CDI Knowledge Exam Sample Items and Suggested Reference Materials

***The CDI-Knowledge Exam was retired on December 31, 2020.

Sample Knowledge Exam Questions

These are some sample questions from the RID Generalist Written Test administered between 1995 and 1998. These questions are to serve as an example of the question types and format a candidate may see on the NIC Knowledge Exam and are not necessarily questions included in the current NIC Knowledge Exam. These sample questions are also not meant to indicate or reflect what one may score on the actual NIC Knowledge Test. For the answers to these sample questions, scroll to the bottom of this page.

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CDI Exam Sample

1. A Certified Deaf Interpreter has been hired though a hiring agency to provide interpreting services. If the consumer asks you how they use your services again, the Certified Deaf Interpreter should:

a. have them contact the hiring agency.
b. give them a card with your personal phone number.
c. ask them to contact the state RID chapter.
d. encourage them to call you directly.

2. Which of the following situations is inappropriate according to RID’s Code of Professional Conduct?

a. Declining an assignment for a funeral because of feelings of personal discomfort.
b. Interpreting for an immediate family member in a legal setting.
c. Accepting an assignment with a deaf person whom you know personally.
d. Rejecting an assignment for a person you have previously worked with.

3. When working with a developmentally disabled person with some language abilities, it may be useful to do all of the following EXCEPT use?

a. Any props in the room
b. Pictures
c. Fingerspelling
d. Gestures

4. The steps of the interpreting process are made in the following order:

a. Analyze speaker message; discard the form of the message; search for message equivalence; compose a new utterance.
b. Analyze speaker message; search for message equivalence; discard the form of the message; compose a new utterance.
c. Discard the form of the message; analyze speaker usage; search for message equivalence; compose a new utterance.
c. Search for message equivalence; discard the form of the message; compose a new utterance; analyze speaker message.

5. When a Certified Deaf Interpreter interprets the Pledge of Allegiance, the register would MOST likely be:

a. Informal
b. Frozen
c. Intimate
d. Consultative

6. A Certified Deaf Interpreter and hearing interpreter are working together in a medical setting. The Certified Deaf Interpreter interprets between the hearing interpreter and the deaf couple. Which type of interpreting is being used?

a. Mirror interpreting
b. Team interpreting
c. Shadow interpreting
d. Deaf-Blind Interpreting

7. A CDI is interpreting a college lecture. Another deaf student in the hallway signs to the deaf student through the doorway. The two of them has a brief conversation. The Certified Deaf Interpreter should:

a. Join the conversation
b. Continue interpreting the lecture
c. Ask the student to pay attention to the lecture
d. Interpret what the students say

8. The BEST advantage of consecutive interpretation is that it:

a. Reduces CDI fatigue
b. Enhances the CDI’s ability to keep up with the group process
c. Allows the CDI to process information
d. Minimizes the CDI’s presence

9. After an assignment at a doctor’s office, the deaf consumer asks the Certified Deaf Interpreter to explain doctor’s recommendations. The Certified Deaf Interpreter should:

a. Reiterate the Certified Deaf Interpreter role and offer to interpret again
b. Explain that the Certified Deaf Interpreter is in a hurry to get to the next job
c. Reiterate what the doctor has just said
d. Explain the doctor’s recommendations

10. Increase in process time in the interpretation is likely to:

a. Reduce syntactically-related miscues
b. Reduce improvement in overall performance
c. Increase short-term memory-related miscues
d. Increase anomalous utterances

Suggested Reference Material

The following is a list of references that may be helpful in reviewing for the CDI Knowledge Exam. This listing is intended for use as a study aid only. RID/CASLI does not intend the list to imply endorsement of these specific references, nor are test items necessarily taken directly from these sources.

View CDI Exam Reference Materials

CDI Exam Reference Materials

ASL Teacher’s Resource Text on Grammar and Culture. Baker and Cokely. 1980. TJ Publishers.
CDI Sample Written Test Package (discontinued)
Code of Professional Conduct. 2005 the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
Guidelines: Practical Tips for Working and Socializing with Deaf-Blind People. Theresa B. Smith. 1994. Sign Media.
Interpretation: A Sociolinguistic Model. Dennis Cokely. 1992. Linstock Press.
Interpreting for International Conferences. Danica Seleskovitch. 1994. RID Publications.
Interpretation Skills: English to American Sign Language, Interpreting Consolidated. Marty Taylor, 1993.
Interpreting: The Art of Cross Cultural Mediation, Proceedings of the 1985 RID Convention. Marina McIntire, Editor. RID Publications.
RID Certification Maintenance, National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers.
RID Sample Written Test Package, 1997 Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. Written by the RID, 1998.
RID Standard Practice Paper: Business Practices, 1996 Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. Written by the Professional Standards Committee,1993-1995. REV 8/97, Updated 2007.
RID Standard Practice Paper: Interpreting in Mental Health Settings. 1997 the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Written by the Professional Standards Committee,1993-1995. REV 8/97, Updated 2007.
RID Standard Practice Paper: Team Interpreting. 1997 the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Written by the Professional Standards Committee, 1993-1995. REV 8/97, Updated 2007.
RID Standard Practice Paper: Use of a Certified Deaf Interpreter. 1997 the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Written by the Professional Standards Committee, 1995-1997. REV5/00, Updated 2007
RID Mission
Sign Language Interpreting: A Basic Resource Guide. Sharon Neumann-Solow. Linstock Press.
Sign Language Interpreting: Exploring its Art and Science. Stewart, Schein and Cartwright. 1998. Allyn and Bacon.
So, You Want to be an Interpreter? Humphrey and Alcorn. 2007. 4th Edition. H and H Publishers.
Toward Effective Practice: Competencies of the Deaf Interpreter

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***The CDI-Knowledge Exam was retired on December 31, 2020.

Sample Knowledge Exam Questions

Suggested Reference Material

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