To begin with "perish" means die. So, if the subjects did not want to die on their journey then it makes logical sense that they would want to have enough, sufficient supplies. The correct answer is therefore "ample," which means enough. Additionally, "anonymous" means unknown, not-named; "imperfect" means not perfect, flawed; "zany" means wacky, silly and crazy; "taut" means tight, as in a "taut" rope.

We really don't know if the idea was "outdated" or "dangerous" in any way; all that we know is that Flavian must have feared that the idea would seem unacceptable and abnormal. The only option that is somewhat close to this idea is "controversial." Whenever something is "controversial," it creates a lot of disagreement and argumentation. The people's reaction was quite the opposite of that which happens when something is controversial. They just accepted it! However, Flavian had thought it would be controversial and unacceptable. The contrast is indicated by the word "although."

If people always listened to what the old man had to say it makes sense that his opinion was considered important, of great meaning and significance. So, the correct answer is "weighty." "Weighty" can also mean heavy when used to describe an object. Additionally, "jaunty" means happy and cheerful; "jarred" means disturbed, shocked; "infirm" means sick; "foolhardy" means foolish, stupid, silly.

In this sentence, the words, "by contrast" indicate that there will be a difference between the phrase preceding those words and the adjective that comes afterwards. The opposite of the phrase "good at sports" would be "bad at sports." Someone who is "unathletic," or not athletic, is most likely bad at sports. Therefore, "unathletic" is the correct answer.

Because the subject’s friends usually start playing basketball without him, it is obvious that he must never or rarely be ready on time. The word “seldom” is the only answer choice that conveys that the subject of the sentence is rarely ready on time; all of the other answer choices emphasize how often he is ready on time, and so don't make sense in the sentence.

You are told that the best man did not really prepare for the speech and that whatever quality it had was therefore surprising. If the best man had not prepared one might expect his speech to be disorganized and poorly spoken. So, the adjective used to describe his speech must be positive and reflect how he surprised the audience. The correct answer is therefore "eloquent" which means well spoken. Additionally, "feigned" means faked, pretended; "incompetent" means not able to do something, not good enough, not capable; "rabid" means extreme, overly passionate; "spiritual" means relating to religion, or relating to the human soul.

From the context you know that the correct answer must be something similar to the word “family,” this should lead you to the correct answer which is “kin.” “Kin” and “family” are synonyms of one another.

Given that Andrew's brother was "the most peaceful and nonviolent person he knew" and his brother got into a fight at school, it's most reasonable to infer that Andrew would be shocked by this news. "Speechless" means extremely shocked to the point where you can't say anything, so it is the best answer choice.

You can immediately eliminate "suspected" because the sentence would be structured "He suspected his favorite football team would win . . . " The only other answer choice that makes sense is "expected" which means think will happen. Additionally, "suspected" means have an idea that something is true; "inspected" means analyzed, looked at, examined; "respected" means admired, widely believed to be impressive; "assisted" means helped.

This set of sentences is expressing the strange contrast between what we would expect from Robert when he finds out bad news and how he actually acts. It is surprising that he is not saddened by bad news. The implication is that his attitude is the opposite of sadness in these cases. That means that his attitude must be one of gladness or joy. Thus, it seems that the bad news would make him "rejoice"!