The sentence hints at a contrast between the first and the third blanks. Additionally, the third blank is signaled to be a strong adjective, given the adverb "quite." The word "fervid" means extremely passionate, which works well as regards both the intensity and the noun that is being described, namely "disagreement." In contrast to this, one would think the medieval university to be a calm environment. Hence, "tranquil" is an excellent option for the first blank, meaning free from disturbance. Such tranquility was broken by public and private disagreement. Thus, the best choice for the second blank is "disputation," which well describes such disagreement.

Based on the context of the sentence, we know that the interivewer found the physicist's responses to be "overtly" some negative characteristic, which made them some other characteristic and "impossible to follow." Based on this, the correct answer could begin with "arcane," which means likely to be understood by a small group of people, or "cryptic," which means puzzling and difficult to understand. "Circumlocutory" (said to avoid directly talking about a topic), "ancillary" (extraneous or additional), and "spurious" (seemingly true or authentic but actually not) wouldn't make sense, given that we're specifically told that this characteristic has to do with the physicist's remarks being "hard to follow."

From here, note that the first two blanks are likely similar in meaning, then consider the two remaining answer choices: "arcane . . . esoteric . . . jargon" and "cryptic . . . superfluous . . . know-how." "Arcane" and "esoteric" are similar in meaning, but "cryptic" is not close in meaning to "superfluous" (unnecessary), and "superfluous" doesn't make sense in the sentence's context. This means that the correct answer is "arcane . . . esoteric . . . jargon"; checking the third blank reveals that "jargon," meaning highly specialized language which is not readily understood by people who don't specialize in the subject, makes sense.

Based on the context of the sentence, we know the first blank will describe some quality that will be similar to Ellen's friend group, described as "studious and hardworking." Given this context, "sedulous," meaning dedicated and diligent, and "industrious," meaning diligent and hardworking, both would make sense. "Obsequious," meaning sychophantic, "hidebound," meaning unwilling to change because of tradition, and "conniving," relating to being conspiratorial or planning something immoral, don't make much sense here. As such, we know our possible choices are either "sedulous . . . shirked . . . nonplussed" or "industrious . . . malingered . . . vexed." 

We know the second blank describes some action relating to Ellen favoring her private interests over her schoolwork. "Shirked," meaning avoided or neglected, fits here, and "malingered," meaning feigned an illness to avoid something, also could potentially fit, but doesn't seem to work quite as well. Moving to the final blank, we know the word describes something that contrasts with "shock." "Nonplussed" means not phased or not surprised, whereas "vexed" means annoyed or frustrated, which does not fit nearly as well. As such, we know the correct three choices are "sedulous . . . shirked . . . nonplussed."

Based on the second sentence, which states that Cindy "spoke passionately," we know that the first blank involves some positive characteristic that reenforces the passionate character of her speech. Based on this context, "verve," characterizing a speech delivered with passion, and "gusto," meaning enjoyment had as a result of doing something, both make sense. While "lucidity," meaning clarity, would not be nonsensical, it would also not convey the passionate nature of her presentation. "Trepidation," meaning fear or apprehension, and "commiseration," meaning emotional sympathy, would not make sense here. 

After looking at the second sentence, we know that the second blank is describing some quality of the obstacles that have to be overcome. We can infer from this context that the blank is some negative characteristic, probably relating to difficulty. Given this context, "harrowing," meaning distressing, "exasperating," meaning infuriating, and "inordinate," meaning excessive, could all make sense here; however, because we have already rulled out "commiseration" for the first blank, we know we can also disregard "inordinate," leaving us with only "harrowing" or "exasperating" as possibilities. "Cantankerous," meaning bad-tempered, and "inadmissible," meaning invalid, would not really make sense in this context.

The context for the final blank is provided by "giving them the same voting rights as their male counterparts." Through the above analyzed process of elimination, we have been able to narrow down our choices to either "verve . . . harrowing . . . enfranchise," or "gusto  . . . exasperating  . . . remunerate." "Remunerate" means to pay someone for a service that person has provided, which doesn't really fit here. "Enfranchise," however, directly means to allow to vote legally, which fits perfectly given the sentence's context.

Because the writer was unable to write a bestseller, you can assume he existed on the margins of the fame throughout his life. And, because you are told that he only became famous when he could not appreciate it himself it is likely that he became famous after he died. This information tells you that the correct answers must be “periphery” margins, fringes; “despondency” sadness, hopelessness; “posthumously” after death. To provide additional help, “elation” means great happiness; “abashedly” means shamefully; “reticence” means reserved, not capable of speaking freely; “contemporarily” means occurring in recent times; “exigency” means need, necessity, requirement; “erudition” means education; “humorously” means funnily, done with humor; “dogma” means accepted teaching, maxim; “caprice” means a sudden change in mood; “deferentially” means done with deference, putting someone else's understanding above one's own.

Based on the context of the sentence, we can tell that the third blank is probably related to the characteristic warned against in the second blank; we can also infer that the first blank is probably a less extreme version of the second blank.

For the first blank, "staunch," meaning loyal, and "candid," meaning forthright, both could work as descriptions of an attitude toward a politician's beliefs. "Obtuse," meaning insensitive, "craven," meaning cowardly, and "ecumenical," meaning relating to Christian churches as a group, do not work at all. For the second blank, both being excessively "forthright," meaning straightforward, and "obdurate," meaning unyielding, both could work as characteristics to be cautioned against. We are still left with "staunch . . . obdurate . . . intransigence" and "candid . . . forthright . . . transparency" as options. "Intransigence," meaning stubborn refusal to compromise, works nicely as the opposite of "[knowing] when to compromise and when to stand their ground."

Based on the fact that we know the player scored the game-winning goal, and that this stands in some relation (blank one) to the soccer player's extreme athletic ability, we can infer that the first blank will describe some action having some positive connotation. We can also tell that the final two blanks stand in some opposing relationship to each other (he seemed uncomfortable with "something" because he was "some other thing"). "Evinced," meaning indicated, and "accentuated," meaning emphasized, both could work in blank one, as both would make sense as something that would come about as a result of a freshman player scoring a game-winning goal. "Undermined," meaning subverted, completely contradicts the tone of the sentence. "Cauterized," meaning burnt, especially burnt a wound to help it begin to heal, and "invalidated," meaning contradicted, also do not work given the context. As such, we know our only two options are "evinced . . . exalted . . . unostentatious" and "accentuated . . . coveted . . . circumspect."

Regarding the second blank, "exalted" means praised, which would make sense as an action the coach would take after a player scored an important goal. "Coveted," meaning yearned for, perhaps doesn't fit perfectly, but also could potentially fit. Moving to the final blank, "unostentatious," meaning humble, would make sense given the context; however "circumspect," meaning risk-averse, does not fit in the passage well at all. As such, we know our answer is "evinced . . . exalted . . . unostentatious."

"Auspicious" is an adjective that means fortunate or prosperous, "mendicant" as an adjective means prone to begging, and an "albatross," outside of being a seabird, is a longstanding, personally burdensome item.

The first blank is followed by a contrast word ("but") and a negative consequence ("struggling with tax laws"), so we know that "auspicious" is a possibility. The second blank is paired with a method by which money can be whittled away, so "begging" or money seeking relatives makes sense as a choice here.

"Abstemious" means moderate and responsible in one's eating and drinking, a "comestible" is a foodstuff, and "salubrity" is promoting healthful, energetic behavior.

The use of a semicolon is a clue that the two clauses will have similar and complementary themes.

"Assiduous" means diligent, "recalcitrant" means resistant to outside control, and "object" (used as a verb) means to express an objection or statement of disaproval.

The first blank comes at the end of a list of positive qualities in a student, so the "assiduous" makes sense as a third item in that list. Now, the second blank comes at the end of a clause beginning with the contrast conjunction "but," so we know that it will be a negative, or at least not actively positive word. The second two blanks are clearly connected, and going through the list "recalcitrant" and "object" make the most sense. A "recalcitrant" student would specifically resist authority by "object[ing]."