This sentence misuses the word "slander." Though slander does mean a statement(s) harmful to a person's reputation, it specifically applies to spoken statements. Since the sentence states that the statements were published (i.e. written), they cannot be slanderous by definition. The correct word here is "libelous," which refers to written defamatory statements. The correct choice is "libelous."

This sentence misuses the word "averse," which means to dislike. It is clear from the context of the sentence, however, that unintentional/harmful is meant. This is the definition of "adverse." The correct choice is, "adverse."

This sentence misuses the word "affect." "Affect" is a verb meaning to change. It is clear that the results of the changes (hence, a noun) is meant in this sentence. "Effect" is the correct choice, meaning a change/result of something. No other changes are necessary. The correct choice is, "The effects of the changes saved."

Making nouns plural or modifying the syntax doesn't resolve the core problem. "Effect" is not a verb. It is frequently confused with the verb "affect." The correct answer choice resolves this problem alone. Any other adjustments are entirely unnecessary.

The correct answer resolves the major issue, the commonly confused words "accept" and "except" as well as the unnecessary preposition "for": "Everyone except John understood...". The other answer choices either fail to resolve the error in diction or incorrectly modify the preposition "for," resulting in unidiomatic syntax, for example "except that John."

This sentence misuses the word "hone," which means to sharpen. The phrase meant here is "home in on," which means to converge. "Concur" means to agree, "spread" means to separate out, and "home" means a building where something resides. The correct choice is "converge," which means to close in on.

This sentence misuses the word "affect," which is a verb meaning to cause. It is clear from the context of the sentence that a word meaning a result is necessary here. The appropriate word is "effect," which is the noun to affect. The other words do not fit properly. "Cause" is a verb meaning to change or a noun meaning a mission. "Mission" means a statement of purpose, and resolution means the act of completing an action. The correct choice is "effect." 

This sentence misuses the word "enormity," which means a great amount of evil. The context of this indicated that the children are amazed by the size of the elephant. While all of the choices have something to do with size, there are slight differences in how each word is used. "Capacity" means the amount of volume something can hold, "scope" means the range something covers, "extension" means a continuation, and "bulk," the correct choice, means the size of something in three dimensions. 

This tests a commonly misused word.  We have three options:  'there', 'their', and 'they're'.  The latter is a conjunction between the words 'they' and 'are', which is not appropriate in the context here.  'There' refers to a location (i.e. 'over there').  Since that is not what we need here, the option 'their' is correct because it is referring to people. 

When not stating a condition necessary for the action, it is always preferable to use the word 'whether' over 'if'.  In this instance, 'that' is also not the best version of the sentence.  'Whether' is best because there are multiple meanings to the word 'that' and 'if', and it eliminated the ambiguity.