In contrast to the other words given as possible answers, being “despondent” implies lack of hope—not merely disappointment or emotional detachment. This is called for by the key phrase, “to the point of no longer hoping for . . .”

The key phrase here is “by the old-fashioned methods of handwriting.” Works that are “handwritten” are called “manuscripts,” a word that literally means “hand-written.” The “manu-” portion is found in English words like “manual” and “manicure,” from the Latin roots for “hand.” “Script,” clearly comes from root meanings related to writing, as is obvious from other related English words such as “scribe,” “subscription,” and “prescription.”

The tone of this sentence is somewhat informal, so bear this in mind when making and confirming your choice. The expression "slog on" means to work hard or to work diligently. This second half intends to say that someone should continue to work hard in the hopes that success may indeed be "at hand." To say that something is "on the horizon" means that it is "nearly here." The horizon is the farthest edge of our view, where the sky meets the ground. Therefore, the expression, "on the horizon" means "almost going to appear"—like the sun appearing on the horizon. This fits well with the first half of the sentence.

Although the other “music-related” words perhaps are tempting, “canticle” is the best, given that it has particular associations with church music. It comes from a base that is similar to that found in “cantor” (singer, particularly leading a church service), “cantata,” and “incantation.” All of these words are variously related to the Latin “cantare,” meaning to sing.

The two key words are “complacency” and “laziness.” This implies a particular slowness and lack of effort. When one “saunters,” he or she walks in a slow and somewhat lazy manner—as on a slow walk down the trail.

From context, it is clear that the answer choice must mean something similar to detest, so the correct answer is “abhor.” To “abhor” means to hate, detest or greatly dislike; “abduct” means kidnap; “vacate” means leave empty or evacuate; "evaluate" means assess the quality of; “preempt” means do something to stop something from happening in the future.

From the context of this sentence it is clear that the speaker believes the subject is sneaking around doing something in secretive. So to solve this sentence completion problem you need to determine which of these words means to move stealthily or secretively. The correct answer is therefore "skulk." To provide further help, "leap" means jump high; "amble" means walk slowly and without purpose; "plod" means to walk slowly and heavily; "strut" means to walk with pride and arrogance.

The context of this sentence is clearly related to cooking. The word "culinary" means related to the art or science of cooking. To provide further help, "assiduous" means hard-working; "cagey" means careful, wary; "oratory" means related to the art or science of speaking; "sterling" means excellent.

If something is “anachronistic,” it does not really belong in its given time period. Sometimes, the adjective can merely mean that something is old-fashioned, but it often is used to indicate the situation when someone describes something in one time period according to the customs or historical contingencies of another period. The prefix “ana-” comes from the Greek preposition meaning “backward” (among other things). The familiar “-chronistic” comes from the Greek word for time and has familiar English derivatives (such as “chronological”).

When you encounter a sentence like this where multiple options seem identical, it is necessary to look for the option that best fits the specific case of our sentence. The vessel that we are looking for is to be used for hand washing, so “laver” is the best option. A laver is a vessel used for containing water for washing. It is related to words like “lavatory” and “latrine,” as well as “lotion.”