"Voluble" and "loquacious" both mean talkative, which is probably not the case with this child. The child might be "irritable," meaning easily angered, or "desolate," meaning depressed. But "reticent," meaning silent makes more sense because the child is shy but has no reason to be angered or saddened.

There is something about the way Talia acts that made it impossible for her audiences to relate to her characters. So "sincere" and "forthcoming," both meaning honest, do not work. Meanwhile "eloquent" and "unfaltering" both describe someone who speaks with conviction. Thus "affected," meaning fake, is the best choice.

"Courteous," "convivial," "genial," and "affable" could all be used to describe someone polite or friendly. Only "misanthropic," meaning antisocial, could describe someone like the writer in question.

"Elementary" and "primitive" both mean basic, which contradicts the idea that the plot of the novel is "intricate." "Evocative" and "stirring," both meaning exciting, draw no contrast with the word "riveting," but it is clear from the word "although" that pragmatic thinkers and sentimental readers are supposed feel differently about the novel. Thus "soporific," meaning dull or inducing sleep, is the best choice.

So it is possible that "punk" was meant to be a term of "deference," meaning respect. It is also possible it was meant to be a term of "adulation" or "commendation," meaning praise. It could possibly also be a term of "indifference," meaning detachment, but given that it was meant to describe someone who might be anti-government, it is more likely that the term "punk" was once a "pejorative," a term of disparagement.

"Ponderous", meaning hefty, could probably not be used to describe an underweight dog. "Rabid" might describe a dog who has suffered neglect, but the sentence seems to want to emphasize his weight more than anything. "Gluttonous" and "voracious," both meaning greedy or hungry, might describe this underweight dog. But "emaciated," meaning starved, is probably the best choice.

It is unlikely that Susan B. Anthony was "unenthused," or not excited, in her fight for women's suffrage, because she was not even deterred by beatings or prison. The idea that she was "lackadaisical," or lazy, in her efforts is also unlikely. "Apathetic," meaning indifferent, is also not a good descriptor for this woman. She could be "infallible," meaning flawless, in her efforts, but the sentence seems to want to stress her energy and perseverence more than her flawlessness. Thus "vigorous," meaning marked by force, is the best choice.

"Unadulterated," "honorable," "principled," and "scrupulous" would describe the motivator of the joy of helping others. "Mercenary," meaning motivated by desire for gain, makes the most sense.

"Unadorned" and "unostentatious" both mean not showy, so those would be characteristics of a modest house, and we want something to describe the opposite of this. "Squalid" and "begrimed" both describe very filthy and impoverished conditions. These are not conditions that one would take on as one's means grew. "Baroque," meaning lavish or extravagant, is the best choice.

"Frugal" and "sparing" both mean lacking, but the point of this sentence is that English has a lot of different types of words, so these choices do not make sense. "Mediocre" and "unremarkable" mean average or ordinary, so also do not make sense since the sentence is about the vast capabilities of English expression. "Comprehensive," meaning extensive, is the best choice.