If no one likes the old man's parties (described as "miserly," note!) because they go home hungry, the best prediction for describing his menu would be scarce, small, or tiny. Since the old man's neighbor is unlike the old man, we should predict that his parties are the opposite and that he offers lots of food. The word we want there should be similar to lots, large, huge, or generous.

First, eliminate as many wrong pairs as you can. "Munificent" means extremely generous or _giving—_completely opposite of the word for which we are looking! No miser is "munificent"! Likewise, "abundant" means overflowing or richly supplied. That won't work. "Superior" means of higher quality or quantity than others. Our best options are "sparse," which means scanty or thin, and "parsimonious," which means miserly or stingy. So, to choose between them, let's look at the second word. "Sparing" means limited or scanty, and "copious" means abundant and plentiful. The best choice is "sparse . . . copious."

The sentence implies that people are supporting the slaves against an injustice. Although it does not say such, we can at first assume the injustice to be slavery. This is particularly the case based on an investigation of the options provided for the second blank. "Lacerated" means cut open. This would be metaphorical at best. "Notarized" makes no sense here. "Totally questioned" really is a bit of a strange pairing, for the sentence implies that this is a matter of something more than mere questioning. To be "totally inquired" does not fit grammatically. Therefore, the best pair of answers is "emancipation . . . curbed." To "emancipate" is to free. It comes from the word for "hand" in Latin, which we find in words like "manual" (e.g. "manual labor") and manuscript (meaning "handwritten"). To "e-manicipate" is to set free the hands of someone. To "curb" is to restrain or hold back.

Let's look for clues in the sentence. The first blank is followed by "hadn't attended school in three months," so we want a word that means being absent, not attending, or gone. "Paragon" doesn't work. That means a great example of some idea or someone we admire or look up to. "Traitor" is a little too extreme; that means someone who commits treason or betrays a cause. We are left with "transient," which when used as a noun, means someone who is present only for a short time;"vagabond," which means wanderer; and "truant," which means someone who stays away from school when they are required to attend. "Truant" is the best fit for the sentence between those three remaining answer choices. Let's check the second word, "ludicrous." Our sentence clue is that it describes everyone's response to Roger's claim that he had been kidnapped by aliens. Most likely, everyone would think his excuse was silly or unbelievable, and "ludicrous" means ridiculous or absurd. This word pair fits.

That Larry considers the promoted coworker to be inferior to himself tells us that his emotions towards this coworker should be negative. "Furious" and "distraught" are each potentially correct choices for the first blank, because "furious" is synonymous with enraged and "distraught" is synonymous with upset. This leaves "resigning" or "acquiring" as options for the second's second blank. "Resign" means to give up one's position, and "acquire" means obtain or receive, so "resign" makes more sense because this is clearly a situation where Larry is considering leaving the company.

"Incredulous" means shocked or indicating disbelief, and "amiably" means acting in a friendly or agreeable manner, so "incredulous . . . amiably" is the correct answer because its words best fit the sentence's context.

The use of the word “until” suggests that the subject of this sentence went from supporting the local government to disowning them, so the second underlined word must mean something like “disowned.” Unfortunately, there are four answer choices that all mean disowned or abandoned one’s beliefs: “repudiated,” “renounced,” “abandoned,” and “disowned.” The word “embraced” means adopted or accepted, so it is an antonym of the other four options. To determine which of the four possible answers is most likely the correct one, then, you have to see which word makes sense as the first underlined word. “Incoherent” means unclear or incomprehensible; this does not make sense as a description of a supporter. “Lethargic” means inactive; this too does not make sense. "Sterile” means infertile or free from disease; this is in no way related to supporting. So, the correct answer must be “staunch,” which means dedicated, loyal, and committed.

The "although" at the beginning of the sentence gives a clue that the pair of words should be opposites. The first word should be a negative word, since we can guess that the chef did not like the fruit. In the latter half of the sentence, she's "singing its praises," which should lead us to suspect that she likes it. Let's test our first word choices. "Content" doesn't work; it means satisfied with something, and since our prediction is that the chef didn't like the fruit, we can rule that out. Likewise, "ardent" means passionate about something. "Strong" means _exhibiting great force—_that makes no sense! "Suspicious" would work, meaning feeling unease or uncertainty, but the second word in the pairing doesn't match "singing its praises." "Apathetic" means uninterested or bored. Our best choice is "ambivalent," meaning having mixed feelings about something and "fervent," which means showing great enthusiasm.

The “penultimate” position is the second from last. If the two men talking are the last and the second from last, our speaking man is the “penultimate” man. To be “annoyed” is to be vexed, a word derived from related Latin roots meaning to annoy and reflected in the related word “vexation.”

The context of the sentence tells you that this incident is taking place in a courtroom. Because the first underlined word is a person who is found guilty, the best answer is “accused,” which means person who is formally said to have committed a crime. You also know that because the jury found that the claims of the accused were not enough to stop him from being found guilty, the claims must have not been “defensible,” which means justifiable or able to be defended. “Perjury” is the act of lying in court; “malleable” means flexible; “accused” means charged with; “impregnable” means not able to be conquered or passed through; “convicted” means person shown in court to have committed a crime; “dismissible” means able to be ignored; “warden” means guard; and “reprehensible” means disgraceful.

The structure of the sentence suggests that the word that goes in the second blank probably means something like "get," so it could be “procure,” “obtain,” or “acquire.” These words are all synonyms of one another and all mean to get or to come into possession of. “Eradicate” means destroy and “orchestrate” means organize; these words do not fit neatly into the sentence. From there, it is a matter of determining whether someone with a “thrifty,” “spendthrift,” or “profligate” nature would get much needed items for less than they were worth. “Spendthrift” and “profligate” both mean wasteful and squandering money, so these are opposite to the meaning we are looking for. However, "thrifty" means economical and good at saving and spending money, so this answer choice is perfect. For final clarification, “adept” means skilled and “deluded” means misled or deceived.