verbs of communication, including the commonly used verbs 
(to speak) and 
(to say), require that the person(s) with/to whom there is communication be in the dative case. 
always requires that the finite verb in the dependent clause be in the past tense.
Competency 0010
Understand the historical development, geographic features, and social characteristics of Russian-speaking cultures.
4. Which of the following best describes a general change in the social structure of Russia during the late nineteenth century?
- The constant threat of foreign invasion enabled military leaders to supplant the aristocracy as the preeminent social class in Russian society.
- Various social reforms gave preferential considerations to members of an emergent urban working class.
- The democratization of Russian political life was a major factor in the creation of a new and powerful class of intellectuals.
- Industrialization and urbanization slowly eroded the power and privilege of the landed gentry.
Correct Response: D.
The last several decades of the nineteenth century were a time of considerable economic change in Russia. With increased industrialization and urbanization, the power and privilege of the landed gentry came under assault from several directions. On one hand, a wealthy group of foreign capitalists with heavy investments in Russian industry posed a serious threat to the gentry's heretofore unchallenged control of Russian economic life; on the other, members of an emergent middle class demanded a role in government that was commensurate with their growing importance in Russian society.
Competency 0011
Understand the achievements of Russian-speaking cultures in the areas of literature, the nonliterary arts, science, and technology.
5. Which of the following accurately matches a prominent Russian writer with a major achievement of that writer?
- Line 1
- Line 2
- Line 3
- Line 4
Correct Response: C.
In addition to being a major dramatist, Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) created a short story form that marked a new departure in that literary genre. Where earlier short story writing moved in a linear fashion toward a clearly defined climax, Chekhov used a mass of impressionistic details to fashion stories in which plot is subordinated to the exploration of character and situation. While Chekhov's stories contain little outward action, they are rich in psychological insight.
Competency 0011
Understand the achievements of Russian-speaking cultures in the areas of literature, the nonliterary arts, science, and technology.
6. Which of the following was a major theme of the Soviet-era films of Sergei Eisenstein?
- the portrayal of the Russian people acting together as a collective hero
- a depiction of the work process on collective farms and other rural enterprises
- the exploration of how individuals adapt to changing social conditions
- an examination of relations among Russia's diverse cultural groups
Correct Response: A.
The most famous of Russia's Soviet-era film directors, Sergei Eisenstein (1898–1948), is best remembered for his ability to create high levels of tension through the clash of contrasting visual images. The main theme of Eisenstein's work was human brotherhood, which he underscored by presenting the mass as a collective hero; rather than a specific individual, society as a whole was the protagonist in his films. At least three of his movies are considered classics of cinematic art: Potemkin (1925), Alexander Nevsky (1938), and Ivan the Terrible (1944).